Internationalizing Islamophobia: Anti-Islamophobic Practices from the Runnymede Trust to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Year 2013, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 141 - 165, 01.07.2013

Şerif Onur Bahçecik

Abstract

Especially since the September 11 attacks, the position of Muslim communities living in Western countries has become under focus. Many Muslim political leaders, activists as well as scholars have pointed to the existence of Islamophobia, or an irrational fear or prejudice towards Islam and Muslims, as the cause for discrimination against Muslims. The literature on Islamophobia has grown, various governmental programs have been implemented to repress it, while scholars developed means to measure it as an attitude. Rather than focusing on Islamophobia itself, this paper seeks to shift the focus on anti-Islamophobia practices of various organizations, especially the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. It looks at the emergence of anti-Islamophobic discourse in the 90s, how this discourse isolates and problematizes Islamophobia by redefining what Muslims stand for. This paper argues that anti-Islamophobic practices cannot be simply taken as a strategy to combat Islamophobia. While it drives its legitimacy from repression of xenophobia and discrimination, it simultaneously seeks to govern by promoting certain ways of social co-existence

Keywords

Islamophobia, International Organizations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Governance, Discourse

İslamofobya’yı Uluslararasılaştırmak: Runnymede Vakfından İslam İşbirliği Örgütü’ne İslamofobya Karşıtı Pratikler

Abstract

11 Eylül saldırılarından beri Batı toplumlarında yaşayan Müslüman toplumların konumu üzerine yapılan çalışmalar artmıştır. Pek çok bilim insanı, Müslüman siyasi lider ve eylemci; Müslümanlara yönelik ayrımcılığın nedeni olarak İslamofobya’ya, ya da İslam ve Müslümanlara yönelik akıl dışı korku ve önyargının varlığına dikkat çekmiştir. Bir yandan İslamofobya üzerine olan yazın büyüyüp, hükumetler bu sorunu ortadan kaldırmak için çeşitli programlar uygulamaya başlarken diğer yandan da bilim insanları bir bireysel bir tutum olarak İslamofobya’yı ölçmeye girişmişlerdir. Bu çalışma ise, İslamofobya üzerine odaklanmak yerine çeşitli örgütlerin ve özellikle de İslam İşbirliği Örgütü’nün İslamofobya karşıtı pratiklerine dikkati çekmeye çalışmaktadır. Çalışma, 90’lı yıllarda İslamofobya karşıtı söylemin ortaya çıkışını, ve bu söylemin Müslümanların neyi temsil ettiğini yeniden tanımlayarak İslamofobya’nı nasıl izole ettiğini ve sorunsallaştırdığını incelemektedir. Bu çalışma İslamofobya karşıtı pratiklerin basitçe bu olguyla mücadele etmek için uygulanan bir strateji olarak görülemeyeceğini iddia eder. İslamofobya meşruiyetini yabancı düşmanlığı ve ayrımcılıkla mücadeleden alırken aynı zamanda belirli toplumsal bir arada yaşama şekillerini öne çıkartmaktadır

Keywords

İslamofobya, Uluslararası Örgütler, İslam İşbirliği Örgütü, Yönetişim, Söylem

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