Abstract
Gözetim
sosyolojisi literatüründe özellikle 9/11 terör saldırıları sonrasında artış
gösteren çalışma konularının başında Müslümanlara yönelik artan gözetim
gelmektedir. Birçok çalışma ulusal güvenlik gerekçeleriyle artan gözetimin
özellikle Müslümanlara yöneldiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Artan gözetim Batı’da
yaşayan Müslümanların gündelik hayatlarını daha kaygılı geçirmelerine ve
ayrımcılığa uğramalarına neden olmaktadır. Bu durumun Batı ülkelerinde yaşan
Müslümanları ve oraya çeşitli nedenlerle seyahat eden Müslümanları etkilediği
bilinmektedir.
Batı’da
Müslümanlar özellikle havaalanları, alışveriş merkezleri, eğlence merkezleri
gibi kalabalık ortamlarda en “şüpheli” kişiler olarak görülmekte ve güvenlik
gerekçeleriyle gözetim özellikle Müslümanlara yöneltilmektedir. Müslümanlıkla
ilişkilendirilen kıyafet ve simgelerin taşıyıcılarının daha fazla “aranması”,
bu kişilere “dikkat edilmesi”, bu kişilerden daha fazla şüphenilmesi gerektiği
algısı yaygındır. Güvenlik güçleri ve medya Müslümanlara yönelik artan
gözetimin “objektif” nedenlerden kaynaklı olduğunu iddia etmekteyse de din ve
kültüre dair önyargılı varsayımların gözetim alanını şekillendirdiği
bilinmektedir. Müslümanlara dair
yaratılan dışlayıcı ve suçlayıcı “gözetim söylemi” medyanın kullandığı
imajlarla da desteklenmektedir.
Bu
çalışma, islamofobi kavramıyla gözetim sosyolojisi alanını birarada incelemeyi
ve kesişim noktalarını belirlemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Müslümanların Batı’da hangi
gözetim pratiklerine maruz kaldıkları makalede değinilen konuların başında
gelmektedir. Batı’da Müslümanlara yönelik gözetimin artmasının altındaki
islamofobik varsayımlar makalenin ana eksenini oluşturmaktadır. Bu çalışmada,
islamofobi ve gözetim ilişkisinin toplumsal cinsiyet boyutlarına da
değinilmiştir. Literatürde “cinsiyetçi İslamofobi” kavramıyla ifade edilen
süreçlere değinilmiştir. Müslüman kadınlardan örtünmeyi tercih edenler
kullandıkları eşarp, başörtü, türban ve hicab gibi kıyafetler nedeniyle daha
ayırt edilebilir ve görünür olmaktadır. Kadın ve erkeklerin kıyafet
farklılıkları nedeniyle günlük hayatta gözetime maruz kalma şekilleri ve
sıklıkları değişmektedir. Cinsiyetçi İslamofobik söylemde Müslüman kadınlar
genellikle “baskılanmış” olarak resmedilirken, Müslüman erkekler is
“baskılayan”lar olarak temsil edilmektedir.
Gözetim,
gözetleyen ve gözetlenen arasında eşitsiz bir güç ilişkisinin olduğu bir
olgudur. Gözetimin nesnesi olmak gözetleyenin, gözetlenen üzerinde güç
uygulayabileceği bir pozisyonda olmak demektir. Bu makale, islamofobinin
Müslümanları “tehdit” olarak göstermedeki rolünün yanında, Müslümanları
gözetimin nesnesi olarak hiyerarşik olarak daha alt bir pozisyonda
konumlandırdığına da dikkat çekmektedir.
References
- Bayoumi, M. (2015, June 29). 'Why Do They Hate Us?' Retrieved December 06, 2017, from https://www.thenation.com/article/why-do-they-hate-us/
- Bleich, E. (2012). Defining and researching Islamophobia. Review of Middle East Studies, 46(2), 180-189.
- Doyle, N. J., & Ahmad, I. (2013). Islamophobia, European Modernity and Contemporary Illiberalism. Politics, Religion & Ideology, 14(2), 167-172.
- Hafez, F. (2014). Shifting borders: Islamophobia as common ground for building pan-European right-wing unity. Patterns of Prejudice, 48(5), 479-499.
- Inman, S., McCormack, P., & Walker, S. (2012). “Wearing Your Own Culture”: a Study of Islamophobia in English Schools. Children’s Voices, 109-127.
