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This study examined the relationship between wearing the hijab – a key spiritual practice for many Muslim females – and discrimination among a community sample of American Muslim women. The logistic regression results revealed that women who wore the hijab more frequently were more likely to experience religious discrimination during the past year. Other significant predictors of discrimination were English language proficiency and respondents' Islamic tradition. The implications of the findings are discussed for direct practice with Muslim women in tandem with the need to create a cultural milieu that honors the right of women to wear the hijab free from harassment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the changing perceptions of dress, focusing on the lungi, funjabi and the thobe, amongst the British Bangladeshi Muslim male diaspora in the East End of London. Through various historical trajectories, I argue that the research participants in this article dress their bodies according to the current meanings attributed to the garments. These meanings are (re)-configured using a meta-constructed stigma guideline they interpret using their faith, Islam, and the wider dominant discourse around acceptability and respectability. Drawing on in-depth interviews with British Bangladeshi Muslims in East London, I demonstrate how the ubiquitous presence of the Islamophobia arc is invisible yet dictates everyday behaviours and responses. In addition, framing masculinity via the Muslim gaze has intensified clear demarcations of what constitutes religious and/or ethnic dress. To extrapolate the continuous interplay in constructing a British Bangladeshi Muslim male identity via clothing, I explore this as paradigmatic of how stigma is located, consequently determining men's sartorial choices. The article ends by considering how the socio-positioning qua the political landscape facilitates a structural restriction that trickles down to individual's choices in what the appropriate Muslim male body can look like in the public sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the representation of Indian Muslims in national news coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic. By deploying Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the paper examines how hegemonic news discourses in four Indian daily newspapers published in English and Hindi constructed the image of a Muslim "other" across various discursive moments in relation to the news coverage of a Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) congregation and its link to the spread of COVID-19 in India. Describing the congregation's Muslim participants as anti-nationals, insensitive to the suffering of their compatriots, disrespectful of the law of the land, super-spreaders of the virus and jihadis, the image of the Muslim "other" was constructed and conveyed to the public by using such appellations. These conformed to many beliefs of Hindutva, the right-wing Hindu ideology, that seeks to infuse in public discourse feelings of the "other" – an other which needs to be criminalized and ostracized. The mediated reality produced is embedded in the power structure and is an ideologically driven exercise. The way hegemonic power operates is clearly reflected in the discourses about Muslims that circulated in the media during the first wave of COVID-19 in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myanmar’s political system during the 2010–2021 period shares much in common with the political systems of neighbouring India and nearby Sri Lanka, and so this article identifies all three as ethnocratic, arguing these polities represent a variation of ethnocracy which leans authoritarian and is specifically Islamophobic. This article builds on discourse about the nature of ethnocracy to introduce the label ‘Saffron Ethnocracy’, which is used to identify the specific Islamophobic variation of ethnocracy observable in India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The saffron label recognises the common use of saffron clothing as identity markers by Hindus and Buddhists, the dominant religious groups in each country. While all three South Asian countries were certainly procedural democracies during the period studied, majoritarianism strongly impacted their political systems, affecting citizenship laws and practices, contributing to assertions about civilisational uniqueness of dominant groups, empowering religio-political institutions of the dominant groups, dramatically curtailing freedom of expression and severely undermining the standing of minorities, particularly Muslim populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shows that British homosexual Muslims face rejection and identity conflict between their homosexuality and their Muslimness. The opposition between Islam and homosexuality has created a feeling of exclusion, illustrating the assumed incompatibility between being Muslim and being homosexual. Homosexual Muslims face religiously motivated homophobia rooted in the heteronormative precepts of Islam. In parallel, they face Islamophobic attitudes in which Islam is now used as a form of civilisational opposition to the British values of tolerance and inclusion and the wider homosexual community see it as a threat to their very existence. Nevertheless, the results