This thesis constitutes a case study of how an Islamic institution in London is produced as an object of knowledge. It develops an argument by Maussen about mosques in Western Europe, which suggests that they ‘do not have a self-evident, clear and constant meaning’. On the basis of a literature review, he points to how academics have shaped ‘the processes of the production of meaning’ regarding these mosques, something that has political consequences for knowledge. This thesis builds on his work by shifting the research focus to a specific example of an Islamic institution, and including a broader group of actors involved in its production as an object of knowledge. For this research, I undertook an ethnographic study of the institution, holding a junior position within the leadership as a way of learning about its everyday life. This material is complemented by other forms of data, such as research literature, archival sources, media accounts, Council documentation, Parliamentary proceedings, maps, images, and photographs. The thesis has three ‘threads’, which fall into six chapters. The ‘public sphere’ thread comprises three chapters, which look at the institution’s representation by and engagement with three sets of actors: researchers, state representatives, and journalists. A ‘community’ chapter explores local productions of meaning: specifically, how the community’s internal complexity shapes understandings of the institution. Finally, the ‘history’ thread comprises two explorations: perspectives on the meaning of its foundational moment, and its relationship with the history of its built environment. Each of the chapters offers a way of reading the institution, while there are also matters of internal heterogeneity, and further temporal and material complexities in its construction as an object of knowledge. The thesis conclusion proposes the metaphor of ‘palimpsest’ to describe the resultant complexity of meaning in play.

Student Number : 9400560N - MA research report - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / This research report critically analyses – through qualitative content analysis – how the Sowetan and the Mail&Guardian newspapers reported the alleged corruption in the arms deal in November 2001. The analysis includes a contextual discussion of factors shaping or influencing media coverage of important political topics in a transition to democracy. Theories of the role of the media in democratic transition inform the analysis of media coverage of the arms deal. ‘Transition’ in the context of this research report is used to refer to the process of South Africa’s ‘conversion’ from an undemocratic apartheid system based on unfair prejudices and practices grounded on class, race and gender to a ‘fair discrimination’ and application of remedial measures (political, social and economic) to correct the imbalances caused by apartheid policies. The research applies liberal pluralism, gatekeeping, public sphere, as well as Marxist-related media theories, including the critical political economy of the media approach and notes that it is not possible for a single approach to offer an absolute analysis of the role of the media in a transition to democracy. In addition, the research employs theories of news, language and society to show how social relations affect language used in news and ultimately affect notions of ‘bias’ and ‘objectivity’. The study observes that complete ‘objectivity’ as an ideal is unattainable, especially when one considers that news making processes are complex and influenced by diverse factors, some of which allow for anticipated processes of selection and inevitably, bias. This applies to the two publications under study. The report observes that through their reportage of alleged corruption in the arms deal during the month of November 2001, these newspapers attempted to open up, create and democratize the space for free inquiry. At the same time, however, it is noted that this space was dominated by certain voices and not representative of all civil society organizations and interests that had a stake in the arms deal. The report concludes that media should be encouraged to promote genuine diversity of voices. Diversity, within such a scheme, should be measured by equal and participatory dialogue from all the voices of all civil society institutions.