- Jailani, Y. (2016). The Struggle of the Veiled Woman: 'White Savior Complex'and Rising Islamophobia Create a Two-Fold Plight. Harvard International Review, 37(2), 51-54.
- Lavette, M., & Penketh, L. (2014) Institutionalized Islamophobia and the ‘Prevent’ agenda: ‘winning hearts and minds’ or welfare as surveillance and control. In Lavalette, M., & Penketh, L. (Eds.). Race, racism and social work: Contemporary issues and debates. Policy Press.
- Levi, M., & Wall, D. S. (2004). Technologies, security, and privacy in the post‐9/11 European information society. Journal of law and society, 31(2), 194-220.
- Lyon, D. (2001). Surveillance society: Monitoring everyday life. Open University Press.
- Lyon, D. (2005). Introduction. In Surveillance as social sorting: Privacy, risk, and digital discrimination (pp. 1-10). London and New York: Routledge.
- Lyon, D. (2006). Airport screening, surveillance, and social sorting: Canadian responses to 9/11 in context. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 48(3), 397-411.
- Lyon, D. (2010). Surveillance, power and everyday life. Emerging Digital Spaces in Contemporary Society. Houndsmills, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 107-120.
- Mirza H.S. (2013) Embodying the Veil: Muslim Women and Gendered Islamophobia in ‘New Times’. In: Gross Z., Davies L., Diab AK. (eds) Gender, Religion and Education in a Chaotic Postmodern World. Springer, Dordrecht
- Perry, B., & Poynting, S. (2006, December). Inspiring islamophobia: media and state targeting of Muslims in Canada since 9/11. In TASA Conference 2006, University of Western Australia & Murdoch University, 4-7 December 2006 ASA 2006.
- Perry, B. (2014). Gendered Islamophobia: hate crime against Muslim women. Social Identities, 20(1), 74-89.
- Rana, J. (2007). The story of Islamophobia. Souls, 9(2), 148-161.
- Rasmussen, S. J. (2013). Re-casting the veil: Situated meanings of covering. Culture & Psychology, 19(2), 237-258.
- Sadek, N. (2017). Islamophobia, shame, and the collapse of Muslim identities. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 14(3), 200-221.
- Said, E. W. (2016). Şarkiyatçılık: Batının Şark Anlayışları. İstanbul: Metis Yayınları.
- Salaita, S. G. (2005). Ethnic identity and imperative patriotism: Arab Americans before and after 9/11. College literature, 32(2), 146-168.
- Spigel, L. (2004). Entertainment wars: Television culture after 9/11. American Quarterly, 56(2), 235-270.
- Von Sikorski, C., Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., & Binder, A. (2017). “Muslims are Not Terrorists”: Islamic State Coverage, Journalistic Differentiation between Terrorism and Islam, Fear Reactions, and Attitudes toward Muslims. Mass Communication and Society, 20 (6), 825-848.
Abstract
Increasing surveillance directed at Muslims after 9/11 is among the mostly studied issues in the surveillance literature. Many studies show that surveillance directed at Muslims is intensified in the name of national security measures. Increasing surveillance makes the Muslims in the West live more anxiously and causes negative discrimination against Muslims. The Islamophobic practices affect the Muslims living in the West and Muslims who travel to West for various reasons.
Muslims are seen as the most “suspected” individuals especially in crowded places such as airports, shopping malls, entertainment centers. Muslims who carry Islamic symbols are searched more carefully or paid more attention in crowded places. The surveillance directed at Muslims is justified for the so-called national security necessities. Security forces and media claim that the surveillance directed at Muslims stems from “objective” reasons, however, the biased assumptions regarding religion and culture shape the sphere of surveillance. The discriminatory and accusatory “surveillance discourse” is also reinforced by the media images and populist politicians.
This study aims to figure out the intersection points of Islamophobia and surveillance practices. For this purpose, the surveillance practices directed at Muslims in the West are mentioned briefly in the article. The main axis of the study is the Islamophobic assumptions underlying the increasing surveillance of Muslims in the West. In this article, gender aspects of Islamophobia are also addressed. “Gendered Islamophobia” concept is elaborated in this context. The intensity and type of surveillance changes according to gender because of the different dressing styles. The Muslim women, who prefer to veil, become more easily identifiable because of the headscarf, hijab, turban etc. Moreover, in gendered Islamophobic discourses, Muslim women are usually portrayed as “oppressed”, while Muslim men are presented as “oppressors”.
