Salman Sayyid

Este archivo solo abarca los artículos del autor incorporados a este sitio a partir del 1 de diciembre de 2006. Para fechas anteriores realice una búsqueda entrecomillando su nombre.

Egyptian soldiers stand guard near the presidential palace in Cairo in July 2013. At the time, thousands of protesters were holding rallies across Egypt to demand the reinstatement of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. (Khalil Hamra/Associated Press)

Why did the sales of the Koran in the United States rise in the days after 9/11? It was because it was assumed by many that by reading the Koran, they would understand Islam, and that by understanding Islam they would understand Muslims, and if they understood Muslims, they would understand why the World Trade Center towers were brought down, why the Pentagon was attacked and why nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives.

This set of assumptions and many like them are derived from Orientalism, a stereotyped connection between Muslims and irrational violence. Outside the picture that Orientalism paints, there is no necessary relationship between the links in this chain of assumptions: The Koran will not tell you why 9/11 happened, nor can Islam, nor will Muslims as a whole.…  Seguir leyendo »