RELN2307 Islam: Representing Islam and Orientalism

Core Theories of Representation: Orientalism and Foucault

• Conceptualizing Orientalism: Orientalism is a style of thought based on an ontological and epistemological distinction between ‘the Orient’ and ‘the Occident.’ It denotes an entire way of thinking based on the dichotomization of the Muslim world and the West as two fundamentally different civilizations. This framework posits that studying the East requires different methods than those used to study the West.
  • Ontology vs. Epistemology:
    • Ontological: Refers to the study of being. In Orientalism, it implies that the West and the Orient are fundamentally different types of entities or beings; the Orient is often represented as intrinsically different and usually inferior to the Western world.
    • Epistemological: Refers to the theory of knowledge. It suggests that the criteria and methods applied to understand the Orient are distinct from those applied to the self.
  • Michel Foucault on Discourse: Foucault rejected Enlightenment assumptions that scientific knowledge is purely objective. Instead, he argued that "Truth" is a matter of Discourse—a structured system of meaning that shapes what is perceived, thought, and done. Discourse is a "way of seeing" rather than a simple misrepresentation, as Foucault questioned the existence of a single, definitive Truth.
  • Power-Knowledge Relationship: Orientalism is a form of knowledge produced and perpetuated by specific power relations, particularly Western states and authoritative individuals. Meaning is created for Europeans and subsequently accepted as reality. There is no objectively existing "Orient"; it is a Western fabrication or artifact that allows for governance and colonialism.
  • Functions of Orientalism:
    • Western Identity: It serves as a collective notion identifying "us" Europeans/Westerners against "those" non-Europeans. It provides a mirror where the West sees itself as free, liberated, and civilized by portraying the other as oppressed, violent, and barbaric.
    • Essentializing the Other: It assumes the Orient is ontologically different in its very essence.
    • Justification of Domination: It produces a form of knowledge that authorizes and justifies the assertion of Western power over Arab and Muslim lands in Western Asia and North Africa.

Hollywood's Historical Portrayal of Muslims

• The "Planet of the Arabs" Tropes: Hollywood films from the $1980s$ and $1990s$ frequently utilized highly offensive and normalized tropes. Common themes include:
  • Violence and terrorism.
  • Uncivilized and barbaric behavior.
  • Hostility and aggression toward the United States.
  • The association of the phrase Allahu Akbar with menacing masculine bodies and terrorist violence, rather than its routine usage as an expression of gratitude.
• The "Terrorist" Typecast: Actor Ahmed Ahmed describes being repeatedly cast in roles as a terrorist (e.g., in Executive Decision and Roseanne) or evil military commanders (e.g., Steel Sharks) where lines were limited to threats made "in the name of Allah."
• Case Study: Homeland: The show Homeland illustrates implicit cognitive bias. The plot involving a white American military prisoner of war who converts to Islam relies on the viewers' inbuilt assumption that his conversion might lead to terrorism. The drama fails to function without this underlying social bias.
• Typecasting of British Asians: Riz Ahmed, known for Star Wars and Four Lions, has spoken about the struggle of being typecast in terrorist genres, though there has been a recent shift toward more diverse professional roles for British Asians.
• Representation of Women: Historical representations of Algerian women in $19th$ and early $20th$ century French postcards were often suggestive, representing European fantasies rather than reality. These portrayals require a critical awareness of the power configurations of colonialism and slavery.

Challenges and Critiques of Said’s Orientalism

• General Critiques: Some scholars view Edward Said's work as an "overzealous prosecutorial argument" or a polemic—a work intended to demolish a specific viewpoint rather than build a new scholarship.
• Destructive Nature: Critics argue Said is more interested in destroying the "old" way of studying the Middle East than providing a constructive alternative or "rebuilding the new."
• Scholarship Gaps: Said is accused of being "choosey" with his sources, focusing primarily on British and French Orientalists while ignoring German scholars who may have viewed the Orient more positively.
• Ontological Orientalism in Reverse: Sadiq Jalal al-Azm argues that Said’s critique can mirror the very essentialism it attacks—an "Occidentalism" that essentializes the West. Furthermore, Said is criticized for not accounting for how some Islamist groups construct their own hostile representations of the West.
• Bernard Lewis vs. Edward Said: There was no common ground between these two scholars. Lewis dismissed Orientalism as a "deep and evil conspiracy" theory and accused Said of reducing scholarship to "political polemic and personal abuse."
  • Lewis rejected the idea that Orientalist scholarship was shaped by political context, claiming it was a disciplined intellectual pursuit.
  • The $1986$ Lewis and Said debate is remembered as "good theatre" but failed to bridge their ideological divide.

The "Clash of Civilizations" and Political Discourse

• The Roots of Muslim Rage: In $1990$, Bernard Lewis argued that "Islamic fundamentalism" provides a form for the "aimless and formless resentment" of Muslim masses toward Western values that have supposedly devalued their beliefs and dignity.
• Samuel Huntington's Thesis ($1993$): Huntington proposed that after the Cold War (post-$1989$), the fundamental source of conflict would be cultural rather than ideological.
  • The Clash of Civilizations: Principal conflicts would occur between nations and groups of different civilizations.
  • Role of Religion: Huntington argued that civilizations are differentiated by history, language, and most importantly, religion. He claimed religions discriminate more sharply than ethnicity.
  • Fault Lines: He identified fault lines between Western Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, and Islam.
• Review of the Thesis: Critics, including Said, argue this paradigm further essentializes groups and creates civilizational "blocks" that promote further warfare and hostility.

