Muslim Threat Research Articles

Securitization of Muslims in Myanmar’s Early Transition (2010–15)

Between 2010 and 2015, as Myanmar transitioned from authoritarian rule to a more liberal and democratic state, its Muslim population increasingly faced hate speech and violence. This article goes beyond analyses that regard the growing anti-Muslim sentiment as a consequence of a liberalized media environment, enabling people to voice long-standing grievances and prejudice. Rather, the notion of a “Muslim threat” to Myanmar’s Buddhist population is approached as the outcome of a dynamic process of securitization in which an alliance of political and religious elites was forged whose discourse changed the rules of the political field, forcing the reform-oriented opposition into strategic silence. It is argued that in the early period of liberalization, anti-Muslim frames were normalized and thus shaped the securitization of Muslims.

Transforming the Party Identity of German Radical Right: In Search of Female Support

The crises of the beginning of the 21st century changed the political landscape of modern Germany, which was manifested in increasing right-wing radicalism. As the party identity of the far-right transforms, they shift from being marginal nationalist anti-migrant forces, contradicting the democratic culture of Germany, to movements which defend identity and rights, including womens rights. Thus, the far-right in Germany claim to become a part of the civic culture that includes the right to criticize and disagree with the governments policies. The article examines how far-right parties interact with the female electorate on the example of the Alternative for Germany party. The study highlights the main activities of the Alternative for Germany in attracting womens votes, based on the analysis of the partys political program, interviews with party members and media materials. These activities include the orientation towards the socio-economic issues, concerning women, the consideration of the migrant problem through the prism of the Muslim threat towards women, the protection of the interests of conservative women, the attraction of women as party leaders. The author pays a special attention to female right-wing activists, as independent actors in the political life of Germany. Based on the cases of Beate Zschpe, Francisca Berit and #120db movement, the following interests of female activists were determined: opposing to gender mainstreaming, which threatens the traditional family structure, and opposing to Islam as a source of violence against women. Alternative for Germany aims at strengthening its positions among all women, whose rights are an integral part of European identity, therefore, the actualization of womens involvement in the movement becomes not only instrumental, but also of value nature. More radically oriented female activists get involved in the European Identitarian movement.

“Islam” in Sanskrit doxography: a reconsideration via the writings of Madhusūdana Sarasvatī

AbstractIn the ongoing debate regarding the construction of the modern concept of “Hinduism”, recent research has considered the ways in which the pre-colonial encounter with Islam may have served as a catalyst in the crystallisation of an increasingly self-aware “Hindu” identity. Andrew Nicholson (Unifying Hinduism, 2010), in particular, has examined the genre of Sanskrit doxography to affirm that such a process of crystallisation was indeed taking place, as the transformations in this genre over time indicate a nascent Hindu identity emerging in the face of the “Muslim threat”. This article reevaluates Nicholson's account with reference to the writings of one Sanskrit intellectual operating at the height of Muslim power in South Asia: the figure of Madhusūdana Sarasvatī (fl. sixteenth-early seventeenth centuries). Madhusūdana's short doxography, the Prasthānabheda, often features in arguments for the pre-colonial roots of the concept of “Hinduism”; Madhusūdana's other doxographical writings, however, are typically neglected. Based upon an analysis of Madhusūdana's Siddhāntabindu and Vedāntakalpalatikā, this article suggests that a more nuanced consideration of the different audiences and authorial intentions that different doxographers had in mind can offer a modified picture of how early modern Sanskrit intellectuals were responding to the Muslim presence in the subcontinent.

Religion on the rise again? A longitudinal analysis of religious dimensions in election manifestos of Western European parties

Several scholars suggest that religion is on the rise in party competition due to the upswing of radical right parties presenting themselves as defender of Christianity against a Muslim threat. The lack of comparative and longitudinal studies calls for a systematic investigation of parties’ religious references in order to know whether religion indeed is on the rise in party politics. Conducting a partially computer-based quantitative content analysis of 71 election manifestos in five countries since the 1980s, we provide empirical evidence that religion is recently gaining salience in party competition. The study reveals that we are experiencing the evolution of a new religious cleavage originating from the exclusion of Islam and resulting in an emphasis on Christian roots and values and in a strategic use of secular arguments by the radical right. The findings further suggest that mainstream parties responded to these religious discourses by incorporating religious elements in their own election manifestos.