Surveillance includes unequal power relations between the surveillant and the surveilled. Being the object of the surveillance reflects a power relation in which the person who surveils can exercise power on the surveilled. This article points out the role of Islamophobia in portraying Muslims as “threat” as well as attracting attention to hierarchical power relations embedded in surveillance practices directed at Muslims.
References
- Bayoumi, M. (2015, June 29). 'Why Do They Hate Us?' Retrieved December 06, 2017, from https://www.thenation.com/article/why-do-they-hate-us/
- Bleich, E. (2012). Defining and researching Islamophobia. Review of Middle East Studies, 46(2), 180-189.
- Doyle, N. J., & Ahmad, I. (2013). Islamophobia, European Modernity and Contemporary Illiberalism. Politics, Religion & Ideology, 14(2), 167-172.
- Hafez, F. (2014). Shifting borders: Islamophobia as common ground for building pan-European right-wing unity. Patterns of Prejudice, 48(5), 479-499.
- Inman, S., McCormack, P., & Walker, S. (2012). “Wearing Your Own Culture”: a Study of Islamophobia in English Schools. Children’s Voices, 109-127.
- Jailani, Y. (2016). The Struggle of the Veiled Woman: 'White Savior Complex'and Rising Islamophobia Create a Two-Fold Plight. Harvard International Review, 37(2), 51-54.
- Lavette, M., & Penketh, L. (2014) Institutionalized Islamophobia and the ‘Prevent’ agenda: ‘winning hearts and minds’ or welfare as surveillance and control. In Lavalette, M., & Penketh, L. (Eds.). Race, racism and social work: Contemporary issues and debates. Policy Press.
- Levi, M., & Wall, D. S. (2004). Technologies, security, and privacy in the post‐9/11 European information society. Journal of law and society, 31(2), 194-220.
- Lyon, D. (2001). Surveillance society: Monitoring everyday life. Open University Press.
- Lyon, D. (2005). Introduction. In Surveillance as social sorting: Privacy, risk, and digital discrimination (pp. 1-10). London and New York: Routledge.
- Lyon, D. (2006). Airport screening, surveillance, and social sorting: Canadian responses to 9/11 in context. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 48(3), 397-411.
- Lyon, D. (2010). Surveillance, power and everyday life. Emerging Digital Spaces in Contemporary Society. Houndsmills, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 107-120.
- Mirza H.S. (2013) Embodying the Veil: Muslim Women and Gendered Islamophobia in ‘New Times’. In: Gross Z., Davies L., Diab AK. (eds) Gender, Religion and Education in a Chaotic Postmodern World. Springer, Dordrecht
- Perry, B., & Poynting, S. (2006, December). Inspiring islamophobia: media and state targeting of Muslims in Canada since 9/11. In TASA Conference 2006, University of Western Australia & Murdoch University, 4-7 December 2006 ASA 2006.
- Perry, B. (2014). Gendered Islamophobia: hate crime against Muslim women. Social Identities, 20(1), 74-89.
- Rana, J. (2007). The story of Islamophobia. Souls, 9(2), 148-161.
- Rasmussen, S. J. (2013). Re-casting the veil: Situated meanings of covering. Culture & Psychology, 19(2), 237-258.
- Sadek, N. (2017). Islamophobia, shame, and the collapse of Muslim identities. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 14(3), 200-221.
- Said, E. W. (2016). Şarkiyatçılık: Batının Şark Anlayışları. İstanbul: Metis Yayınları.
- Salaita, S. G. (2005). Ethnic identity and imperative patriotism: Arab Americans before and after 9/11. College literature, 32(2), 146-168.
- Spigel, L. (2004). Entertainment wars: Television culture after 9/11. American Quarterly, 56(2), 235-270.
- Von Sikorski, C., Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., & Binder, A. (2017). “Muslims are Not Terrorists”: Islamic State Coverage, Journalistic Differentiation between Terrorism and Islam, Fear Reactions, and Attitudes toward Muslims. Mass Communication and Society, 20 (6), 825-848.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal Section | MAKALELER |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | December 1, 2017 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2017 Issue: 6 |
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