Description: "In an insightful blend of feminist, critical race and post-colonial theory, Sunera Thobani examines how Islam has contributed to the formation of Western identity at critical points in history such as the Crusades, the Reconquista and the colonial period. More specifically, she explores how masculinity and femininity are formed at such pivotal junctures and what role feminism plays in the fight against 'radical' Islam. Engaging with leading thinkers and multi-disciplinary ideas, Thobani explores how the return of 'religion' has created the racial, gender and sexual politics by which Western society defines itself, and more specifically defines itself against Islam"--
Brief description: Sunera Thobani is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Her publications include Exalted Subjects (2007); Contesting Islam, Constructing Race and Sexuality (Bloomsbury Academic, 2020); and Coloniality and Racial (In)Justice in the University (2022). She is founding member of Researchers and Academics of Colour for Equity (RACE, 2001).
Review Quotes:
"A timely and urgently needed analysis of how the West has dehumanised the Other and what it needs to do to rethink and remake itself." --Ziauddin Sardar, author of Desperately Seeking Paradise and Mecca: The Sacred City
"Contesting Islam, Constructing Race and Sexuality provides a groundbreaking critique of the relationship between race and religion, revealing a striking parallel between the western logics of imperialism and anti-imperialism. Thobani's critique weaves together a brilliant analysis of gender and sexuality in relation to the various histories and politics and Islam and Muslims. This book will transform the way scholars and activists think about some of the most urgent issues of our times." --Nadine Naber, Professor of Gender and Women's Studies and Global Asian Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA "In this rich analysis, Thobani explains how Islam and the Muslims have been immensely central to the making of the West in various historical junctures. The book goes beyond the modern era by covering a longue durée from the middle ages to our contemporary years ... Thobani's book will be a valuable critical piece for introducing concepts of gender and sexuality to studies of race and religion nexus in relations of West and Islam." --Ethnic and Racial Studies