Contesting Islam, Constructing Race and Sexuality: The Inordinate Desire of the West

Description

The current political standoff between America and Iran and the civil wars in Syria and Yemen illustrate that the interaction between so-called Western and Middle Eastern civilizations is constantly in flux. A recurring theme however is how Islam and Muslims signify the ‘Other’ in the Western socio-cultural imagination and have become the standard against which the West identifies itself, particularly during the so-called ‘War on Terror’. In a unique and insightful blend of feminist, critical race and post-colonial theory, SuneraThobani examines how Islam has contributed to the formation of Western identity at critical points in history such as the Crusades, the Reconquista and the colonial period. More specifically, she explores how masculinity and femininity are formed at such pivotal junctures and what role feminism has to play in the fight against ‘radical’ Islam. Cleverly exposing their symbiotic relationship, Thobani writes of how the return of ‘religion’ has created the racial, gender and sexual politics by which Western society defines itself and more specifically defines itself against Islam. Engaging with leading thinkers and multi-disciplinary ideas, she has written an essential text for students of critical theory, religion, history and politics Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgements Introduction The Phobogenic object The intimacy of terror, the power of desire Chapter 1: The in/human subject Unlawful enemy combatant The death-dealing subject Oriental inscriptions, secular erasures Islam/ic matters Judeo-Christian secularity: The highest stage of religion? The erotics of terror Chapter 2: Western constitutions: Religion, race and coloniality Western/izing onto-epistemologies The race of religion From Christian theology to Western philosophy Chapter 3: Sex/uality in the Islamic Orient Sexuality, terror, imperialism Primal scenes: Subjects of sex, objects of perversion The religion of sex The religion of gender Feminist desire in the Orient Chapter 4: Feminism at war Feminists fight the global terror Imperialism as precariousness Sexual terrorism and gender apartheid Secular critique: Feminist derailment of dissent Chapter 5: Remaking the West: Sovereignty, whiteness and the Judeo-Christian Europe’s enmities, Europe’s friends The Jew, the Muslim: The religio-racial politics of the camp The Judeo-Christian: Making friendship, remaking enmity Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Bibliography Index