Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and the Media: When Prejudice Runs Amok

Year 2024, , 1 - 13, 27.06.2024

Raymond Taras

https://doi.org/10.47951/mediad.1497590

Abstract

A narrow definition of Islamophobia flags religion as playing the central part in anti-Muslim prejudice. But a broader term bundles ethnic, national and cultural prejudices together with religious ones; the latter are gradually becoming disconnected from the cultures in which they were embedded. In measuring degrees and levels of Islamophobia, this article turns to the mass media to understand how they have amplified and at times echoed calls for anti-Muslim prejudice. Islam has become culturalized and racialized by both adherents and antagonists alike, lending a massive landscape for social media in particular to exploit. Qualitative data seem best equipped to assay popular attitudes and behavior towards Muslims. And their relevance is especially significant in shaping female Muslim experiences. To be sure, Islam is placed to take a key part in the making of a post-hegemonic international order. Highlighting tolerance towards others is critical rather than using other attributes to shore up the political legitimacy of a state. To categorize Islamophobes as racists makes for bad politics, but it can enhance legitimacy.

Keywords

Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Muslims, Media, Discrimination, Prejudice, Religion, Culture

Thanks

I would like to express my gratitude to the editor Dr. Metin Eken and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions.

Yabancı Düşmanlığı, İslamofobi ve Medya: Önyargılar Çığırından Çıktığında

Abstract

İslamofobi’nin dar bir tanımı, Müslüman karşıtı önyargılarda dinin merkezi bir rol oynadığını vurgular. Ancak daha geniş bir tanım, etnik, ulusal ve kültürel önyargıları dini olanlarla birleştirir; bu dini önyargılar, gömülü oldukları kültürlerden giderek kopmaktadır. Bu makale, İslamofobi derecelerini ve seviyelerini ölçerken, kitle medyasına başvurarak onların Müslüman karşıtı önyargıyı nasıl güçlendirdiğini ve zaman zaman bu çağrılara nasıl yankı yaptığını anlamaya çalışır. İslam, hem bağlıları hem de karşıtları tarafından kültürel ve ırksal bir hale getirilmiş olup, özellikle sosyal medyanın sömürmesi için geniş bir alan yaratmıştır. Nitel veriler, Müslümanlara yönelik popüler tutum ve davranışları değerlendirmede en iyi donanıma sahip gibi görünmektedir. Ve bu veriler, özellikle Müslüman kadınların deneyimlerini şekillendirmede önemli bir role sahiptir. Kuşkusuz, İslam, post-hegemonik bir uluslararası düzenin oluşumunda kilit bir rol oynamaya hazırdır. Başkalarına karşı hoşgörüyü vurgulamak, bir devletin siyasi meşruiyetini desteklemek için diğer özellikleri kullanmaktan daha kritiktir. İslamofobikleri ırkçı olarak kategorize etmek kötü bir politika olsa da meşruiyeti artırabilir.

Keywords

Yabancı Düşmanlığı, İslamofobi, Müslümanlar, Medya, Ayrımcılık, Önyargı, Din, Kültür

