Lessons from France: popularist anxiety and veiled fears of Islam

Merah and Breivik: A Reflection of the European Identity Crisis

“…This form of societal change challenges the notion of commonality spelled out in the 1973 Declaration of European Identity, which mainly articulated that commonality in order to deal precisely with external influences, as change was at that time conceived to be coming from outside rather than from within. Expressions of a fear of change and feelings of insecurity in identity are being seized upon by European politicians, as we have seen in France (see Andre and Harris-Hogan 2013;Doyle 2013), the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the UK and Switzerland (see Pratt 2013;Lathion 2015). This increased visibility of the Islamic religion, the media coverage of the more extreme versions of Islam and Islamism, and the perception (often promoted by right-wing media) that, because there is a fringe minority of radical Muslims, all Muslims must be the same, has led to legislation and the adoption of illiberal policies prohibiting and curtailing certain religious practices of European Muslims, and in fine to a certain illiberal secularism.…”

Muslim journalists in Western media: Maria TV reported by Telecinco, CNN and the BBC

“…The growing Islamophobia of Western societies has consolidated an image of a demonic 'other' slotted into the single and static identity of Muslim -an identity perceived, moreover, to be threatening for the West (Afshar, 2013;Murtuja, 2005;Sen, 2007). This kind of stereotyping, fiercely criticized by Said (1997), has been widely disseminated by the dominant discourse of the media, which presents the 'Islamic world' in an unqualified way as socially rigid and rooted in the past, oppressed by the weight of tradition and in direct opposition to the secular West, symbol of freedom and modernity (Afshar, 2013;Blair, 2012;Contractor, 2012;Doyle, 2011). In many insidious ways, the idea is reinforced that the Muslim religion is not a religion but a radical and intolerant threat to the West.…”

“…In media representations of this issue, Muslim women are a silenced 'other' (Torres, 2009) enclosed within the walls of their homes, veiled and subject to their husbands or the men in their family (Ali, 2003;Read, 2003). In most Western media discourse, Muslim women are represented as concealed, passive, nonautonomous individuals controlled by men and religion -incontrovertible proof, for some, of the incompatibility between Islamic and European values (Abu-Lughod, 2002;Doyle, 2011;Macdonald, 2006;Martin Muñoz, 2010;Nawar, 2008). Their invisibility and consequent lack of recognition is still an issue in certain media that aspire to multiculturalism (Nash and Marre, 2001).…”

“…The hijab, the niqab and the burka (see note 1), as indicators of social class, religion, ethnic origins and gender, have inevitably become central emblems in a growing Islamophobia -a newsworthy item for Western media and a source of tension between communities (Doyle, 2011;Hoodfar, 2003;Sloan, 2011;Welch, 2007). Rasmussen (2013) criticizes Western societies for their reductionist oversimplifications of the 'Muslim world' and 'Muslim women'.…”

“It's Just Your Turn”: Performing Identity and Muslim Australian Popular Culture

“…Others have argued that it is the general public's ignorance about all things Islamic that contributes to, if not forges, widespread anxieties regarding Islam, making the issue one not of Muslim communities per se but rather of non-Muslim misconceptions (e.g. Doyle 2011;Pratt 2011).…”