Prominent Muslim exiles were absorbed into neoconservative institutions to lend authority to clash-of-civilizations narratives.
Evidence
In constructing the prototype of the native informer in the following chapters, my only reason for having used some examples rather than others is that in the aftermath of the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq these figures emerged as the most publicly prominent voices among them. One might add quite a number of other figures to those I have examined in detail; Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Irshad Manji, Fouad Ajami, Salman Rushdie, and Kanan Makiya certainly deserve much more than the passing references I offer. But just about everything one might say about them is already present in what I say about the figures I do examine. To exhaust the supply would be impossible anyway, since they are increasing in number by the day (some of very low intellectual caliber, others with advanced degrees from great universities). These native informers are part of a much larger group of natives now serving the interests of America and its allies in various capacities—as translators and analysts in the military and the CIA, or FBI informers on Muslims in their communities, or members of think-tanks advising the US government. My intention, however, is to pinpoint the intellectual elite—the most publicly vocal, whose books and articles, TV, radio and internet appearances have been instrumental in manufacturing consent for the “war on terror”—which translates as old-fashioned imperialism with a moral vengeance. These native informers are vital in making the case for that moral vengeance in terms of human rights and especially women’s rights. — Hamid Dabashi, Brown Skin, White Masks, 120 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Neocon institutions recruited even a disgraced exile as an Islam-critical voice — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 702; Exiled Muslim intellectuals became key voices justifying the war on terror. — Hamid Dabashi, Brown Skin, White Masks, 120; Neoconservatives campaigned to replace the Soviet enemy with Islamism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 414 (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- Neocons recruit non-Western voices to delegitimize Muslim critiques of US policy
#corroborates(0.90) - Exiled Muslim intellectuals became key voices justifying the war on terror.
#corroborates(0.85) — Hamid Dabashi, Brown Skin, White Masks, 120 - Former Muslims validating anti-Muslim discourse claim insider authority.
#corroborates(0.85) - Neocon institutions recruited even a disgraced exile as an Islam-critical voice
#expands(0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 702 - Neoconservatives campaigned to replace the Soviet enemy with Islamism
#expands(0.75) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 414 - Muslim intellectuals themselves framed tensions with the West as civilizational conflict.
#qualifies(0.75) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 573 - Right-wing politicians stoked a clash-of-civilizations narrative that globally increased Islamophobia.
#expands(0.75) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 354