The new Muslim enemy was now seen as part of Europe rather than as an outsider. The threat it posed to its neighbors was seen not as a religious one; rather, it was the threat represented by a powerful, arguably the most powerful, European state. Indeed, the Turks were by and large considered to be ethnically European. One theory suggested that they were, like the French and the Italians, descendants of the Trojans.

DEFINE: A theory traced Turkish origins to the Trojans, framing them as European descendants alongside French and Italians.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 78