Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear Oakland, California, University California Press, 2018

Abstract

The purpose of this book, according to the author, is to provide general readers, students, and activists with a comprehensible introduction to Islamophobia. With this publication, Beydoun attempts to shed light on the phenomenon which has an international cluster of terms and phrases that include “anti-Muslim prejudice”, “anti-Muslim bigotry”, “intolerance against Muslims”, “demonization of Islam”, and “Muslimophobia”. As a Muslim American law professor and a civil right activist, the writer hopes to give his readers a different perspective on Islamophobia. He bases his speculations on the chronological explanations of attitudes of American people due to certain events; discusses various court cases on granting American citizenship to Muslims; and discusses newspaper and TV news headlines as well as his own life experience. Last but not least, the author attempts to connect the old system of intolerance against Muslims to current policies and rival ideologies.