The representation of September 11th and American Islamophobia in non-Western cinema

Abstract

This article investigates the way some non-Western films viewed the 9/11 attack and the impact it generated on the lives of Muslims living in the West and in their own homelands. Six films from India, Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt are studied. The results show that they all demonstrate how Eastern and Western cultures share similar principles and aspirations. Similar to Fred Halliday’s claim on the myth of a ‘shared Muslim identity’, the films assert that Islam is not the same across all Muslim countries. The 9/11 events are used as a background for delving into the problematic issue of militant Islam in various local contexts that differ from one country to another, stressing that it is of significant domestic concern. All the films focus on the high degree of fear that Muslims living in the West felt after 11th September and emphasize that Islam cannot be equated with terrorism as ignorance and political interests rather than religious or cultural differences are the main causes of discord.