Islamophilia constructs an idealized Muslim that harms rather than helps.

Evidence

Andrew Shryock has a name for countering the Islamophobic image of “bad Muslims” with “good Muslims”—Islamophilia. Critics of Islamophobia who are prone to Islamophilia are sometimes desperate to construct the perfect, acceptable Muslim. The model Muslim is one who espouses nonviolence, is highly educated, embraces gender equality, believes firmly in democracy, and participates actively in interfaith dialogue. Shyrock reminds us that this is not only wishful thinking but also a harmful construct that both neglects diversity within Islam and attempts to force Muslims to conform to a Western ideal that, in turn, can be manipulated by non-Muslims for political purposes. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 85

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces Shryock’s term ‘Islamophilia’ as the mirror-image failure — a key concept for the reader’s taxonomy.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in where religion-distinguishing becomes people-distinguishing: a forced conformity to a Western ideal. — connects to: Islamophilia and Islamophobia share assumptions that equally harm Muslim inclusion; The flip-side image of Muslim-as-friend is equally coercive and nuance-blind as enmity; Islamophobia and Islamophilia share assumptions that produce the same political effects

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia and Islamophilia share assumptions that produce the same political effects #corroborates (0.85)
• Islamophilia and Islamophobia share assumptions that equally harm Muslim inclusion #corroborates (0.80)
• The flip-side image of Muslim-as-friend is equally coercive and nuance-blind as enmity #corroborates (0.75)