Hijacking Islam: An Analysis of Positive Representations of Islam and Muslims in the U.S.
2022-11
Loading...
View/Download File
Persistent link to this item
Statistics
View StatisticsJournal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Title
Hijacking Islam: An Analysis of Positive Representations of Islam and Muslims in the U.S.
Authors
Published Date
2022-11
Publisher
Type
Thesis or Dissertation
Abstract
In this dissertation, I analyze positive representations of Islam and Muslims in pre- and post-9/11 legal, political, and public discourses. I focus on the prisoners’ civil rights cases of the late 20th century, the 9/11 Commission Report, and the presidential discourse since Jimmy Carter as representative data. I argue that the attempt to distinguish Islam from “terrorism”—or other “violent ideologies”—has led to the formulation of discursive constructs that frame Islam as a corruptible religion that can be easily perverted, hijacked, and weaponized. This conceptualization of Islam legitimizes policing Muslim-presenting people and justifies dictating the true meaning of Islam to Muslims. I conclude that positive representations of Islam and Muslims undermine our efforts to counter Islamophobia because they create an illusion of acceptance for “good Islam” and obscure the underlying Islamophobic ideology that operates below the threshold of our notice.
Description
University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. November 2022. Major: English. Advisors: Nathaniel Mills, Siobhan Craig. 1 computer file (PDF); iii, 204 pages.
Related to
Replaces
License
Collections
Series/Report Number
Funding information
Isbn identifier
Doi identifier
Previously Published Citation
Suggested citation
Mirzaei, Saeide. (2022). Hijacking Islam: An Analysis of Positive Representations of Islam and Muslims in the U.S.. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/253410.
Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.