show that the hostility of Muslims toward homosexuality is evolving, and the heteronormative discourses are now coexisting with more neutral and even homo-friendly approaches. A new bicultural belonging among homosexual Muslims is being constructed to address individual strategies of managing both identities and is fostering new interpretations of acceptance of different sexualities within Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this exploratory, survey-based study (n = 606), we examined whether Muslim perceptions about giving have changed due to the increased government scrutiny of charitable donations. We also examined age-based differences in preferences for cash versus non-cash donations, sending cash abroad versus giving within the U.S., and the likelihood of Muslims donating to causes that benefit non-Muslims. Our empirical models controlled for demographic differences such as gender, marital status, income, education, race etc. Our statistical results suggest that in the U.S. (1) some Muslims feel that charitable giving to Muslim causes has decreased as a result of monitoring of such giving by the government; (2) older Muslims tend to prefer documented means of giving as opposed to cash donations; (3) Muslims who prefer to donate in cash within the U.S. tend to be similar in age to those who prefer to send money abroad; and (4) age has no bearing on U.S. Muslims' likelihood of donating Zakat to causes that benefit non-Muslims. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article thoroughly investigates Boko Haram's (BH) evolving stance towards Muslims, particularly in northern Nigeria, unveiling distinct phases of engagement. It asserts that BH's transformation into a covert entity, driven by state repression, triggered the adoption of exclusive membership methods, culminating in a trajectory of expansive violence that encompassed both systemic targets and eventually Muslims. These shifts materialised through three distinct periods: pre-2009, marked by BH's competition with fellow Muslim groups through sermons and public outreach to gain adherents; the 2009–2013 span, witnessing BH's covert shift with a selective membership approach and a recalibrated Muslim strategy, exploiting interfaith tensions for sympathy and mobilisation; and post-2013, witnessing an abrupt shift in BH's Muslim stance towards denunciation, open enmity, and heightened violent actions. This transformation resulted from BH's recognition of its soft mobilisation's failure, its estrangement from rival Muslim factions, and the participation of ordinary Muslims alongside government forces against the movement, collectively reshaping BH's dynamics and its interactions within the Muslim community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the novel role of solo status, or being the only Muslim in different settings, in the relationship between discrimination and distress for Muslim women in the United States who wear the hijab, the Islamic headscarf, and Muslim women who do not wear the hijab. Psychological distress was examined through symptoms of anxiety, somatization, and paranoia. Results from a sample of 123 Muslim women in the United States showed that the impact of solo status was different for Muslim women who always wear the hijab compared to Muslim women who never wear the hijab. Namely, high solo status exacerbated the impact of discrimination on all psychological symptoms for Muslim women who wear the hijab. In contrast, low solo status compounded the effect of discrimination on all psychological symptoms for Muslim women who never wear the hijab. Given these findings, clinical, training, research, and advocacy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitudes toward Muslims are at the core of addressing the anti-Muslim environments Muslims encounter in college and society writ large. Using longitudinal data, this study shows that colleges can spur the development of appreciative attitudes toward Muslims by non-Muslim students when they engage in two or more informal or formal social engagements across religious and spiritual identity differences. Institutional campus culture is also meaningfully connected to Muslim appreciation. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A narrow definition of Islamophobia flags religion as playing the central part in anti-Muslim prejudice. But a broader term bundles ethnic, national and cultural prejudices together with religious ones; the latter are gradually becoming disconnected from the cultures in which they were embedded. In measuring degrees and levels of Islamophobia, this article turns to the mass media to understand how they have amplified and at times echoed calls for anti-Muslim prejudice. Islam has become culturalized and racialized by both adherents and antagonists alike, lending a massive landscape for social media in particular to exploit. Qualitative data seem best equipped to assay popular attitudes and behavior towards Muslims. And their relevance is especially significant in shaping female Muslim experiences. To be sure, Islam is placed to take a key part in the making of a post-hegemonic international order. Highlighting tolerance towards others is critical rather than using other attributes to shore up the political legitimacy of a state. To categorize Islamophobes as racists makes for bad politics, but it can enhance legitimacy.

