Muslims’ perceived inferiority in Spain tracked the geopolitical power of Muslim states
Evidence
Kumar is not a Critical Race Theorist like myself, but race is central to her argument and analysis. She writes, “My key argument is that notions of race and Muslims as inferior beings could come to the fore in a context where European nations were in a position to actually challenge and eventually dominate once-powerful Muslim empires” (p. 20), evoking the modernity of Islamophobia and its roots in longstanding Crusades-era narratives (which in part inspired the title of my book). Kumar’s book is a foundational interdisciplinary academic text, steeped in her area of research, media studies. It remains the most important text on Islamophobia as a transnational project, leveraged to advance American empire, today. — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 1826 (
#expands, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Geopolitical leverage and economic value delayed Muslim persecution in Spain. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 120; Muslims were viewed as inferior when Muslim states were weak, not when strong; European superiority over Muslim empires enabled racial notions of Muslim inferiority — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 1826 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Muslims were viewed as inferior when Muslim states were weak, not when strong
#corroborates(0.95) - Perceived Ottoman power positioned moriscos between inferiority and superiority
#corroborates(0.90) - European superiority over Muslim empires enabled racial notions of Muslim inferiority
#expands(0.85) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 1826 - Geopolitical and economic utility, not religion, drove discrimination against Muslims
#qualifies(0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 120 - Geopolitical ties to Muslim states shielded Spanish Muslims from Jews’ harsher treatment.
#expands(0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 132