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Det finns idag en ganska omfattande samhällsvetenskaplig litteratur om lokala och nationella protester mot planer på moskéer och böneutrop i västvärlden. Men det finns endast få studier som uppmärksammar växelverkan mellan sådant motstånd och olika former av stöd för muslimers religionsutövning. För att belysa rörelsernas retoriska inramningar analyseras ingresser till svenska namninsamlingar, Facebookgrupper och Facebooksidor. Innehållsanalysen visar bland annat att retoriken inte begränsas till praktiska lokaliseringsfrågor utan handlar i högsta grad om det svenska samhällets framtid. Moskéer utgör här viktiga symboler där de antingen representerar ett hot eller ett samhälle baserat på mänskliga rättigheter.

This essay examines on what kind of Muslim stereotypes exist in entertainment movies which are being produced in the West and particularly the United States. First, the focus will be on explaining the concept of stereotypes and Islamophobia and what role the media has in the movies' production of its contents. The incident at the World Trade Center will also be discussed briefly. By using semiotic and narrative analyses the essay investigates if a stereotyped image is being used about Muslims and how Muslim main characters that have the role of being protagonists, are visualized in entertainment movies. The material that is included in the empirical analysis consists of three selected movies. The purpose of this essay is to create a broader understanding on how stereotypes of Islam and Muslims are being used within the entertainment industry with particular focus on movies that are produced in the West. The results in this paper show that stereotypes of Islam and Muslims lives on in the 21st century movies and that Muslims who are characterized as protagonists are illustrated with traits and appearance that reminiscent of the West. However, Islam and Muslims is not a frequent content in movies produced in USA.

This thesis studies the experiences of Albanian and Bosnian Muslim immigrants in Canada in the post-9/11 period. It draws upon a boundary-making framework and employs qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the destigmatization strategies of Balkan Muslims, as well the national and cultural repertoires that enable and facilitate their utilization. The study yields several important findings. The quantitative findings show that Albanian and Bosnian Muslim immigrants in general show lower levels of attachment to religion compared to other Muslim immigrants. Also, many members of these ethnic groups appear to have resorted to the strategy of distancing and/or disidentifying from Muslim identification and/or faith in favour of identifying as irreligious as a way of coping with rising Islamophobia in Canadian society. The qualitative findings show that the move towards distancing/disidentification is due to a dissonance between the cultural repertoires of the meaning(s) of “Muslim” in participants’ homeland versus that of the host society. Discursively, the process of distancing/disidentification occurs mostly by drawing religious and, relatedly, moral and value boundaries from other, mostly non-European and racialized Muslims. Importantly, despite having been exposed to instances of Islamophobia, participants overwhelmingly reported that their communities have not been significantly affected by anti-Muslim sentiments. I argue that the Albanian and Bosnian Muslims’ lack of religious signs, bolstered by their “whiteness” and society’s general unfamiliarity with Muslims and the Balkans, have greatly contributed to the perceived lack of religion-based discrimination. This study thus demonstrates that Islamophobia is to a significant extent an issue of racism, and that, relatedly, “race” continues to be a weighty marker of differentiation in Canadian society, where skin colour and appearance function as a religious sign.

The purpose of this study is to examine how religion and the construction of new religious buildings are debated in social media. The study is based on two research questions concerning the main arguments about the mosque building in Karlstad and what kind of image of Muslims and Islam that exist. Data were collected from two Facebook-groups, Ja till moské i Karlstad and Nej tack till moské i Karlstad and analyzed and categorised with a content analysis and image analysis. The theory of the study rests on Mattias Gardell’s definition of Islamophobia. The theory also includes Klas Borell’s definition of NIMBY and the concept of cyber-Islamophobia by Göran Larsson. The result showed that most arguments concerning the building of the mosque were based on arguments of freedom of religion. The positive arguments claimed a mosque was good for the city and the freedom of religion. The arguments that were negative claimed a mosque would be a threat to the freedom of religion, since they claimed Islam is violent and that the location for the mosque should be used for something better (housing, school, activities, etc.). Muslims and Islam i portrayed mostly negative and stereotyped. However, these stereotypes are contradicted by Muslims who claims their religion to be peaceful and respectful.the result showed that the arguments overall was Islamophobic even though some arguments in favor to defend that Islam exist.