This article explores the concept of conviviality: the practice and negotiation of sharing space in suburbs with diverse populations. Australia has a growing Muslim population and reports of Islamophobia remain widespread. While there is some evidence, however, that forming intercultural connections can foster more positive attitudes toward religious minority groups, we know little about how Muslim and non‐Muslim communities share space in Australia. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative investigation into how conviviality is perceived in Australian suburbs with high concentrations of Muslim residents. Following qualitative, thematic analysis of 15 interviews with multicultural service providers who work with Muslims in Melbourne, Victoria, we conclude that conviviality is fostered by a sense of community between people who share similar backgrounds as well as increased opportunities to form intercultural social connections. We discuss the scholarly and policy implications of these findings, with consideration of existing arguments about the practices of sharing space in Australian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islamophobia, as a form of cultural racism, can take different forms in different contexts. Previous research suggested that there is a perception among some Muslims that anti-Muslim racism is higher in areas where there is a high density of Muslim residents such as Glasgow. In contrast, some others suggest that ethnic minority people are at greater risk of racism in less racially diverse areas because of less community support and less police protection. This paper draws on a research which involved 10 semi-structured interviews with Muslims in different Scottish towns and small cities. The data is collected from marginal contexts that are typically overlooked or neglected in mainstream studies. To discuss the importance of the low or high density of Muslim communities, and any other possible factor, in the experience of Islamophobia the result of this research is compared to the experiences of 33 Muslim participants in Scottish major cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars of Indian religious traditions have described how Muslims belong to Indian society as a charismatic other, a sectarian minority, and a liminal community (Ahmad and Reifeld 2004; Gold 2013; Sila-Khan 2004; Robinson 1979). While these are important analyses, they do not adequately address recent developments in Muslim self-statement and identification that are determinedly Indian and Muslim, grounded in a rejection of the limited terms of their acceptance and inclusion. This article identifies a new trend in understanding Indian Muslim affiliation, one that is continually shaped by the long-standing question of Muslim belonging. I turn to data from contexts of public and private performances of Muslim identities that emerged throughout India, and around the world, in response to the official exclusion of Muslims from the premises of citizenship in the 2019 CAA (Citizenship Amendment Bill) legislation. From late 2019 to early 2020, Muslims and their allies in the anti-CAA movement publicly recited poetry, staged theatrical performances in the street, and organized a weeks-long women-led sit-in in Delhi to collectively reject the exclusionary premises of the new citizenship legislation and argue that being Muslim and Indian is no contradiction. How the question of Muslim affiliation is articulated and contested in genres of performance not only newly theorizes Muslim belonging in India today, but also reveals the important role of performance in constructing notions of religion, community, and nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religion in Europe has been undergoing two fundamental changes in the past four decades. As a side effect of secularization, religious fields have been pluralizing. On the other hand, religions themselves have taken a qualitative shift towards lived, material characteristics. Focusing exclusively on the diversification of European religious fields, we are interested in the concept of religious literacy as a tool for competent engagement in contemporary religious plural societies. To better understand the role of public media in fostering religious literacy, we offer an analysis of the public broadcaster's coverage of smaller religious communities in Slovenia. Focusing particularly on Muslims as the largest religious minority in Slovenia, we provide an analysis of 245 episodes, consisting of 540 items, in the 2015–2020 period. We show that the coverage given to smaller religious communities is unevenly spread amongst the communities, with disproportional airtime given to Christian churches and communities. Furthermore, we pinpoint the key qualitative difference in portrayals of Slovenian Muslims and non-Catholic Christians, explaining how the process of racialized Islamophobia may continue beyond explicit hate speech. In conclusion we set out limitations of our study and provide guidelines for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A considerable amount of research in Western countries during the past 30 years has found a strong tendency to associate Muslims with violent acts. This has resulted in an increase in Islamophobia. This article examines Lithuania's media, politicians, and public perceptions on terrorism-Muslims in order to understand the correlation between Lithuanian media and political discourse on Muslims and their connection with public discourses. I propose that the weaker the linkage between media and political portrayals associating terrorism with Muslims is with public perceptions of terrorism and Muslims, the less likely the latter will see Muslims as folk devils. My analysis of the data supports this hypothesis and conclusively shows that media and political discourse do not have a hegemonic power to control the portrayal of Muslims and to create a sense of moral panic among