Sociological Essentialism: The Legacy of Max Weber

• Western Uniqueness: Max Weber's handling of Islam was arguably predetermined by his concern for reconstructing the reasons for "Western uniqueness."
• The Protestant Ethic: Weber argued that Calvinism and the spirit of predestination sparked modern capitalism. Hard work and industry were seen as signs of being among the "lucky ones" reserved for heaven.
• Islam as the Inverse: In Weber's comparative religion projects, he characterized Islam as having an "extreme monotheism" and a "cyclical character" (boom and bust cycles).
• Salvatore’s Critique: Salvatore argues that Weber’s view entitled Western observers to define Islam as inept or the "inverse of civilizational processes." This sociological essentialism was a tool for Western self-understanding at the expense of denigrating Islam.

Media Representation and the Narrative of Radicalization

• Australian Media Study ($2017$): A study of five newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd (including The Australian, Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, Courier Mail, and The Advertiser) found:
  • $145$ front pages mentioned Islam during the year.
  • Nearly $3000$ articles referred to Islam or Muslims alongside words like "violence," "extremism," "terrorism," or "radical."
• The Framework of Radicalization: Radicalization has emerged as a dominant policing and governmental framework for understanding transitions to violence.
  • Kundanani (2012): Argues that "radicalization" is a politically saturated term directed specifically against Muslims.
  • UK Prevent Strategy: This counter-terrorism initiative, aimed at the "front lines" of the war on terror, saw local spending reach approximately £$420,000,000$ (roughly ‹$1$ billion Australian dollars).
  • Stigmatization: Approximately $80\%$ of referrals to counter-terrorism prevention hotlines often involve Muslims, reinforcing the view that they are the primary root of the problem.

Case Study: Hulu’s Ramy and the Nuance of American Muslim Life

• Disrupting the White Gaze: Tazeen Ali ($2025$) argues that Ramy disrupts dominant representations by focusing on ordinary Muslim life rather than national security or "saleable diversity."
• Saleable Diversity: A term used by Kyle Conway to describe how media producers downplay cultural and religious differences to make minority characters familiar to white, Judeo-Christian audiences.
• Reclaiming Allahu Akbar: Ramy Youssef used his $2020$ Golden Globe acceptance speech to say "Allahu Akbar," reclaiming the phrase from its violent media connotations.
• Rejection of Victimhood: Youssef refuses to center his art on Islamophobia or the "Muslim Ban," arguing that doing so would reduce Muslims to symbols of victimhood instead of three-dimensional individuals.
• Religiosity over Ethnicity: Unlike Aziz Ansari in Master of None or Kumail Nanjiani in The Big Sick, Ramy foregrounds Islam as a religious experience (ritual prayer/Salah, fasting) rather than just a racial marker.
• Disrupting the Idealized White Woman: Many Muslim-led productions portray white women as the ultimate romantic ideal and symbols of assimilation. Ramy disrupts this by:
  • Portraying Ramy's relationship with Chloe (a white Jewish woman) as emotionally unfulfilling and fraught with cultural tension.
  • Explicitly criticizing the idea that white women are the solution to Ramy's identity search, notably through friends Ahmed and Mo who urge him to find someone who "knows what you believe in."
• Insider Knowledge: The show includes specific terms like katb al-kitab (marriage ceremony) and nikah mut’ah (temporary marriage) without translating or explaining them for the white gaze.
• The "Covering" of Identity: Based on Shabana Mir's research, Ramy depicts the character "covering" or downplaying his sobriety (drinking a Coke at a bar) to avoid being singled out as "too different."

Cultural Concepts and Islamic Practices in Media

• Jum'ah (Friday Prayer): Includes a two-part sermon known as the khutbah. The imam uses this to offer guidance on living as a "true Muslim."
• The Ummah: Prayer in congregation is viewed as $27$ times superior to individual prayer, emphasizing the unity of the global Muslim community, regardless of race or wealth.
• Logistics at the Haram: The Grand Mosque in Makkah includes over $66$ departments to manage millions of pilgrims:
  • IT Department: Staff of over $100$ maintaining servers and mobile apps.
  • Library: Contains $30,000$ books and $200$ CDs; open $8:00$ AM to $10:00$ PM.
  • Maintenance: Responsible for electrical components, the air conditioning, and escalators.
  • Translation Services: Real-time translation of the khutbah into multiple languages and sign language for the deaf.
• Pilgrim Mentality: Pilgrims often carry the prayers (dua) of those unable to visit. A common phrase when meeting someone leaving for Makkah is, "Please remember me in your prayers."

Questions & Discussion

• Student Interaction: The lecturer noted the names of students present: Grace, Charlotte, Juan, Chen Yang, Zain (spelled Zain), Jack, Holly, Lynn, and Isaac.
• Conceptualizing Tradition: Following the previous week's discussion of Talal Asad and Alastair MacIntyre, students were reminded that tradition speaks to the past and future to inform the present, serving as a remedy against static, reductive views of Islam.
• In-Class Critique of Said:
  • Question (Isaac): Isaac defined "ontological" as things being fundamentally separate entities in terms of their "being."
  • Question (Unidentified Student): Asked if the critique Said applies to Orientalists could be applied to Said himself for essentializing the West.
  • Response: The lecturer agreed that Said wraps everything into a single "paradigm," which can be satisfying as a theory but lacks an "exit ramp" for the West to improve or revise itself. The lecturer noted that modern shows like Ramy break the very paradigm Said described in the $1980s$.
• Discussion on Jane Austen: The class discussed how the opulence in Austen's world (manor houses, balls) blossomed due to colonialism and the slave trade, noting there is always an underlying story of power configurations in how worlds are represented.