Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows how anti-Muslim racism plays a significant role in predominantly Muslim societies and participates in Muslim countries’ public policy, state ideology, elite/masse relations and media orientation. It presents a critical perspective on an underexposed topic whose importance is related to larger issues of international relations, emphasizing the crucial role played by colonial power up to the present day. The book proposes a distinct and historically focused notion of Islamophobia in Muslim majority societies. It explores the ways Islamophobia is manifested in the post-communist Albanian public discourse. The book traces the extent to which Albanian public intellectuals have utilized global Islamophobic paradigms, like Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations, the idea of ‘Islamofascism’ or the narrative of a ‘European Judeo-Christian identity’ to apply them to the Albanian context.