Moderate-sounding exiled writers gain media access and reinforce anti-Muslim racism

Evidence

Now domiciled in the United States, Azar Nafisi and Khaled Hosseini can be read as the kind of “native informer” Hamid Dabashi identifies as crucial to the self-justification of neoimperialism. Dabashi says of such writers: “Faced with the Islamophobic conditions of their new homes, they have learnt the art of simultaneously acknowledging and denying their Muslim origins. They speak English with an accent that confirms their authenticity to their white interlocutors.” Dabashi’s polemic captures the way in which books such as Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Kite Runner peddle images that find a ready audience in the contemporary West. However, I wish to go further and consider how the texts’ formal ambiguities undercut their otherwise selective and simplistic worldviews. — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 215 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Harris and Ali were eloquent, and their analysis was clear and accessible. This, along with their liberal sensibilities, wooed massive audiences from the political left and center. I could understand, listening to their discussion, why they were so effective in reeling in legions of listeners from across the political spectrum. — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 314 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Anti-racist Muslim American writing draws censorship while imperial apologia is celebrated — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 703; Neocon institutions recruited even a disgraced exile as an Islam-critical voice — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 702; Non-Muslim Middle Eastern voices like Brigitte Gabriel legitimize anti-Muslim racism (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Diasporic Muslim writers can deploy their accented authenticity to serve neoimperial narratives #corroborates (0.88) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 215
• The native-informer dynamic lets writers simultaneously acknowledge and deny their Muslim origins #expands (0.85)
• Liberal framing and accessibility make Islamophobic punditry persuasive across the spectrum #expands (0.80) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 314
• A publishing market selects and rewards fiction that rehearses existing Muslim stereotypes #expands (0.75)