In his book, Occidentalism, Ian Buruma shows that the dehumanising picture of the West painted by its enemies is not a new phenomenon, though it cannot be attributed solely to either the right or left, nor to an Islamic source.

Buruma discussed with authors Ziauddin Sardar and Jon Ronson how these longstanding stereotypes fuel the hatred at the heart of movements such as Al Qaeda. They also explored the links between anti-American, anti- Western and antisemitic ideas.