Radical right populism and religion: mapping parties’ religious communication in Western Europe

ABSTRACTPolitical scientists have strongly focused on the religiosity of voters and its effects on electoral behaviour. However, the religious stances of political parties have largely been neglected. Yet, some scholars argue that religion is on the rise again due to the success of populist radical right parties, which use religious references as a campaigning strategy and present themselves as defenders of Christianity against a Muslim threat. Conducting a dictionary-based quantitative content analysis of the election manifestos and Facebook posts of 36 political parties in seven Western European countries, this study provides evidence that populist radical right parties frame Islam in a more negative way than other party groups while presenting Christianity in a more positive tone. However, constructing religious outgroups seems to be much more important to radical right parties than creating a Christian ingroup. Furthermore, our results suggest that there is no systematic link between ideology and pro-secularism messages.

Constructing the Muslim threat: A critical analysis of Marine Le Pen's Twitter posts during the 2017 French election campaign

Constructing the Muslim threat: A critical analysis of Marine Le Pen's Twitter posts during the 2017 French election campaign

Redimere, convertire, riconvertire. Produzione, risemantizzazione e uso di immagini mariane nelle isole mediterranee dell'Impero spagnolo (secoli XVI-XVII): il caso Sardegna / Redeem, convert, re-convert. Production, resemantization and use of Marian images in the Mediterranean islands of the Spanish Empire (XVI-XVII centuries): the case of Sardinia

The purpose of this essay is to investigate the impact of the Marian cults specialized against the Muslim threat in Sardinia in the 16th-17th centuries by analyzing the relative Marian iconographies. Specifically we intend to study the processes of reception and diffusion of the devotions sponsored by the mendicant orders of the Trinitarians (Our Lady of Ransom, Our Lady of Good Remedy), of the Mercedarians (Our Lady of Mercy, Our Lady of Bonaria) and in particular of the Augustinians (Virgin Hodegetria), which played a key role in the development of a new iconography with underlying messages of redemption, conversion and reconversion. In the investigation, the political, social and devotional context of reference is taken into account, data are gleaned from archival and literary sources and particular attention is paid to the use of images in their dual expression through sculptural production and literary description.

‘Art is my language’: Afghan cultural production challenging Islamophobic stereotypes

Afghans and Afghanistan have, since September 11, risen to prominence in Western popular imagination as a land of tradition, tribalism and violence. Afghan women are assumed to be silent, submissive, and terrorised by Afghan men, who are seen as violent patriarchs driven by an uncompromising mediaeval religion. These Islamophobic tropes also inform perceptions of Afghans seeking asylum. In transit, identities are further reduced; asylum seekers lose even a national identity and become a Muslim threat – criminals, terrorists or invaders. These narrative frames permeate political discourse, media, and reports of non-governmental organisations (seeking donor funds to ‘save’ Afghan women). Drawing on fieldwork in Afghanistan and Indonesia, this article looks at how Afghans in Kabul and Indonesia are using art and other forms of cultural production to challenge over-simplified hegemonic narratives in the West, to open spaces for dialogue and expression within their own communities, and to offer a more nuanced account of their own identities.

‘Muslim Threat’ in Politics of Assam

The immigrant Muslim community in Assam, which is also known as neo-Assamese in society and politics of the state, has emerged as the threat to the existence and identity of the indigenous Assamese communities, particularly from the days of Assam movement. The fast rise of population strength of the community, which has made the community decisive in the electoral equation of the state, has threatened the indigenous Assamese communities of losing political dominance at the hands of these Muslims. However, while the indigenous Assamese has started to consider the neo-Assamese Muslim community as a threat, the community has tried to prove this threat perception of the indigenous Assamese a myth. Although the indigenous Assamese considers neo-Assamese Muslims as a threat politically, but have remained dependent on neo-Assamese Muslims for the majority status of Assamese language in Assam. Against this backdrop, this paper is an attempt to understand how the neo-Assamese Muslims are emerging as a threat to the indigenous Assamese, how the neo-Assamese are responding to this threat perception of the indigenous Assamese, and finally, how Assamese language has made the indigenous Assamese dependent on neo-Assamese Muslims, despite all allegations against the community.

