Islamophobia, Representation and the Muslim Political Subject. A Swedish Case Study

Abstract

Applying media analysis, this article addresses how the exclusion of Muslim women from fields of common public interest in Sweden, such as partaking as an active citizen, is materialized. Focusing on a specific event-the cancellation of a screening of Burka Songs 2.0-and the media coverage and representation of the cancellation, it discusses the role of discourses of gender equality, secularity and democracy in circumscribing space for Muslim political subjects. It casts light on Islamophobic stereotyping, questionable democracy and secularity, as well as the over-simplified approaches to gender equality connected to dealings with Muslim women in Sweden. Besides obstacles connected to Muslim political subjects, the study provides insights into media representation of Muslim women in general, specially connected to veils and the role of lawmaking connected to certain kind of veiling, in Sweden and Europe.

On the Discursive and Methodological Categorisation of Islam and Muslims in the West: Ontological and Epistemological Considerations

“…For example, government-funded research has largely centred on official approaches to countering violent extremism, muscular social cohesion measures, and harsh migration and asylum seeker deterrence practises. Furthermore, the increased saliency of law enforcement at borders, aimed almost exclusively at Muslim people, has created a broader social and policy agenda, which has led to a body of research that amplifies and reifies the problems of binary categorisations outlined above (Mansouri and Vergani 2018;Jakku 2018;Kymlicka 2015). Consequently, research agendas are particularly problematic because they generate broader understandings and interpretations of Islam that are then used, or appropriated, to drive further discourse, policies and practices that single out, essentialize and problematize Islam and Muslim communities.…”

Mångfaldens möten: Interkulturalitet, utbildning och lärande

“…News about immigrants, especially those of Middle Eastern/Muslim backgrounds, is no exception. According to the studies reviewed, Swedish news media's failure to represent and include minority voices often contributes to the negative framing and stereotyped representation of immigrants as the Other, i.e., creating a dichotomous Us and Them (Brune, 2004;Camauër & Nohrstedt, 2010;Jakku, 2018). Othering 1 is a type of social representation tied to stereotypes that classify societal groups into Us and Them.…”

Trends in Research: A Literature Review

“…LGBTQI+ individuals and groups pragmatically addressing the role of marginal sexualities in migration (e.g., Tschalaer, 2019;Peumans, 2018), detailed studies of radical organisation and thought (e.g., Inge, 2017;Nesser, 2015), the history of Muslim minorities -the Ahmadiyyas (e.g., Balzani, 2020;Jonker, 2016), the Alevis (e.g., Özkul & Markussen, 2022) and the Ismailis (e.g., Magout, 2020), early migration history in various countries (e.g., Sorgenfrei, 2018), discussion of minority law (e.g., Bowen, 2016), Islamophobia, complemented by whiteness and the racialisation of Muslims (e.g., Jakku, 2018) and, finally, the development of new Islamic ideas (e.g., Hashas, 2019;van Bruinessen & Allievi, 2011). *** As in former periods, there was a considerable emphasis on religion in relation to other social structures, and less on changes in religious organisations and religious practices, with some exceptions (e.g., Soeffner & Zifonun, 2016;Jeldtoft, 2012), discussed further in Part Three.…”