Iran’s 1979 revolution redirected US fear from secular nationalism to Islamism

Evidence

Not only was the Shah—a key pillar in US policy in the region—defeated, but fifty-two Americans were taken hostage for 444 days. This was a blow to US hegemony in the region, and soon the terms “terrorist,” “fanatic,” and “extremist,” which earlier had been used to describe secular nationalism, were projected onto Islamism. Khomeini came to symbolize all things evil and irrational. As Fawaz Gerges writes, it “was under the impact of the Iranian revolution, then, that Islamism replaced secular nationalism as a security threat to US interests, and fear of a clash between Islam and the West crystallized in the minds of Americans.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 246

Categorization

• XREF: This is the pivotal causal hinge in Kumar’s master narrative — the fear vocabulary that had labeled Nasserite nationalism got transferred onto Islamism. Connects to Rana’s work on how racialized threat categories get repurposed across eras. — connects to: The 1979 Iranian revolution and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan triggered the Middle East buildup; Iran’s 1979 events made Islamism the coming Green Menace for the US. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 254; Iran hostage crisis coverage monetized the fear of an encroaching Muslim threat. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 250 (+15 more)
• QUESTION: Worth noting the exact terminological transfer — the same words (‘terrorist, fanatic, extremist’) were redeployed, which could anchor a lexical-analysis subthread.

Broader Connections

• Political Islam’s rise depended on the collapse of secular nationalism #corroborates (0.70) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 312
• Islamism rose from secular nationalist failure, left weakness, and economic crises #corroborates (0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 323
• The image of Muslims shifted with military threat, not with religion per se #complicates (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 95
• Arab regimes in the 1970s deliberately backed Islamists against secular nationalists and the left #expands (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 372
• Postwar Muslim-majority nations embraced secular nationalism, contra Orientalist claims #corroborates (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 310
• US hostility to Islamism depended on whether it served US interests #expands (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 233