Editorial

Have the tragic events of 9/11 resulted in a profound change in the inter-
actions between the Muslim world and the West, or has the carnage sim-
ply accelerated an already present trend of strained relations? It is too early
to know, but when historians begin looking back, they will likely find evi-
dence to support both assertions. With the introduction of the USA
PATRIOT Act, which allows the government unprecedented opportunities
to spy on people, greatly infringing upon their civil liberties, the treatment
of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, racial profiling, and the harassment
and deportation of Muslims residing in the country, the Bush administra-
tion appears to be leading the “free world” into a new variant of right-wing
authoritarian government.

On the other hand, the American occupation of Iraq and the Bush
administration’s plans to reshape the Middle East bear an uncanny resem-
blance to a policy paper published in 1996 by an Israeli think-tank, the
Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies: “A Clear Break: A
New Strategy for Securing the Realm.” Of course the symmetry between
the 1996 proposals (i.e., remove Saddam Hussein and weaken Syria and
Iran) and the current policies are no surprise, since three of the eight co-
authors now hold key Bush administration positions: Richard Perle, mem-
ber of the Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board; Douglas Feith, undersecretary
of defense for policy; and David Wurmser, Vice President Dick Cheney’s
Middle East advisor. Thus, 9/11 has simply given the neo-conservatives an
excuse and the ability to execute what had already been envisaged. The
Middle East, long under colonial subjugation, is re-experiencing western
aims to dominate, control, and reshape it. Thus, from a Muslim perspective,
9/11 appears to have confirmed, with a vengeance, global power structures
instead of ushering in a new era.

In Covering Islam, published by the late Edward Said in 1981, Said
observed: “For almost every Muslim, the mere assertion of an Islamic
identity becomes an act of nearly cosmic defiance and a necessity for sur-
vival (p. 72).” Though written more than 20 years ago, how more true is
this observation now? Even the simple act of naming a child (especially
boys) is fraught with difficulties. Many of the best-loved Muslim names,



such as Osama, Abdur-Rahman, and even Muhammad, now carry negative
connotations in the West. How many faith communities have to worry that
their children will face ridicule in school or job discrimination simply
because of their name? The mere fact of being a Muslim in the West, while
always problematic, has now become even more so.

As this volume of AJISS attests, even academic scholarship cannot
escape the snare of this negative relationship between the Muslim world
and the West. Choudhury addresses the issue head on in his article on “The
Politics of Symbols and the Symbolization of 9/11.” He analyses three dif-
ferent issues related to the symbolism of 9/11. Choudhury convincingly
argues that while Bush and others may reiterate that their target is terror-
ism and not Islam, the politics of symbols reveal that the very meaning of
Islam is at stake.

O’Shea-Meddour examines this negative relationship via a close textu-
al rereading of V. S. Naipual, one of the prominent non-Muslim “experts”
on the Muslim world. She highlights an anti-Muslim subtheme in his non-
fictional accounts of contemporary Muslim life, which consists of using
gothic techniques to heap unwarranted suspicions upon Muslims’ motives
and rationality. She thus reminds us of the continuity and ubiquity of
racist/Orientalist views of Muslims in western popular culture and the
rather disturbing way in which westerners so readily accept such negative
portrayals of Muslims as true. 

Ho Wai-Yip, whose article is based upon a longer paper that won the
Best Graduate Student Paper Award at the last AMSS Annual Conference,
held September 26-28, 2003, in Bloomington, IN, highlights the life expe-
riences of two Muslim brothers originally from Hong Kong, one of whom
emigrates to Britain, while the other chooses to stay in Hong Kong. Based
on a qualitative research methodology, Ho’s analysis of these two brothers’
life histories allows him to explore the trajectories of a group of Muslims
that receive very little attention – those with a Southeast Asian background.
The two brothers’ experiences of exclusion, alienation, and isolation from
the mainstream non-Muslim societies in which they live are not unique to
them; rather, they are representative of their community. Therefore, Ho’s
article lends credence to the notion that 9/11 has not altered dramatically
the landscape for Muslims; but rather, merely exacerbated already-present
trends.

Even Roberto Marín-Guzmán’s article about Muslim rule in al-
Andalus from 711-929, though not intending to be related, cannot escape
being relevant to this largely negative contemporary debate that I have

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outlined. Against the notion pushed by the neo-conservatives in the U.S.,
that Islam is a backward, destructive, and anti-civilizational force, Marín-
Guzmán's analysis of the unity behind the major political, military, and
administrative institutions of Muslim Spain shows otherwise. Marín-
Guzmán argues that confronted with diverse societies with different his-
tories and peoples, Muslim rulers established similar institutions in both
al-Mashriq and al-Andalus. These similarities enabled centuries of effi-
cient governance. Al-Andalus is known for being a society in which
Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in relative harmony and prosperity,
and stands as a clear refutation of contemporary assertions that Muslims
are incapable of creating good societies. History thus reminds us that
while Muslim societies are currently in a state of malaise, beleaguered by
corruption, mismanagement, poverty, and violence, this is not an inherent
(genetic) trait of Muslims or of their faith.

In the last issue of AJISS, I announced that budgetary constraints had
forced us to go biannual rather than quarterly. In this issue, I am very
pleased to announce that that very temporary situation is now over, al-
hamdulillah. AJISS will once again be a quarterly journal. I would like
also to take this opportunity to welcome Dr. Jasmin Zine, who has
assumed the position of book review editor. Dr. Zine is a graduate of the
Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education at the Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto (OISE/UT). She
has coauthored two books (Reconstructing ‘Dropout’: A Critical
Ethnography of the Dynamics of Black Students’ Disengagement from
School [University of Toronto Press: 1997] and Removing the Margins:
The Challenges and Possibilities of Inclusive Schooling [Canadian
Scholars’ Press: 2000]), and a teacher’s guide dealing with anti-racism
education and inclusive schooling. She also has published articles in sev-
eral refereed journals based on her research of Muslims and education in
Canada and in the field of Muslim women’s studies. We welcome her to
the AJISS team. I know that book review editors are always looking for
reviewers, so if any reader is interested in writing a review for AJISS,
please contact her at jzine99@yahoo.com.

Keep an eye out for our special issue on Orientalism, Neo-
Orientalism and Islamophobia: Post-9/11. The call for papers was mailed
out with the last issue and has been posted on the Internet. We envisage a
fantastic volume due out in the fall, inshallah. 

AMSS’s 33rd Annual Conference will be cosponsored by George
Mason University’s Center for Global Studies (CGS) and Islamic Studies

Editorial iii



Program in Fairfax, Virginia, from September 24-26, 2004. The CGS is an
appropriate venue for this year’s conference, as it is a  new multidisciplinary
research center that was established recently to explore and emphasize the
interconnectedness of peoples, cultures, ideas, and institutions as the basis of
social life. Peter Mandaville, Ph.D., a professor in the Islamic studies pro-
gram and the CGS director, is this year’s conference chair. With his most
recent research on contemporary Muslim sociopolitical discourse, including
the book Transnational Muslim Politics: Reimagining the Umma,
Mandaville is well-placed to host this year’s conference.

I encourage everyone to submit abstracts and to attend the upcoming
AMSS conference, which, as always, will be a superb combination of
scholarly debate and fellowship.

Katherine Bullock

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