The New “Other” the Endorsement of Islamophobia in American Political Discourse

Abstract

This paper analyses the complexity of problems American Muslims face with Islamophobia by examining (i) how Islamophobic discourse has become an integral part of the American politics; (ii) how the American political discourse on Islam and Muslims has affected the increase of Islamophobia, especially after the 9/11 terrorist attacks; and (iii) how Islamophobia is wielded as a political tool to garner the support of Americans and justify American imperial ambitions including the U.S. invasions and military occupations. Although the 9/11 gave a fresh impetus to Islamophobia, and since then, it has been on the rise, its history is as old as the history of Orientalism in America. Thus, the paper investigates the continuities between received Orientalism and American political rhetoric on Muslims and Islam. After the 9/11, not only did American political discourse manifest Islamophobia but also regulations and laws signed by the presidents targeted Muslims; both are indications of the continuity of accepted Orientalism. Remarkably, the major tenets of Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism parallel the Islamophobic political discourse that emerged after the 9/11. Thus, The paper, thereby draws on Said's discourse analysis of Orientalism to indicate how the rise of Islamophobia among Americans and American political discourse (power) about Muslims and Islam post 9/11 are interconnected and inextricably linked. More specifically, political discourse, while reframing the discourse as “us” versus “them,” hasmoreover, have been categorized on the one hand as “good” Muslims (the exceptions that prove the rule) who serve American interests and imperial policies and “bad” Muslims who are reluctant to serve imperial interests. As this study analytically explains the relationship between Orientalism, an essential tool of the Western colonial mentality, and the American political discourse, which became harsher with anti-Islamic expressions after the 9/11, it shows how American political discourse of Muslims promotes Islamophobia.