I want to change the question from “Why do they hate us?” and ask instead, “Why do we fear them?” This requires an examination of the ways in which Islam was first constructed, and the ways in which these early characters established a fantasy that has been difficult to let go of.

QUESTION: This reframing suggests a deeper investigation into how early constructions of Islam persist in shaping present-day perception.

Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imag…, loc. 39