The Muslim-monster

A conceptual figure or rhetorical tradition in which Muslim people are represented as monstrous, dehumanized beings—ranging from medieval depictions like bestial cynocephali to modern Gothic villain archetypes—that predates and is distinct from contemporary political Islamophobia. It functions as a cultural imagination or fantasy used to justify atrocities such as those at Abu Ghraib.

Claims that use this term

• The Muslim-monster fantasy only partially explains Abu Ghraib’s atrocities
• The Muslim-monster tradition predates and differs from political Islamophobia
• The Muslim-monster figure spans from bestial cynocephali to necrophiliac Gothic villains.