Jihad, Race and Western Media, Post-September 11

The article examines jihad within what is loosely referred to as “the Western imagination.” Through the analysis of both popular stereotypes and the broader historical context of religious antagonism and (neo)colonialism, the paper discusses both contemporary political rhetoric and a pair of liberal post September-11 political cartoons. While European and North American political leaders have often stereotyped Muslims in order to justify various “axis of evil” bandwagons and further political and economic interests throughout the Islamic Crescent, I argue here that the liberal media\u27s critiques also often rely on fallacious embodied stereotypes. The pervasiveness of such representations has important implications for the lived realities and human rights of both Muslims and non-Muslims globally because these stereotypes mask Muslim\u27s legitimate concerns regarding (neo)colonialism and because of the human rights abuses that result from Islamophobia