Islam in the Eyes of the West From the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York to the Madrid and London bombings of 2004 and 2005, the presence of Muslim communities in the West has generated security issues and major political concern. Governments, the media, and the general public have raised questions regarding potential links between Western Muslims, radical Islam and terrorism. This speculation has given rise to popular myths concerning the Islamic world and led to a host of illiberal measures such as illegal warranting, denial of habeas corpus, “black prisons”, and extreme torture throughout the democratic world.Islam in the Eyes of the West challenges the authenticity of these myths and examines the ways in which they have been used to provide an ideological cover for the “war on terror” and the subsequent Iraq War. It argues that they are not only unfounded and hollow, but have also served a dangerous purpose, namely war-mongering and the empowerment of the national-security state. It further considers the origin and transmission of these myths, focusing on media, government policy, and popular discourse. Tareq Y. Ismael is Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, Canada. He is the Editor of the International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies; his most recent publications include The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party in Iraq and Cultural Cleansing in Iraq: Why Museums were Looted, Libraries Burned and Academics Murdered. Andrew Rippin is Professor of Islamic History at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2006, his publications include Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, and The Islamic World (both published by Routledge). Durham Modern Middle East and Islamic World Series Series Editor: Anoushiravan Ehteshami, University of Durham 1. Economic Development in Saudi Arabia Rodney Wilson, with Abdullah Al-Salamah, Monica Malik and Ahmed Al-Rajhi 2. Islam Encountering Globalisation Edited by Ali Mohammadi 3. China’s Relations with Arabia and the Gulf, 1949–1999 Mohamed Bin Huwaidin 4. Good Governance in the Middle East Oil Monarchies Edited by Tom Pierre Najem and Martin Hetherington 5. The Middle East’s Relations with Asia and Russia Edited by Hannah Carter and Anoushiravan Ehteshami 6. Israeli Politics and the Middle East Peace Process, 1988–2002 Hassan A. Barari 7. The Communist Movement in the Arab World Tareq Y. Ismael 8. Oman – The Islamic Democratic Tradition Hussein Ghubash 9. The Secret Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations in Oslo Their success and why the process ultimately failed Sven Behrendt 10. Globalization and Geopolitics in the Middle East Old games, new rules Anoushiravan Ehteshami 11. Iran-Europe Relations Challenges and opportunities Seyyed Hossein Mousavian 12. Islands and International Politics in the Persian Gulf The Abu Musa and Tunbs in strategic perspective Kourosh Ahmadi 13. Monetary Union in the Gulf Prospects for a single currency in the Arabian Peninsula Emilie Rutledge 14. Contested Sudan The political economy of war and reconstruction Ibrahim Elnur 15. Palestinian Politics and Middle East Peace Process Consensus and competition in the Palestinian negotiation team Ghassan Khatib 16. Islam in the Eyes of the West Images and realities in an age of terror Edited by Tareq Y. Ismael and Andrew Rippin Islam in the Eyes of the West Images and realities in an age of terror Edited by Tareq Y. Ismael and Andrew Rippin LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2010 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2010 Tareq Y. Ismael and Andrew Rippin for selection and editorial matter; individual contributors their contribution All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Islam in the eyes of the West: images and realities in an age of terror / edited by Tareq Y. Ismael and Andrew Rippin. p. cm. – (Durham modern Middle East and Islamic world series) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Islam–Relations. 2. Islam–Public opinion. 3. East and West. 4. Terrorism–Religious aspects–Islam. 5. War on Terrorism, 2001– 6. Jihad. I. Ismael, Tareq Y. II. Rippin, Andrew, 1950– BP170.I845 2010 297.09'0511–dc22 2009040882 ISBN 0-203-85438-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 13: 978-0-415-56414-4 (hbk) ISBN 10: 0-415-56414-X (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-203-85438-9 (ebk) ISBN 10: 0-203-85438-1 (ebk) Contents Notes on contributors vii Preface ix Introduction: The “West” and the Islamic world: patterns of confrontation and paths to reconciliation TAREQ Y. ISMAEL AND ANDREW RIPPIN 1 1 The origin of difference: Edward Said, Michel Foucault and the modern image of Islam DIETRICH JUNG 15 2 Demonizing the enemy in the War on Terror SHADIA DRURY 32 3 Islam and Muslims as seen by the Christian Zionists NORTON MEZVINSKY 41 4 Vigilante masculinity and the ‘War on Terror’ SUNERA THOBANI 54 5 Islam in the US: the contemporary scene FUAD SHABAN 76 6 ‘Jihadiology’ and the problem of reaching a contemporary understanding of Jihad ABDEL SALAM SIDAHMED 101 7 Islam, Muslims, neighbors in Asia? The transformation of Japan’s perceptions of Islam as shown in its media KEIKO SAKAI 125 8 U.S. politics, media and Muslims in the post-9/11 era JANICE J. TERRY 148 9 Self and Other in a time of terror: Myth, media and Muslims KARIM H. KARIM 160 10 Understanding the Muslim world: we can do better RAYMOND W. BAKER AND ALEXANDER HENRY 177 11 Applying “the McCarthy Test” to Canadian and American security legislation: a 10-year retrospective on the impact of September 11, 2001 on privacy rights PATRICK SMITH 202 12 Huntington’s “clash of civilizations”: rumours and clarification GLENN E. PERRY 226 13 Getting it wrong yet again: America and the Islamic mainstream RAYMOND W. BAKER 251 Index 269