A Foucauldian Theory of American Islamophobia

A Foucauldian Theory of American Islamophobia

With the emergence of ISIS andAmerican public furor over allowing Syrian refugees safe haven, Muslim Americans find themselves once again in the cross-hairs of a nation obsessed with searching for answers and someone to blame. I argue that the premise behind American anti-Muslim sentiment is rooted...

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Main Author: Sriram, Shyam K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Department of Theology and Philosophy, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2016
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11022/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11022/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11022/1/IJIT-Vol-10-Dec-2016_5_47-54.pdf
id ukm-11022
recordtype eprints
spelling ukm-110222017-11-24T08:45:17Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11022/ A Foucauldian Theory of American Islamophobia Sriram, Shyam K. With the emergence of ISIS andAmerican public furor over allowing Syrian refugees safe haven, Muslim Americans find themselves once again in the cross-hairs of a nation obsessed with searching for answers and someone to blame. I argue that the premise behind American anti-Muslim sentiment is rooted in two of Michel Foucault’s concepts -“biopower” and “pastoral power.” This article is divided in two halves. In the first, I argue that American nationalism is articulated in a unique way, particularly through “pastoral power.” In conjunction with an “imagined” American nationhood (Anderson 1983), it has created a state that is often viewed as secular, but is quite Christian ideologically and structurally. Drawing on Göle (1996), I surmise that the Western “culture of confession,” an extension of pastoral power, is incompatible with Islam – or at least is viewed as such. In the second half, I present my main argument towards a new understanding of Foucault’s (1990) biopower in the context of the sovereign and its ability to designate who is “sacred,” a la Agamben (1998). I suggest that a new evaluation of Agamben (1998) should be undertaken to account for the renewed racialization of and discrimination towards American Muslims. Department of Theology and Philosophy, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2016-12 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11022/1/IJIT-Vol-10-Dec-2016_5_47-54.pdf Sriram, Shyam K. (2016) A Foucauldian Theory of American Islamophobia. International Journal of Islamic Thought ( IJIT ), 10 . pp. 47-54. ISSN 2232-1314 http://www.ukm.my/ijit/volume-10-dec-2016/
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Local University
institution Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
language English
description With the emergence of ISIS andAmerican public furor over allowing Syrian refugees safe haven, Muslim Americans find themselves once again in the cross-hairs of a nation obsessed with searching for answers and someone to blame. I argue that the premise behind American anti-Muslim sentiment is rooted in two of Michel Foucault’s concepts -“biopower” and “pastoral power.” This article is divided in two halves. In the first, I argue that American nationalism is articulated in a unique way, particularly through “pastoral power.” In conjunction with an “imagined” American nationhood (Anderson 1983), it has created a state that is often viewed as secular, but is quite Christian ideologically and structurally. Drawing on Göle (1996), I surmise that the Western “culture of confession,” an extension of pastoral power, is incompatible with Islam – or at least is viewed as such. In the second half, I present my main argument towards a new understanding of Foucault’s (1990) biopower in the context of the sovereign and its ability to designate who is “sacred,” a la Agamben (1998). I suggest that a new evaluation of Agamben (1998) should be undertaken to account for the renewed racialization of and discrimination towards American Muslims.
format Article
author Sriram, Shyam K.
spellingShingle Sriram, Shyam K.
A Foucauldian Theory of American Islamophobia
author_facet Sriram, Shyam K.
author_sort Sriram, Shyam K.
title A Foucauldian Theory of American Islamophobia
title_short A Foucauldian Theory of American Islamophobia
title_full A Foucauldian Theory of American Islamophobia
title_fullStr A Foucauldian Theory of American Islamophobia
title_full_unstemmed A Foucauldian Theory of American Islamophobia
title_sort foucauldian theory of american islamophobia
publisher Department of Theology and Philosophy, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate 2016
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11022/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11022/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11022/1/IJIT-Vol-10-Dec-2016_5_47-54.pdf
first_indexed 2023-09-18T19:59:07Z
last_indexed 2023-09-18T19:59:07Z
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