Promoting ‘fundamental British values’ in schools: a critical race perspective

Fear and anxiety about the ‘Muslim other’, the failure of state multiculturalism, and the perception of a disjuncture between white British values and that of Islam have become a concerning feature of the British policy landscape. The government—in response to the so-called ‘Muslim threat’—has called for a ‘muscular’ promotion of fundamental British values in the nation’s schools. As a result, ‘the rule of law’, ‘individual liberty’, ‘mutual respect’, and ‘tolerance’ have been advanced as fundamentally British principles “we should try to live by every day” (Cameron 2014). Informed by critical race theory, this paper raises important and timely questions about the dangers of conflating democratic values with British national identity, outlining how the current policy climate has served to: decivilize Muslim lifestyles and identities; construct ‘white British’ norms and mores as culturally superior; portray young Muslims as pre-disposed to extremist views and violent behaviors; and force the country’s teachers to take up roles as instruments of surveillance and defenders of the white hegemonic order.

Support for Anti‐Muslim Policies: The Role of Political Traits and Threat Perception

We explored how political beliefs and attitudes predict support for anti‐Muslim policies and extremist behavior in the United States following the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. A large sample completed measures of authoritarianism, social dominance orientation (SDO), generalized prejudice, identification with all humanity (IWAH), perceptions of Muslim threat, and support for anti‐Muslim policies and behaviors. These measures accounted for 73% of the variance in moderate anti‐Muslim policies and 55% of the variance in extreme anti‐Muslim policies. Authoritarianism and SDO directly and indirectly predicted support for anti‐Muslim policies, with their effects partially mediated by generalized prejudice, IWAH, and perceptions of Muslims as threatening. Threat both mediated and moderated the relationship between authoritarianism and anti‐Muslim policies. A negative interaction between authoritarianism and perceptions of Muslims as threatening predicted moderate anti‐Muslim policies, but a positive interaction predicted extreme anti‐Muslim policies. A tentative explanation is offered. Perceptions of Muslim threat was consistently a powerful predictor of anti‐Muslim policies and willingness to engage in extremist behaviors targeting Muslims. Programs to combat anti‐Muslim prejudice should consider the role of threat‐related stereotypes in expressions of anti‐Muslim prejudice.

Ventriloquizing the Muslim Caliban: Controlling Narratives on Muslims in The Reluctant Fundamentalist & the Harper Government

Since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, media sources have instilled a fear of Muslims in Western countries by portraying them as a homogenous, irrational group that can be triggered into extreme violence. Such narratives on Muslims encouraged perceptions that the planet is divided into incompatible cultural domains, as proposed by Samuel Huntington in The Clash of Civilizations, and laid the groundwork for marginalizing Muslims within Western societies. Mohsin Hamid appropriated the use of these narrative devices in his work, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, to expose how the media and governments exaggerated and generalized the so-called threat posed by Muslims in the West. This paper compares the narrative devices exposed by Hamid in the construction of the Muslim threat with the techniques used by the government of Stephen Harper to justify legislative and policy changes that marginalized and vilified Muslims in Canada.

Images of Muslims in Evangelical Christian and Secular Right-Wing Discourse

This is a comparative content analysis of the construction of Islam and Muslims in two Swedish publications—the newspaper Världen idag and the journal SD-Kuriren, the official organ of the Sweden Democrats—representing the Swedish Evangelical Christian right and the Swedish political right, respectively. The aim is to see both agreement and differences in their Muslim-related discourse from 2006–2007. Both news products share basic assumptions about Muslims and Islam. The main theme in the editorials and articles is the Muslim threat, in some cases combined with a Western retreat. Världen idag also focuses on Islam’s alleged incompatibility with democracy. In both media Muslims are consistently described as aggressive and are seen as the cause of different problems. Lastly, in both media products, Muslims are related to negative behavior; good Muslim behavior is constantly disregarded, while bad behavior is assumed to reflect their true character.

The Image of Islam and Muslims in Swedish Radical Christian Press

This is a case study on the construction of Islam and Muslims in sixty editorials 2006 in a Swedish Evangelical newspaper, Världen idag (“The World Today”). The paper was founded in 2001 and is officially independent and non-denominational. In reality, it is financially and ideologically dependent on the radical faith movement. Its circulation is about 8,500. The main theme in the selected editorials is “Muslim threat,” in some cases combined with “Western retreat” and “Islam’s incompatibility with democracy.” Islam and Muslims are consistently described as causing these problems. However, terms denoting Muslims are rarely derogatory, instead Muslims are depicted in terms of broad denotation, like “Muslims” or “the Muslim world.” These labels are often combined with a stark derogatory complement. Aggressive acts like “demanding” and “murdering” or “mass-murdering” are the most common ones associated with Muslims. Good Muslim behavior is constantly disregarded; bad behavior reflects true character. Muslims are depicted as one homogeneous stereotypical and static group.

