In response to the events of 9/11, the Bush administration launched a "war on terror", ushering in an era of anti-Muslim racism, or Islamophobia. However, 9/11 did not create the image of the "Muslim enemy."
This presentation examines the relationship between anti-Muslim racism and the agenda of empire building. Beginning in the eleventh century with the Crusades, Deepa Kumar offers a sweeping historical analysis of the changing views of Islam and Muslims in the West, examining the ways that ruling elites throughout history have used the spectre of a "Muslim enemy" to justify imperialism.
This discussion presented by Associate Professor Deepa Kumar will show how the Arab Spring revolts of 2011 and 2012 have debunked and disproven the racist and Islamaphobic ideas and narratives present in political discourse in the US and Europe.
Speaker Bio:
Deepa Kumar is an Associate Professor of Media Studies and Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University. Her work is driven by an active engagement with the key issues that characterize our era: neoliberalism and imperialism.
Her second book is titled Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire (Haymarket Books, 2012) which looks at how the "Muslim enemy" has historically been mobilized to suit the goals of imperialism. She has shared her expertise on media outlets including BBC, NPR, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Hurriyat Daily News (Turkey), Iran Fars News (Iran), Al Arabiya (UAE), and other national and international news media outlets.
See Also: http ://www . deepakumar . net/
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