The Politicization of Muslim Identity

Primarily, Mamdani shares a concern about the violence of the modern age and how it is rooted in the political agenda. 9/11 was an essential event in the history of the United States that led to the juxtaposition of “bad Muslims” with “good Muslims” in society (Mamdani 2005, 15). The politicization of Muslim identity in the US and the world is another issue influenced by constructing the primitive bias about Islam in society. Thus, according to the “Culture talk,” each culture has a natural primitive core that explains it, and later it conditions the political climate in the masses (Mamdani 2005, 19). “Culture talk” is, in essence, a former trigger for the division of countries. The primary function of “Culture talk” is to focus on culture as a characteristic of the difference. Consequently, when applied to Islam, it creates a whole political category out of religion (Mamdani 2005, 23). Political Islam and the fundamentalism that stands behind it construct a shift in the current political field (Mamdani 2005, 36). Thus, “Culture talk” is what alters the meaning of Islam in a cultural and religious sense by making it a part of the political process.

The most profound Orientalist way of thinking is associated with the times of colonialism. British and French colonialists had to develop these abstract categories to understand the way locals think and then conquer their territory. The presence of the British Empire in India and France in Northern Africa are examples of European Orientalism (Palestine Diary 2013, 10:55). Colonial orientalism is more direct and is identified with an immediate physical presence of invaders. Hence, it is similar to the way Africans were seen as “incapable” of modernization by the one side of the “Culture Talk” narrative (Mamdani 2005, 18). The US example of orientalism concerning the Middle East and Islam is different since there was no occupation. As a result, American orientalism is more evasive, abstract, and politicized. Hence, it can be characterized the way radical Islam is seen as resistant to modernization by the distinguishing side of the “Culture Talk” of Mamdani.

References

Palestine Diary. 2013. “Edward Said on Orientalism.” YouTube video.

Mamdani, Mahmood. 2005. Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror.New York: Three Leaves Press.

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