The history outlined in this chapter also shows that “the West” has not uniformly harbored negative images of Islam. During moments of conflict, political elites mobilized Islamophobia as a means to advance their larger agendas, whether papal supremacy over Europe or the expansionist ambitions of Christian rulers. Islam-bashing has been a useful tool in power politics for a very long time.

XREF: Connects to SAID-style analysis of how discourse serves power interests.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 98