Synopses & Reviews
Throughout history, Muslim men have been depicted as monsters. The portrayal of humans as monsters helps a society delineate who belongs and who, or what, is excluded. Even when symbolic, as in post-9/11 zombie films, Muslim monsters still function to define Muslims as non-human entities. These are not depictions of Muslim men as malevolent human characters, but rather as creatures that occupy the imagination -- non-humans that exhibit their wickedness outwardly on the skin. They populate medieval tales, Renaissance paintings, Shakespearean dramas, Gothic horror novels, and Hollywood films. Through an exhaustive survey of medieval, early modern, and contemporary literature, art, and cinema,
Muslims in the Western Imagination examines the dehumanizing ways in which Muslim men have been constructed and represented as monsters, and the impact such representations have on perceptions of Muslims today.
The study is the first to present a genealogy of these creatures, from the demons and giants of the Middle Ages to the hunchbacks with filed teeth that are featured in the 2007 film 300, arguing that constructions of Muslim monsters constitute a recurring theme, first formulated in medieval Christian thought. Sophia Rose Arjana shows how Muslim monsters are often related to Jewish monsters, and more broadly to Christian anti-Semitism and anxieties surrounding African and other foreign bodies, which involves both religious bigotry and fears surrounding bodily difference. Arjana argues persuasively that these dehumanizing constructions are deeply embedded in Western consciousness, existing today as internalized beliefs and practices that contribute to the culture of violence--both rhetorical and physical--against Muslims.
Review
"Islamophobia is a broad pathology of our times. Pegged to September 11, 2001, it has continued to flourish in the shadow of subsequent wars waged by the US and its allies, throughout the Middle East. While Abu Ghraib became one of the showcases of American horror, Homeland set the mark for thinking about, or imagining, Muslim enemies. Both are highlighted in this, the first genealogy, which is also a semiotics, of Islamophobia. A well-researched, carefully staged book, it illumines how brutal images of monster Muslims have become commonplace, almost reflexive in the long afterlife of the War on Terror."
--Bruce Lawrence, Professor of Islamic Studies Emeritus, Duke University
"Rigorously historical, and partaking of the best of discursive analysis, this is a remarkable study of the distorted mirror in which the Western imagination has conceived of Muslims. As Arjana demonstrates, this tells me almost nothing about Muslims, and a great deal about the Western imagination. Arjana makes a persuasive case that in order to understand the dehumanizing practices in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and elsewhere, we need to cast a much longer critical look at the history of the Western imaginaire about Muslims [as] Monsters. Essential reading for Islamic studies, American studies, and European history."
--Omid Safi, Director of Duke Islamic Studies Center, Duke University
"In The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie wrote this about the power of representation: "They describe us . . . that's all. They have the power of description, and we succumb to the pictures they construct." In her exhaustive and often disturbing work, Sophia Arjana catalogues the many ways in which Muslims have been described as monsters. It is a compelling book."
--Amir Hussain, Editor, Journal of the American Academy of Religion
Synopsis
A Choice 2015 Outstanding Academic Title
Throughout history, Muslim men have been depicted as monsters. The portrayal of humans as monsters helps a society delineate who belongs and who, or what, is excluded. Even when symbolic, as in post-9/11 zombie films, Muslim monsters still function to define Muslims as non-human entities. These are not depictions of Muslim men as malevolent human characters, but rather as creatures that occupy the imagination -- non-humans that exhibit their wickedness outwardly on the skin. They populate medieval tales, Renaissance paintings, Shakespearean dramas, Gothic horror novels, and Hollywood films. Through an exhaustive survey of medieval, early modern, and contemporary literature, art, and cinema, Muslims in the Western Imagination examines the dehumanizing ways in which Muslim men have been constructed and represented as monsters, and the impact such representations have on perceptions of Muslims today.
The study is the first to present a genealogy of these creatures, from the demons and giants of the Middle Ages to the hunchbacks with filed teeth that are featured in the 2007 film 300, arguing that constructions of Muslim monsters constitute a recurring theme, first formulated in medieval Christian thought. Sophia Rose Arjana shows how Muslim monsters are often related to Jewish monsters, and more broadly to Christian anti-Semitism and anxieties surrounding African and other foreign bodies, which involves both religious bigotry and fears surrounding bodily difference. Arjana argues persuasively that these dehumanizing constructions are deeply embedded in Western consciousness, existing today as internalized beliefs and practices that contribute to the culture of violence--both rhetorical and physical--against Muslims.
Synopsis
A
Choice 2015 Outstanding Academic Title
Throughout history, Muslim men have been depicted as monsters. The portrayal of humans as monsters helps a society delineate who belongs and who, or what, is excluded. Even when symbolic, as in post-9/11 zombie films, Muslim monsters still function to define Muslims as non-human entities. These are not depictions of Muslim men as malevolent human characters, but rather as creatures that occupy the imagination -- non-humans that exhibit their wickedness outwardly on the skin. They populate medieval tales, Renaissance paintings, Shakespearean dramas, Gothic horror novels, and Hollywood films. Through an exhaustive survey of medieval, early modern, and contemporary literature, art, and cinema, Muslims in the Western Imagination examines the dehumanizing ways in which Muslim men have been constructed and represented as monsters, and the impact such representations have on perceptions of Muslims today.
The study is the first to present a genealogy of these creatures, from the demons and giants of the Middle Ages to the hunchbacks with filed teeth that are featured in the 2007 film 300, arguing that constructions of Muslim monsters constitute a recurring theme, first formulated in medieval Christian thought. Sophia Rose Arjana shows how Muslim monsters are often related to Jewish monsters, and more broadly to Christian anti-Semitism and anxieties surrounding African and other foreign bodies, which involves both religious bigotry and fears surrounding bodily difference. Arjana argues persuasively that these dehumanizing constructions are deeply embedded in Western consciousness, existing today as internalized beliefs and practices that contribute to the culture of violence--both rhetorical and physical--against Muslims.
About the Author
Sophia Rose Arjana holds an M.A. from Columbia University, an M.T.S. from Emory University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Denver and Illiff School of Theology. Her main areas of research are imaginary Muslim monsters, Muslim representations in popular culture, non-hajj pilgrimage traditions in Islamic societies, liturgy in North American Muslim communities, and Jewish and Islamic liberative theology. She has published articles on Islamic shrine architecture and the role of racial constructions in Orientalist discourse and has forthcoming book chapters on female and queer imams in the United States, liberation theology, and the Iranian sociologist Ali Shari'ati.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Islam in the Western Imagination
Chapter 1: The Muslim Monster
Chapter 2: Medieval Muslim Monsters
Chapter 3: Turkish Monsters
Chapter 4: The Monsters of Orientalism
Chapter 5: Muslim Monsters in the Americas
Chapter 6: The Monsters of September 11th
Notes
Bibliography
Index