Imperial officials generated Islamophobic generalizations that traveled far beyond their local experience.

Evidence

Although the experience of such officials with Muslims might be restricted to one region, others might extrapolate it to reflect on other or all Muslims. For instance, as the twentieth century opened, American James L. Barton prefaced his Daybreak in Turkey with a quote from Lord Cromer, the acerbic British agent and consul-general who served in Egypt for 24 years following duty in India. 11 Although many imperial officials and even many missionaries had a more nuanced view of Islam tempered by their direct experience of Muslim cultures, few attempted to dispel the popular perception regarding Islam’s threat. — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 113

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the earlier point of how authority attached to personal imperial experience let localized views stand in for Islam generally.