French discourse equated Muslim with fanatic for centuries

Evidence

As Kepel notes, French public and political discourses at the time were openly racist and highly xenophobic towards Muslims, a term that was widely synonymous with the term and notions of ‘fanatic’. It is interesting to note how the synonymy of Muslim with fanatic was far from new, identifiable in the writing of Voltaire centuries earlier. — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 244

Categorization

• XREF: The Voltaire lineage of the Muslim-as-fanatic trope echoes the older orientalist framing central to critical Muslim studies critiques of Islamophobia definitions. — connects to: Anti-Muslim rhetoric was founded in the Middle Ages and persists into today; French Islamophobia is shaped by Islamic conquest history resting at the present’s doorstep.; Islam has been framed by passion, prejudice, and political interests since the Middle Ages — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 699 (+2 more)
• SHARE: A fellow historian of Islam in Europe would enjoy the Voltaire parallel tracing ‘fanatic’ synonymy back centuries.

Related

• Islamophobia gained massive discursive resonance in Europe within about a decade (similarity 0.80)
• Islamophobia has been present in Western discourse since the Middle Ages, when negative stereotypes about Muslims helped build support for the Crusades and rationalized European colonial domination. (similarity 0.79)
• Many historians trace the structural distortions of Islam represented by modern Islamophobia to medieval Europe, and aversive portrayals emerged nearly as early as Islam itself. (similarity 0.79)
• Anti-Muslim rhetoric was founded in the Middle Ages and persists into today (similarity 0.79)
• Anti-Islamic discourse in Europe was codified in absence of direct contact (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Anti-Muslim rhetoric was founded in the Middle Ages and persists into today #corroborates (0.90)
• Islam has been framed by passion, prejudice, and political interests since the Middle Ages #expands (0.85) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 699
• Contemporary meanings of Islam are framed by atavistic historical precedents #expands (0.80) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 756
• French Islamophobia is shaped by Islamic conquest history resting at the present’s doorstep. #corroborates (0.75)