One chapter was terribly polemic, and there are a few instances of "who is not for me is against me." There were some rather blunt denunciations against people who offer some moderate views.

But it's well worth a read, particularly in today's political climate.

Sad so see that some people denounced for small followings and outside influence have become major actors under the current administration.

I found the book really easy to follow even though I knew very little both about pre-colonial history and the post-colonial nationalist movements in the Middle East. The author is very clear in signposting her arguments, which made it easier for me to figure out why she was including particular examples. The book is written with someone who has little knowledge of the Middle East or Islam in mind, and the author includes enough explanatory material to follow the argument, without seeming patronising.

Generally, she covers three main sections:
1. The evolution of the ideas behind Islamophobia (from the 7thc. to the 20thc.) and how these ideas persist today. She includes the fluctuating relationship Europe had with Muslims up until the enlightenment, and looks at how colonisation and imperialism shaped the way scholars and thus the West came to understand Muslims.
2. International politics (The US' contradictory stance towards Political Islam during the Cold War; The internal factors behind the fall and rise of Political Islam in the Middle East; The post-Cold War US foreign policy factions and the similarities between the neo-cons and liberals)
3. Domestic US politics (use of the legal system to target Arabs and Muslims; rise of right-wing Islamophobes; rise of the homegrown terrorist scare)
She concludes with suggestions on how to fight and resist Islamophobia.

While this book might contain information that is general knowledge to a lot of people (I'm thinking of people like my dad), I learnt a lot from it and would recommend it to one and all.

very important read, highly recommend everyone reads this. a bit dense esp towards the middle, and generally very academic but i can’t think of another book i’ve read recently that i’ve learned more from. i also don’t know any other book that discusses the history and modern contextualizations of islamophobia in a single piece. i hate imperialism. again highly recommend to everyone !!

An amazingly well written book on how Western politics and culture have stigmatized an entire group of people and religion.