Lithuanians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This first article in the 2024 World Affairs special issue examines the Narendra Modi regime in India. Often acerbic political rhetoric is attached to official policies of the regime, creating fear and hopelessness within sections of the population. In this study, five sets of political activities of the government are evaluated. First, cultural authoritarianism became apparent with complicity toward "cow vigilantism," slapping sedition charges against those showing political dissent, banning the history books of selected progressives, and stereotyping sections of the left and liberals as antinationals. Second, the demonetization policy was implemented without adequately following the economic protocols of the state. Third, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill indicates the thwarting of democratic and federalist ideas. Fourth, the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens exercise in Assam demonstrate the communal‐fascist worldview of the regime in profiling population groups. Finally, the sloppy handling of the COVID‐19 pandemic and the new Information Technology rules show the government's callous approach toward science and privacy. By analyzing such political activities, the article points out that majoritarian religious nationalism, coupled with authoritarianism, has been the ideological expression of the Modi regime, coexisting with both state surveillance and electoral democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the underpinnings and ramifications of anti‐Muslim attitudes in the United States? While scholars have emphasized the centrality of race and racial attitudes to American politics, examinations of hostility towards Muslim Americans with context‐specific measures are still lacking despite the increasing relevance of this population in the public imagination. Particularly after the tragic 9/11 attacks, Islamophobia emerged as a pervasive force in American social and political life, entangling race, religion, and nationality to further stigmatize and marginalize Muslims. By more systematically examining the relationship between anti‐Muslim attitudes and public support for a range of initiatives that aim to, or already have, further marginalize(d) American Muslims, the research presented herein aims to underscore the limitations of attitudinal measures that lack context specificity. Through two studies that utilize a nationally representative survey and a longitudinal study of public opinion towards Muslims, we make the case for the development and use of more nuanced measures that capture the distinct nature of hostility towards Muslims as encompassing both perceived realistic and symbolic threats. Additionally, we consider the range of social, psychological, and physical consequences that Islamophobia may exert on Muslim individuals themselves, as well as their interactions with the majority population. These have important implications for scholars studying the sociopolitical behavior of Muslims and policymakers seeking to counteract the adverse effects of Islamophobia in the United States or elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2015 and 2017, the Internet Research Agency (IRA) – a Kremlin-backed "troll farm" based in St. Petersburg – executed a propaganda campaign on Twitter to target US voters. Scholarship has expended relatively little effort to study the role of Islamophobia in the IRA's propaganda campaign. Following critical disinformation research, this article demonstrates that Islamophobia, affect, and white identity played a crucial role in the IRA's targeting of right-wing US voters. With an official release of tweets and associated visual content from Twitter, we use topic modeling and visual analysis to explore both how, and to what extent, the IRA used Islamophobia in its propaganda. To do so, we develop a multimodal distant reading technique to study how the IRA aligned users with contemporary far right social movements by deploying racial and emotional appeals that center on narrating a transnational white identity under threat from Islam and Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars within Islamophobia studies are predominantly concerned with studying societies and actors that embody Islamophobic beliefs and practices. A common claim in this literature is that Islamophobia is structurally and institutionally embedded, resulting in a multifaceted social exclusion of Muslims across Western societies. This article sets out to evaluate this claim by means of reviewing the qualitative literature concerned with Muslim experiences with social exclusion (Islamophobia, discrimination, racism, prejudice, stigmatization, and exclusion) in Western settings. In doing so, this article provides a structured overview of existing knowledge within these related topics, while also identifying assumptions within Islamophobia studies that ought to be informed by this empirical knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fringe political actors' Qur'an desecrations in Scandinavia have over the past few years resulted in international media attention, diplomatic crises, calls for boycotts and pressures from Muslim states and organisations to criminalize such acts. This article explores the historical genealogies of Qur'an desecration – a transnational phenomenon – that emerged in the wake of the post-9/11 'Global War on Terror'. In Norway, public Qur'an burnings have been integral to the strategies of the far-right organization Stop the Islamisation of Norway (SIAN) since 2019. Inspired by Titley's notion of far-right "free speech capture", we demonstrate that Qur'an burning functions as a powerful symbolic means to incite hatred against Islam and Muslims in the name of "free speech". We contend that Qur'an burning in the Norwegian context lies at the intersection between transnational and national flows and modalities of Islamophobia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The warnings about Turkey's not-so-near accession to the EU are explored as a strategic tool in the Brexit campaign, linking concerns about sovereignty and immigration compounded with the anxieties surrounding Islam and the threat of terrorism. