The clash-of-civilizations thesis converted political conflict into cultural racialization

Evidence

Bernard Lewis played a key role in adapting Orientalism to the United States. In an essay titled “The Roots of Muslim Rage” published in 1990, he explained anti-imperialist resistance by Muslims through the framework of the “clash of civilizations” in which political conflicts were displaced onto the realm of culture and religion. Political scientist Samuel Huntington, who has done much to popularize this notion, published an essay with this title in the journal Foreign Affairs and then the book The Clash of Civilizations. He argued that in the post–Cold War world, conflict would be driven by culture rather than politics between the seven or eight civilizations he named. He wrote, “Western ideas of individualism, liberalism, constitutionalism, human rights, equality, liberty, the rule of law, democracy, free markets, the separation of church and state, often have little resonance in Islamic societies.” Culture was both the basis of conflict and a mode of racializing Muslims. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 256 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Emphasizing essential cultural difference feeds the clash-of-civilizations frame — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 256; The clash-of-civilizations thesis displaced political conflicts onto culture; Culture served as a racializing mode that displaced politics onto religion — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 256 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The clash-of-civilizations thesis displaced political conflicts onto culture #expands (1.00)
• Culture served as a racializing mode that displaced politics onto religion #corroborates (0.88) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 256