The Iran hostage crisis conflated Arab, Muslim, and Middle Eastern identities.

Evidence

Coverage of the Persian Gulf War bolstered the modern image of the menacing Arab, synonymous with Muslim, in the mind of the American viewer. The Iranians at the center of the hostage crisis were not Arab, and the Iranian government the United States tapped as the embodiment of Islamic fundamentalism was a Shiite-controlled state, whereas Hussein himself was a secular Sunni Muslim. But these distinctions were unimportant to most Americans, who conflated Iranian with Arab and had no clue what Sunni or Shiite meant. Saddam Hussein, whom the news media focused on by way of special reports, vignettes, and documentaries, succeeded his old foe, the Ayatollah Khomeini, in becoming the new embodiment of Muslim terror. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 254 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Arab and South Asian identities have been conflated with Islam — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 173; Iran hostage crisis coverage monetized the fear of an encroaching Muslim threat. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 250; Iranians were legally white but socially browned after the hostage crisis — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian…, 118 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• American media conflated Iranians, Arabs, Sunnis, and Shiites into one Muslim menace. #corroborates (0.95) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 254