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Keywords

Clash of Civilizations, Islamophobia, Orientalism, Islamism

Abstract

Both the practice and study of Islamophobia repose on the concept of comparative civilizations. Purveyors of Islamophobia use what Roger Westcott calls a “denotative” understanding to posit an objective conflict (or “clash” à la Samual Huntington) between Western and Islamic civilizations. Scholars who analyze Islamophobia tend to take what Westcott calls a “connotative” approach that views civilizations as subjective, social constructs (à la Edward Said’s “Orient”).

Despite many advantages, the latter approach tends to dismiss the agency of Muslims to resist Islamophobia. This article counters that trend by exploring Islamist resistance to Islamophobia, to which we give the shorthand label, “Westophobia.” To theorize resistance, we draw on the theory of central and peripheral domains articulated by Wael Hallaq in Restating Orientalism. To operationalize Hallaq’s theory for empirical analysis, we advance the hypothesis of reverse othering, whereby Westophobes reverse or invert negative Islamophobic stereotypes of Muslims. We document reverse othering through content analysis of selected social media posts, detailed in the section on methodology.

While generating significant opposition to Islamophobia, Westophobic discourse remains locked in the binary, hyperbolic, essentializing presuppositions and strategies of Islamophobic discourse, according to which all Muslims differ from all non-Muslims in existentially threatening ways. Through a series of in-person interviews conducted in 2024, we find more meaningful resistance among people with extensive intercultural experience.

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