Orientalism is the vehicle through which the symbols and images generated by these various ideologies are delivered and through which the ludicrous is rendered believable. Orientalism did not invent Muslim monsters, but it helps to sustain their authenticity through an ideological system in which anything—orgasmic harems, flying carpets, fantastic and magical creatures—is possible.

DEFINE: Clarifies how Orientalism functions as a delivery vehicle that renders the ludicrous believable within an ideological system.

Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imag…, loc. 40