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Edward Said's Orientalism and the unique perspectives gathered from British Turks, this paper sheds light on their nuanced responses. It uncovers strategies of disbelief and denial in the face of the constructed narrative that portrayed Turkey as an undesirable 'Other' with its predominantly Muslim population. A closer analysis of some British Turks' narratives is premised not only on the sacralised defence of the principles of Turkish westernisation but also on the socio-political reputation of the Islamic Ottoman past as almighty. The article equally contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between British national identity and discourses surrounding immigration, sovereignty, and Islamophobia within the context of Brexit, as well as the principles by which the privileges of modern, secular Turkey, as well as the demise of the mighty Ottoman image, are maintained. In a paradoxical manner, the act of denial only serves to affirm the Brexit campaign's narrative depicting Turkey as an undesirable 'Other' with a predominantly Muslim demographic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muslims in Europe and North America face high rates of discrimination and hostility. Less clear are the consequences of this prejudice on Muslims' political attitudes. Leveraging a survey of 1,330 Muslims in Germany, we show that Muslims who have personally experienced discrimination exhibit higher anti‐system tendencies: more supportive of violence, more supportive of Islamism, and less supportive of democracy and secularism. We also find that these patterns are concentrated among Muslims who believe they "suffer alone," not believing other Muslims experience similar hostility. Finally, through a priming experiment, we find causal evidence that German Chancellor Angela Merkel's inclusive rhetoric and policies toward Muslims may help mitigate these dynamics, reducing perceptions of discrimination and in turn producing pro‐system sentiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After 9/11, research highlighted how Muslim communities endured discrimination, surveillance, and violence. In recent years, few studies have critically assessed how gender-based harassment of Muslim women is simultaneously linked to hypervisibility (veiling), while "invisible" (non-veiled) Muslim women remain susceptible to verbal harassment and physical violence in the public sphere. Drawing from qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews with Muslim women (n = 27) across racial/ethnic and immigrant identity, this article examines the unique vulnerability of Muslim women during the Trump presidential administration, including covert and overt forms of violence. Findings indicate myriad forms of violence as veiled women navigate harassment at the axes of racialized Muslim identity and social categorization as immigrants (twice racialized intersectionality). Yet, Black Muslim women's experiences are further complicated by anti-Black racism. Muslim women navigate gender-based anti-Muslim bias by disrupting notions of passive victimhood by leaning into invisible or hypervisible markers, revealing or concealing their ethnoreligious identity through racial ambiguity, and engaging in advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the discourse surrounding Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs), the examination of anti-minority rhetoric, particularly Islamophobia, emerges as a pivotal focus. This article underscores the global pervasiveness of Islamophobia, extending beyond Western contexts and impacting societies worldwide with Muslim populations. Despite its prominence, the literature on populist parties has primarily overlooked the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which is currently in power in India. Using the ideational approach to analyse populism, this article investigates whether the BJP's ideology and practices align with the three defining characteristics of right-wing populism, namely, its conceptualisations of the people, elites, and others. The analysis is grounded in the BJP's use of 'identity politics' during electoral campaigns and its repercussions in promoting anti-minority rhetoric within state policy. The findings reveal that the radicalisation of Hindu populism since 2014 has resulted in changes to national legislation and a diminished adherence to international legal commitments, particularly in the realms of discrimination and human rights. These shifts have had discernible effects on India's domestic legal system and its obligations under international law. The exploration of BJP's policies and legal developments since 2014 contributes significantly to a nuanced understanding of right-wing populism, offering insights into the complexities of identity politics and Islamophobia within the Indian political landscape and as part of a broader global phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Islamophobia: What Christians Should Know (And Do) About Anti-Muslim Discrimination" is a book by Jordan Denari Duffner that explores the roots and effects of anti-Muslim prejudice. The author addresses Christians, discussing the role Christianity has played in fostering anti-Muslim bias and the need to heal these divisions. The book examines the manifestations of Islamophobia, including how Muslims are perceived and treated, and highlights the racialization of Islam, which affects not only Muslims but also non-Muslims who are mistakenly identified as Muslims. The author also discusses the presence of anti-Muslim prejudice within Christianity, particularly within the Catholic Church, and offers a Christian response to Islamophobia based on scriptural sources and Catholic social teaching. The book is recommended as a valuable resource for understanding and addressing Islamophobia in various contexts, including parishes, educational institutions, and interfaith dialogue. [Extracted from the article]

