{"id":{"repo_id":"wfu","oai_identifier":"oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/39279"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wfu/oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/39279","repository":{"repo_id":"wfu","name":"Wake Forest University","base_url":"https://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Dispensationalism, Islamophobia, and the Mass Media in America","abstract":"This thesis argues that Christian dispensationalist theology has played a major role in promoting and sustaining the anti-Islam discourse, often referred to as Islamophobia, in the media and among the mainstream American populace. Islamophobia is best understood as an othering discourse which creates a stark \"us/them\" dichotomy in which Muslims represent \"them.\" Othering is also a major component of Christian dispensationalism since it too produces an extreme dualistic worldview. Dispensationalists typically read current geo-political events into the Bible aiming to identify a group of people or region from which the Antichrist and his allies will emerge, thus providing the primary \"other.\" The attacks of 9/11 have served as a catalyst in shifting the focus from the Soviet Union and communism to Islam and the Middle East. Since 9/11, dispensationalists have established themselves as credible \"experts\" and \"insiders\" in the media and have subsequently been instrumental in promoting anti-Islam ideology. This study examines the ways in which this has been accomplished.","abstract_html":"This thesis argues that Christian dispensationalist theology has played a major role in promoting and sustaining the anti-Islam discourse, often referred to as Islamophobia, in the media and among the mainstream American populace. Islamophobia is best understood as an othering discourse which creates a stark "us/them" dichotomy in which Muslims represent "them." Othering is also a major component of Christian dispensationalism since it too produces an extreme dualistic worldview. Dispensationalists typically read current geo-political events into the Bible aiming to identify a group of people or region from which the Antichrist and his allies will emerge, thus providing the primary "other." The attacks of 9/11 have served as a catalyst in shifting the focus from the Soviet Union and communism to Islam and the Middle East. Since 9/11, dispensationalists have established themselves as credible "experts" and "insiders" in the media and have subsequently been instrumental in promoting anti-Islam ideology. This study examines the ways in which this has been accomplished.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Smith, Christopher Cameron"],"institution":"Wake Forest University","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014","date_published":"2014","updated_at":"2026-07-27T22:01:46Z","subjects":["anti-Islam"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10339/39279","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Smith, Christopher Cameron"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-07-10T08:35:33Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-10-31"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2014"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Wake Forest University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["anti-Islam"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10339/39279"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis argues that Christian dispensationalist theology has played a major role in promoting and sustaining the anti-Islam discourse, often referred to as Islamophobia, in the media and among the mainstream American populace. Islamophobia is best understood as an othering discourse which creates a stark \"us/them\" dichotomy in which Muslims represent \"them.\" Othering is also a major component of Christian dispensationalism since it too produces an extreme dualistic worldview. Dispensationalists typically read current geo-political events into the Bible aiming to identify a group of people or region from which the Antichrist and his allies will emerge, thus providing the primary \"other.\" The attacks of 9/11 have served as a catalyst in shifting the focus from the Soviet Union and communism to Islam and the Middle East. Since 9/11, dispensationalists have established themselves as credible \"experts\" and \"insiders\" in the media and have subsequently been instrumental in promoting anti-Islam ideology. This study examines the ways in which this has been accomplished."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Dispensationalism, Islamophobia, and the Mass Media in America"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Smith, Christopher Cameron"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-07-10T08:35:33Z"],"dc:date.available":["2018-10-31"],"dc:date.issued":["2014"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis argues that Christian dispensationalist theology has played a major role in promoting and sustaining the anti-Islam discourse, often referred to as Islamophobia, in the media and among the mainstream American populace. Islamophobia is best understood as an othering discourse which creates a stark \"us/them\" dichotomy in which Muslims represent \"them.\" Othering is also a major component of Christian dispensationalism since it too produces an extreme dualistic worldview. Dispensationalists typically read current geo-political events into the Bible aiming to identify a group of people or region from which the Antichrist and his allies will emerge, thus providing the primary \"other.\" The attacks of 9/11 have served as a catalyst in shifting the focus from the Soviet Union and communism to Islam and the Middle East. Since 9/11, dispensationalists have established themselves as credible \"experts\" and \"insiders\" in the media and have subsequently been instrumental in promoting anti-Islam ideology. This study examines the ways in which this has been accomplished."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10339/39279"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Wake Forest University"],"dc:subject":["anti-Islam"],"dc:title":["Dispensationalism, Islamophobia, and the Mass Media in America"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T22:01:46Z"}