References

• Amiraux, V. (2007). Religious discrimination: Muslims claiming equality in the EU. In C. Bertossi (Ed.), European Anti-Discrimination and the Politics of Citizenship (pp. 143–167). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230627314_8
• Anderson, L., Shahbazi, S., & Abid, M. (2021). The Islamophobia index: Exploring the challenges in establishing reliability for a content analysis instrument evaluating Islamophobia in media texts. Islamophobia Studies Journal, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.13169/islastudj.6.2.0182
• Ardern, J. (2022, May 22). Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern commencement address | Harvard Magazine. https://www.harvardmagazine.com/node/79967
• Bernd, D. J. (2024, May 3). Japan calls Biden “xenophobic” comments “unfortunate.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68955413
• Cainkar, L., & Selod, S. (2018). Review of race scholarship and the war on terror. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 4(2), 165–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649218762808
• ‘Country profile: The conditions of Muslims in France’, in monitoring minority protection in EU Member States: Overview. (2004). Open Society Institute. http://www.opensocietyfoundations. org/sites/default/files/monitorminprofrench_20030101_0.pdf
• Cunningham, J., & Light, R. (2016). Institutional discrimination. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (1st ed., pp. 1–3). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405165518. wbeos0767
• Dinet, É., & ben Ibrahim, S. (1991). The life of Mohammad, The Prophet of Allah. Paris Book Club.
• Eckstein, J. (1997). The economic impact of the arts in Britain. Policy Studies Institute.
• European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights Annual Report. (2009). European Union Agency for fundamental rights. https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/480-FRA-Annual Report09_en.pdf
• EuropeNews. (2008, February 13). ‘Erdogan: Assimilation is crime against humanity.’ EuropeNews. http://europenews.dk/en/node/7132
• Fekete, L. (2009). A suitable enemy: Racism, migration and Islamophobia in Europe. Pluto.
• Hametner, K., Rodax, N., Steinicke, K., & McQuarrie, J. (2021). ‘After all, I have to show that I’m not different’: Muslim women’s psychological coping strategies with dichotomous and dichotomising stereotypes. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 28(1), 56–70. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506820919146
• Haque, A., Tubbs, C. Y., Kahumoku‐Fessler, E. P., & Brown, M. D. (2019). Microaggressions and Islamophobia: Experiences of Muslims across the United States and clinical implications. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 45(1), 76–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12339
• H.W. Hoksbergen & J.N. Tillie. (2015). EURISLAM Survey-data codebook [dataset]. DANS Data Station Social Sciences and Humanities. https://doi.org/10.17026/DANS-XX7-5X27
• Kabir, N. A. (2020). The role of digital media in the lives of some American Muslim children, 2010–2019. In L. Green, D. Holloway, K. Stevenson, T. Leaver, & L. Haddon (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Digital Media and Children (1st ed., pp. 572–583). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351004107-54
• Kunst, J. R., Sam, D. L., & Ulleberg, P. (2013). Perceived Islamophobia: Scale development and validation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 37(2), 225–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2012.11.001
• Modood, T. (2017, October 31). Tariq Modood’s speech at the launch of these islands. These-Islands.Co.Uk. https://www.these-islands.co.uk/publications/i275/tariq_modoods_speech_at_the_launch_of_these_islands.aspx
• Modood, T., Hansen, R., Bleich, E., O’Leary, B., & Carens, J. H. (2006). The Danish cartoon affair: Free speech, racism, Islamism, and integration. International Migration, 44(5), 3–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2006.00386.x
• Moghadam, L. (2022). The lived experience of Muslim women subjected to Islamophobia [Ph.D., Institute for Clinical Social Work (Chicago)]. In ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (2691829292). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; Publicly Available Content Database. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/lived-experience-muslim-women-subjected/docview/2691829292/se-2?accountid=15875
• Nawaz, H., & Siraj, Prof. Dr. S. A. (2021). Coverage of Islam in the Western press: Exploring episodic and thematic frames. Journal of Peace, Development & Communication, Volume 5(1), 151–162. https://doi.org/10.36968/JPDC-V05-I01-14
• Nawaz, H., & Siraj, S. A. (2023). Islam, the Western leaders and the media. Journal of Peace, Development and Communication, 7(1), 302–314.
• Parekh, B. C. & Runnymede Trust (Eds.). (2010). The future of multi-ethnic Britain: Report (Reprint). Profile.
• Powell, E. (1968, April 20). Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech. Conservative Association meeting, Birmingham. https://anth1001.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/enoch-powell_speech.pdf
• Saeed, T. (2016). Islamophobia and securitization: Religion, ethnicity and the female voice. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Said, E. W. (1997). Covering Islam: How the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world (Revised edition). Vintage Books.
• Said, E. W. (2003). Orientalism (Facsimile edition). Penguin.
• Siraj, S., & Nawaz, H. (2023). The stereotypical portrayal of Islam in the Western press: An Islamophobic Perspective.
• Taras, R. (2013). ‘Islamophobia never stands still’: Race, religion, and culture. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36(3), 417–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2013.734388
• Taras, R. (2018). Nationhood, migration and global politics: An introduction. Edinburgh University Press.
• What Is Cherry Picking Fallacy? | Definition & Examples. (2024, February 19). QuillBot Blog. https://quillbot.com/blog/cherry-picking-fallacy/
• Young-Bruehl, E. (2007). A brief history of prejudice studies. In The future of prejudice: Psychoanalysis and the prevention of prejudice. (pp. 219–235). J. Aronson (Ed.)