This essay outlines the rhetorical elements and discursive strategies used to perpetuate cultural racism, or ethnicism, in contemporary political discourse. Using Marine Le Pen's Islamophobic discourse as a case study, this essay demonstrates how Le Pen deploys ethno-nationalist rhetoric to highlight the dangers that she believes Muslim terrorists pose to French national identity. She portrays Muslim terrorists as rootless wanderers capable of causing irreparable damage to France, which enables her to craft herself as a protector of the French home using populist reasoning. In doing so, Le Pen's discourse stokes fears of clandestine terrorists hiding among the French Muslim and migrant populace, which constitutes the Muslim terrorist--and by extension, all Muslims--as major security and cultural threats to the nation. Consequently, Le Pen portrays French national identity as incompatible with all forms of Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, there is a dearth of research applying the theoretical lens of critical race theory to explore Muslim university students' experiences in higher degree education institutions. The prevailing approach has been to focus on institutional barriers and policies. This article deviates from such studies by framing the analysis in terms of a comparison between Muslim and non-Muslim white students in higher degree education institutions in New South Wales (NSW) Australia in order to operationalize whiteness in Australia's settler colonial society as a central category of analysis. The article seeks to explore how Muslim and non-Muslim students experience and respond to the university as a white institution, considering how Muslim students engage in both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies in response to the university as a white institution, and how white, non-Muslim students experience the normativity, invisibility and hegemony of whiteness in the university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the subjection of Europe's lower-strata working-class Muslims to a politics of containment on two levels: isolation and elite capture. Departing from analogies between antisemitism and Islamophobia, it argues for a different comparison between the two that involves their effects when weaponised as discursive strategies. While the effects of the weaponisation of ('new') antisemitism tend to isolate Muslims through a de -essentialising good vs. bad Muslim discourse, the effects of the weaponisation of Islamophobia move towards the tendential dynamics of elite capture through a re -essentialising discourse. Instead of theorising identity-formation as a direct consequence of ideology, the paper situates both discursive strategies within a structural framework that involves Muslims' organisational and collective- action forms, which in turn consolidate non-class identities. The paper concludes that the effects of the weaponisation of both discourses are realised in the containment of Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses attitudes towards Jews in Canada, highlighting recent incidents of anti-Semitic attacks and harassment. Surveys show that Canadians generally have positive attitudes towards Jews, but there is a discrepancy between attitudes and behavior, with a rise in reported anti-Semitic incidents. The article suggests that improved data collection and the inclusion of incidents motivated by anti-Israel sentiment may contribute to this discrepancy. The survey found that while there are some negative attitudes towards Jews in Canada, it does not indicate widespread antisemitism. Muslim Canadians and Quebecois individuals tend to have more negative attitudes towards Jews, and non-Jewish university students have slightly more negative attitudes compared to the general population. However, claims of Canadian universities being "hotbeds of antisemitism" are exaggerated, and anti-Israel attitudes are more prevalent than anti-Jewish attitudes on campuses. [Extracted from the article]

Contemporary Islamophobia, while pervasive in the West, has now escalated in societies as distinct as China, India, Myanmar, and Israel in the post-9/11 era. Yet, Islamophobia is not something new, with roots from the centuries after Islam’s founding. This study argues that a global-historical framework is necessary to fully understand Islamophobia’s origins and impact. It extends previous global critical race and racism frameworks and their focus on whiteness to include an emphasis on the epistemological and structural foundations of global Islamophobia. Within these foundations, two key elements are forwarded as the basis for a guiding ontology of whiteness: (1) the Enlightenment-era epistemological transition from religious ways of knowing to knowledge based on controlled and controlling rationality; and (2) the institutions built by European conquest. Using this conceptual framework, the study traces a genealogy of Islamophobia to identify five key moments in its development and resurgence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dehumanization continues to be prevalent today and predicts detrimental intergroup consequences. Thus, it is important to identify novel interventions that reduce dehumanization and explore the mechanism(s)—both established (e.g., empathy induction, intergroup contact) and relatively understudied (e.g., humor)—driving the effects. To address this issue, in Study 1 (N = 2,349), we conducted an "intervention tournament" and found that a video (i.e., "Mean Tweets") of a relatable and diverse group of young Muslims ridiculing Islamophobic comments posted on an online video of a Muslim preschool burning down effectively reduces hostility towards