Some volumes more than echo past perspectives: Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross (1993, 2006), for instance, begins by citing Zwemer. This book’s goal of providing Christians with counterarguments to Islamic beliefs—“preparing you with strong apologetic answers” 89 —reflects how the perpetuation of Islamophobia often represents more of an effort to positively define those making the allegations than accurately describe Muslims or Islam.

SEED: Could become an essay about how polemical writing functions as identity construction rather than accurate description — applicable far beyond religious apologetics.

Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ Th…, loc. 177