The notion of a dichotomy or even an antagonism between “the West” and “the Orient” has a long history. However, after 9/11 it became dominant in shaping contemporary political debates and the perception of global power structures both in the media and in the cultural field. Since then, media representations, political debates and academic work on 9/11 and its repercussions are characterized by their focus on Muslims and Islam which – even if connected to a well-meaning awareness for stereotyping and discrimination – excludes a range of issues and leaves blank spaces.

The decade following 2001 has been shaped by a paradigm shift: immigrants in Western European countries were increasingly perceived and debated as Muslims. The trend to discuss immigrants as Muslims has been followed also by a shift from xenophobia to anti-Muslim sentiments, as has been documented by a set of quantitative studies. Even in North America, Australia and New Zealand, where Muslims are far from making up a large part of the immigrant population, a new awareness has been given to Muslim residents. However, 9/11 is merely strengthening this shift in perception and serves as a subsequent legitimation. For Western Europe, at least, this new awareness has been described before 2000.