The Orientalists who helped shape this strategy were convinced that the secular ideologies of nationalism and communism would hold little weight in the "Muslim world." At a conference organized and sponsored by the government at Princeton University in 1953, Orientalists, policymakers, and various native informants concluded that the United States must use religion to win hearts and minds, ignoring the popularity of secular nationalist movements. US propaganda efforts at the time thus emphasized the Christian and religious roots of American culture in contrast to the godlessness of the USSR. The National Security Council reasoned in 1952 that the "three monotheistic religions in the area have in common a repugnance to the atheism of communist doctrine and this factor could become an important asset in promoting Western objectives in the area."

XREF: Connects to broader literature on Cold War religious diplomacy and US-Middle East policy history.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 226