Call for Papers: Islam, Political Islam, and Islamophobia (Bloomington, Indiana, 29-30 March 2013)

Islam, Political Islam, and Islamophobia: An International Conference
29 - 30 March 2013
Indiana University Bloomington

Muslims representing all strata of society throughout the world face an extraordinary degree of negative attention from both public and government eyes often resulting in discriminatory practices. These practices, born of stereotypical descriptions and definitions of “Islam” and “Muslims,” are connotative of the level of fear and hatred in many parts of the world when topics concerning this religion and its adherents arise. The upcoming conference will attempt to clarify this phenomenon by examining intersections between Islam, political Islam, Islamophobia, and human rights. How does Islamophobia resemble other forms of social prejudice, and in what ways does it differ? What is the political function of Islamophobia? To what degree and in what ways is Islamophobia fed by the actions of political Islam? To what degree does the politicization of Islam exacerbate the victimization of Muslims? To what degree do the militant operations of political Islam serve as an excuse for those who intend to legitimize and institutionalize prejudice against Muslims? To what degree is prejudice a result of ignorance or lack of understanding of Islam and its followers? This conference invites all scholars of relevant disciplines for an in-depth theoretical, analytical, conceptual, and historical examination of Islamophobia. Proposals showing signs of polemics, propaganda, conspiracy theories, binary dichotomies such as “Arabs vs. Jews,” “East vs. West,” “Muslims vs. Christians,” “Israelis vs. Palestinians,” and the like will be rejected. The medium of the conference will be English. However, a small number of papers in Turkish will also be considered due to the advanced instructional needs of Indiana University’s Turkish Language Program.

Brief proposals (approximately 250 words) along with CVs should be sent to: turk@indiana.edu

Deadline for proposals: 1 November 2012