Rational Islamophobia in Europe

Social and political relationsbetween Europe and the Muslim world are politically fractious. Attacks in Madrid (March 2004) and London (July 2005), and the riots in suburban Paris in November 2005 and November 2007, have all been attributed to “Muslims”. Political parties in Europe (for example theFront Nationalin France, which placed second in the presidential elections of 2002), have mobilized opinion against a Muslim threat to Europe. Relations between the countries and societies of the European Union and the Muslim World have therefore become politically consequential on a number of dimensions – foreign policy in regard to the Middle East; new membership into the EU; and the vast migration of Muslim populations into EU states.

Le Gujarat de Narendra Modi : les leçons d'une victoire électorale

<titre> Narenda Modi's Gujarat: Lessons of an Election Victory </titre> Narenda Modi's triumph for the BJP (Indian People's Party) during the regional elections of 2007 strengthened the hold of Hindu nationalism in this state. As long as Modi and the local Congress leaders occupied front stage, the election campaign was dominated by economic development and governance issues, given that Congress hesitated to attack Modi over the anti-Muslim pogroms of 2002. However, the campaign tours of national Congress leaders such as Sonia Gandhi brought this issue back to the fore, to the delight of Modi who reacted by posing as defender of law and order it in the face of the Muslim threat. Modi's Hindu national hostility is, however, merely his most salient trait. It is blended with a form of high-tech populism, a strong personality cult, a definite authoritarianism and constant praise for managerial governance. This combination has rallied around Modi the business world and the new middle class, whose anti-parliamentarianism is tending to spread elsewhere in India. The Modi phenomenon &#8211; an atypical within the BJP where individuals usually take a back seat to organizations &#8211; could well hail a transformation in the Hindu nationalist movement, even in Indian politics.

Swazi Journalism and the ‘Muslim Threat'

This paper reports the findings of a research project undertaken in Swaziland (a small kingdom in southern Africa) that interrogates the way in which the press frames Muslims and Islam as a threat to the state and to ordinary people. It begins with the misidentifying of a Muslim prayer group as a group of ‘cannibals' and then examines three major stories regarding Muslims: i) the perception that Muslims were to blame for the changing of the Swaziland constitution; (ii) a report that Muslims were enticing university students to convert to Islam in return for scholarships; and (iii) a public symposium run on the subject of Islam. It concludes that Swazi newspapers frame Muslims as warlike people who are plotting against the kingdom and who pose a threat to Swazi culture. Islam is also depicted as a religion inferior to Christianity.LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 5 2008: pp. 429-441

Sporting the Veil: Representations of Asmahan Mansour in the Canadian Media

In February 2007, eleven-year-old Asmahan Mansour was expelled from a girls’ soccer tournament in Laval, Quebec, on the grounds that her headscarf was a safety threat. Issued by Quebec soccer officials, this charge produced Asmahan both as a passive female victim and a Muslim threat. In this essay, I conduct a survey of English-language newspapers in Quebec and Central Canada from the date of Asmahan’s expulsion, February 27, 2007, until March 6, 2007. I argue that the press constructs Asmahan’s case into a nationalist narrative that highlights Canada’s ostensible commitment to “multiculturalism” and “tolerance,” and serves to augment public faith in these national values.

The Silent Witness of Montrelais

The writing of Thomas More’s A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation is set against the background of the complex political situation of Europe in the early 16th century. In this survey, the internal European power struggles are explored and the external Muslim threat is discussed. Using the stained-glass east window within the church of Montrelais, France, as an illustration, the author examines the detailed commentary provided by this primary source evidence, installed within the building in 1535. The exploration includes the political and theological elements present in the work, along with the compositional significance of its artistic design. An appreciation is made of this remarkable window about the times of tribulation its construction witnessed, with its depictions of François I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and Henry VIII.

Les stratèges de Sicile. De la naissance du thème au règne de Léon V

The authors' study has revealed a high proportion of patricii and eunuques amongst the governors of Sicily in the eighth century. This as well as a similar tendency amongst the exarchs of Italy attests to the close links between the Cubiculum and the Western territories of the empire. With the fall of Ravenna in 751 and the end of the Muslim threat to Sicily at about the same time the governor of Sicily succeeded to the exarch. The office took on a diplomatic dimension, the governor being charged with the main political responsibility in Byzantine Italy.