This thesis is aimed at analysing key similarities and differences of the Englsih Defence League and the German-born social movement PEGIDA. Whereas both movements have a common goal, to stop the perceived Islamisation of their respective countries, and Europe as a whole, the means and methods vary greatly. Moreover, it is argued that the followership of said organisations differ in age, social background and motivation. Both organisations are able to exert a certain amount of influence on their supporters, the rest of the society, as well as policy- makers and the political elite. Both organisations have influenced the societal and political climate of their respective countries of origin and also in the countries in the European neighbourhood with links to individuals and organisations in North America.

There is a lack of research on the relationship between dehumanization of minority religious groups and affiliation with terrorism, which suggests a need to consider the consequences of dehumanization perceptions beyond promoting aggression. This qualitative case study addresses whether dehumanization embedded in public policies influences Muslim Americans 18 to 25 years of age, native and nonnative, to engage in homegrown terrorism. Using Schneider and Ingram’s social constructions of target populations as the foundation, research questions focused on how perceptions of mechanistic dehumanization in policy design influence homegrown terrorism among Muslim- American adults. Data were acquired through archival data that included historical documents, artifacts, and recorded testimonies of U.S. senior policymakers and organizations. These data were inductively coded, and through thematic analysis, Muslim Americans’ opinions and experiences with mechanistic dehumanization in policy settings were examined. Key themes indicated that during the early stages of the War on Terror, Americans dehumanized U.S. Muslims, which corresponded to support for exclusionary policies. However, there were no indications of modification to target group political orientation. The implications for positive social change include recommendations to policy makers to reevaluate social and public policies for Muslim Americans, counterterrorism practitioners, and scholars to avoid unfocused and unjust policies that impose collateral damage against all Muslims and not the intended targets of international extremists.

This thesis is aimed at analysing key similarities and differences of the Englsih Defence League and the German-born social movement PEGIDA. Whereas both movements have a common goal, to stop the perceived Islamisation of their respective countries, and Europe as a whole, the means and methods vary greatly. Moreover, it is argued that the followership of said organisations differ in age, social background and motivation. Both organisations are able to exert a certain amount of influence on their supporters, the rest of the society, as well as policy- makers and the political elite. Both organisations have influenced the societal and political climate of their respective countries of origin and also in the countries in the European neighbourhood with links to individuals and organisations in North America.

The thesis HateFree Culture: The importance of agonistic dialogue in mitigating Islamophobia is a case study of the Czech government's campaign against hate crime - HateFree Culture. The thesis deals with the current phenomenon of Islamophobia and identifies how the HateFree Culture initiative works with the topic of Islam in an attempt to alleviate Islamophobic manifestations in society. It examines the extent to which the primary tool of this campaign, a moderated Facebook discussion, can affect Islamophobic expressions and identifies the link between this discussion and deliberative forums. The thesis shows that the various techniques used in the project can positively influence the way in which the topic is discussed and can thus progressively lead to a reduction in the manifestations of Islamophobia in society. This process is discussed in relation to the theory of deliberative democracy. However, it also concerns the theory of agonistic pluralism and an agonistic dialogue. The thesis finds that the aim of the project is promoting the knowledge of Islam and Muslims that could lead to a better mutual understanding, but also to the cultivation of a conflict that is related to the topic in order to transform its character into a less harmful one. HateFree Culture is thus shown as an agonistic...

The minimual amount of Muslims currently present in Slovakia are experiencing hatred towards them and Islamophobia is on the rise. Research has shown that Islamophobia is produced by prejudice and fear of the uknown. This study aims to examine factors which contribute to the negative perception of refugees in Slovakia and what contributes to the rise in Islamophobia. It builds to extend the work of other scholars which have previously looked into this issue, by testing the theory and combining numerous factors together. This study therefore asks: Do economic factors and the influence of news outlets and political parties lead to negative perceptions of Muslims and therefore support Islamophobia in Slovakia? Based on this question, primary and secondary qualitivave research was conducted to test to which extent media, politics and economic situation affect perception of refugees. Analysis of responces indicated that the biggest factors contributing to Islamophobia was prejudice conducted and spread by news oultets and politians, with economic economy playing a big role in people perceived safety of their welfare first. Further research is required to identify cultural and historical reasons behind prejudice and Islamophobia in this region. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)