Stereotypes and fears of Muslims—adherents to the Islamic faith—have, as with stereotypes and fears of other peoples over the centuries, played a part in many Americans' support of an increased military role in the Middle East, including two major wars against Iraq.

Although most U.S. officials acknowledge that violence is not inherent to Islam, the idea that Muslims are a people continually involved in conflict and violence continues as a prevailing stereotype in the United States. However, over the centuries, Western countries have experienced far more warfare, instability, and intolerance than has the Muslim world, and there has traditionally been a marked preference by Muslims for order and non-violent solutions to conflicts.

Most conflicts in the Islamic world over the course of the twentieth century were not the result of anything inherent within the faith. Rather, conflict...