Islamophobia is the unfounded hostility against Muslims. While anti-Muslim feelings have been explored from many perspectives and in different settings, Internet-based Islamophobia remains under-researched. What are the characteristics of online Islamophobia? What are the differences (if any) between online and offline anti-Muslim narratives? This article seeks to answer these questions through a qualitative analysis of tweets written in the aftermath of the 2016 British referendum on European Union membership (also known as “Brexit”), which was followed by a surge of Islamophobic episodes. The analysis of the tweets suggests that online Islamophobia largely enhances offline anti-Islam discourses, involving narratives that frame Muslims as violent, backward, and unable to adapt to Western values. Islamophobic tweets also have some peculiar characteristics: they foster global networks, contain messages written by so-called “trolls” and “bots,” and contribute to the spreading of “fake news.” The article suggests that, in order to counteract online Islamophobia, it is important to take into account the networked connections among social media, news media platforms, and offline spaces.
Islam is often regarded as being incompatible with European values. In Italy, for example, anti-Islamic points of view reiterate the religion's alleged inconsistency with Catholicism and secularism. This article argues that narrative practices can challenge this idea by articulating Muslim hybrid identities that are compatible with Italian culture and society. The second-generation blog Yalla Italia represents a 'third space' where young Italian Muslims contrast dominant media stereotypes, thereby creating 'disruptive flows of dissent'. A textual analysis of the blog and interviews with some of the bloggers reveal that three main topics are employed to overcome marginalization: (1) critiques of mainstream media (2) narratives about family lives and the practice of Islam, and (3) advocacy of a quicker procedure for gaining Italian citizenship. The bloggers adopt a storytelling style to press for social and institutional change and explain how they succeed in adapting Islam to Italian society. Their religious diversity is thus perceived as providing a potential for Italy, rather than being a mark of marginalization. Article Evolvi: Hybrid Muslim identities in digital space 221 avec la culture et la société italienne. Le blog de deuxième génération Yalla Italia représente un « espace tiers » où les jeunes musulmans d'Italie peuvent contester les stéréotypes médiatiques et créer des « courants dissidents ». L'analyse textuelle du blog, ainsi que des entrevues avec des blogueurs révèlent que trois sujets sont principalement utilisés pour aider à surmonter la marginalisation des musulmans dans la société italienne: (1) la critique de médias traditionnels ; (2) les récits de la vie de famille et de la pratique de l'islam ; (3) la promotion d'une procédure plus rapide pour obtenir la citoyenneté italienne. En employant la narration, les blogueurs plaident pour le changement social et institutionnel et présentent leur diversité religieuse comme un atout pour la société italienne, plutôt qu'une marque de marginalisation.
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