Xenophobia and Anti-Islamism: Framing the News Covering the Shootings Four Years After the Christchurch Mosque Shooting

Abstract

The concept of xenophobia, defined as fear and hostility towards the strange and different in a simple and general sense, is quite comprehensive and can be addressed in conjunction with Islamophobia. The terrorist attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019 represent extreme examples of both xenophobia and anti-Islamism. In this study, news articles addressing the Christchurch mosque attacks from January 1, 2023, to October 22, 2023, were collected using keywords and analyzed in a total of 81 articles across nine different frameworks. A comparison was made with previous studies that conducted analyses and framed the topic, allowing an examination of how the content of news articles changed over time since the incident. Furthermore, it has been observed that the Western press did not categorize the attack as anti-Islamism, despite the clear statement in the terrorist's manifesto that he targeted Muslims. Given the influence of media content on shaping individuals' attitudes and perceptions of events, this discrepancy could impede efforts to combat xenophobia and anti-Islamism.

Keywords

• Xenophobia
• Anti-Islamism
• Christchurch Mosque Shootings
• New Zealand Mosque Shootings
• Islam in Western Media

Zenofobi ve İslam Karşıtlığı: Christchurch Cami Saldırılarından Dört Yıl Sonra Saldırıyı Ele Alan Haberlerin Çerçevelenmesi

Öz

Zenofobi kavramı, basit ve genel anlamda yabancı ve farklı olana karşı korku ve düşmanlık olarak tanımlanmasıyla oldukça kapsayıcıdır. Kavramın kapsayıcı yapısı onu İslam karşıtlığıyla beraber ele alınmasını mümkün kılmaktadır. 2019 yılında Yeni Zellanda’nın Christchurch şehrinde gerçekleştirilen cami saldırıları da hem zenofobinin hem de İslam karşıtlığının uç örneklerinden birini oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmada 1 Ocak 2023 tarihinden 22 Ekim 2023 tarihine kadar Christchurch cami saldırılarını ele alan haberler anahtar kelimeler ile toplanmış ve toplamda 81 haberin analizi yapılarak dokuz farklı çerçevede ele alınmıştır. Konuyla ilgili analiz yapan ve çerçeve oluşturan önceki çalışmalar ile buradaki çerçevelerin karşılaştırılması yapılmıştır. Bu sayede olayın üzerinden belli bir süre geçtikten sonra haberlerin içeriklerinin nasıl değiştiğinin incelemesi yapılabilmiştir. Bunların yanı sıra saldırıyı gerçekleştiren teröristin manifestosunda Müslümanlara karşı bu saldırıyı gerçekleştirdiğini açıkça belirtmesine rağmen batı basınında saldırının İslam karşıtlığı bağlamında ele alınmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Medya içeriklerinin bireylerin tutumlarını ve olaylarla ilgili fikirlerini etkileyebildiği gerçeğini göz önünde bulundurduğumuzda bu durum, zenofobi ve İslam karşıtlığı konularındaki mücadeleye ket vurabilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Zenofobi
• İslam Karşıtlığı
• Christchurch Cami Saldırıları
• Yeni Zellanda Cami Saldırıları
• Batı Basınında İslam

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