Islamophobic discourse functions as spectacle that manufactures fear for political ends

Evidence

Discourses that are hostile to Islam and Muslims, like Islamophobia, can be seen as political spectacles (Latif 2024a, b, c, d, e, f; Bectovic 2011). The viewers’ psychological distance symptoms are evoked and reinforced by these plays. Fear and worry are elicited by the writer’s dramaticization of topics in order to achieve political goals and shape public opinion (Matthes et al. 2019). — Muhammad Asad Latif, The Identity of Religion Always Comes Up, 23

Categorization

• SEED: Essay angle: how outrage media stages anti-Muslim ‘spectacles’ the same way it stages crime panics.
• XREF: Connects to DeLillo’s White Noise on mediated fear and disaster as a consumable product.