Muslims. Specifically, the Mean Tweets intervention significantly reduced dehumanization of Muslims and, although the effects were weaker, anti‐Muslim policy support. However, a follow‐up study conducted 1 month later revealed that these effects subsided. Next, in a preregistered study (i.e., Study 2) (N = 677), we find that our intervention reliably reduced dehumanization of Muslims, but the reduction of anti‐Muslim policy support was not replicated. While investigating our intervention's effect on anti‐Muslim policy support, we find that our intervention led participants to discount the intervention's intended message, which could have short‐circuited the intervention's effectiveness on policy support. Considering these results, we discuss the potential psychological processes (e.g., humor, message discounting, tone) underlying our dehumanization‐reducing intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study comprehensively examines the complex dynamics between Hindutva and the Muslim minority in India, with a particular emphasis on escalating conflicts. Drawing from a wide array of academic sources, the research delves into the intricate interplay of political, religious, and sociological factors shaping this intricate landscape. Specifically, it investigates the intentional exacerbation of discrimination, nationalism, and exclusionary policies disproportionately affecting the Muslim population in India. Additionally, it sheds light on the politicization of Hinduism and the rise of Hindu nationalism while assessing the socio-political challenges faced by the Muslim minority. The study underscores the urgent need for a narrative that embraces inclusivity, secularism, and progressiveness, while critically analyzing the role of the state in preferentially treating religious groups and exploring strategies to promote interfaith communication and mutual respect. The primary aim is to foster a society where individuals of all religious backgrounds can practice their beliefs freely without fear of discrimination or persecution. Furthermore, the research highlights the importance of ongoing dialogues, policy changes, and balanced media portrayals in reevaluating dominant narratives and advocating for social justice, equality, and inclusivity within contemporary India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article explores the legal repercussions resulting from the new wave of anti-Muslim statutes and the state monitoring operations on American Muslims' First Amendment rights. This Article argues that the U.S. government security agencies' surveillance operations (actions) that target American Muslims' religious activities and the new anti-Muslim statutes (laws) established in various states are clear violations of Muslim Americans' First Amendment rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islamophobia is a specific form of racism that targets Muslims in different ways (physically, psychologically, socially, educationally, and politically) at different times and in different places. The purpose of this study is to review the meanings of Islamophobia, its manifestation in western societies, and its negative effects on Muslim students, and how it should be treated in educational settings. It encourages a justice-oriented and religiously sensitive discourse in education that takes the Muslim students' needs and identities into consideration. Educators and students in public schools are encouraged to deconstruct and criticize the role of the media, state, school textbooks, and popular culture in circulating misinformed, inaccurate, and fearful images of Muslims and Islam. Teachers, after all, are expected to provide all students, including Muslims, with a safe and supportive environment. This environment is crucial for Muslim students' wellbeing, their social integration, and the development of their religious and civic identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Taking as our starting point the premise that all domination mechanisms are based partly on their naturalization and reproduction by the very persons that experience them, this study uses the notion of "internalized racism" to explore how Muslims living in Spain internalize some of the cultural and ideological myths that sustain the racism and Islamophobia they experience, especially in relation to institutional practices of control and discrimination. It contributes an innovative approach to the knowledge of racism in the Spanish context, showing how religious and racialized minorities in Spain understand, perceive, experience, and at times reproduce the discrimination they are subject to, and how Islamophobia is entwined with other forms of racism and exclusion as well as with Spain's specific historical relationship with Islam. The research is based on qualitative data obtained from eight discussion groups that met between 2019 and 2021 and comprised a total of 61 Muslims resident in various parts of Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islamophobia and a lack of legitimacy heavily impact Muslim-led nonprofits and limit their relationships with philanthropy in the United States, resulting in an anemic, continually underfunded sector. This article explores that disconnect within a discussion of the Year of Learning, a unique series of virtual workshops that brought together foundations and nonprofits serving the Muslim American community. Among the barriers to more effective relationships that emerged from the workshops were the presence of Islamophobia within society at large and philanthropy in particular, a hesitance among U.S. foundations to fund faith-based work, and a lack of capacity among Muslim-led nonprofits. Also evident was limited knowledge in the philanthropic community about the issues facing Muslim Americans and the nonprofits that serve them. Several avenues emerged for foundations and Muslim nonprofits seeking to engage to work together more closely and create a larger space for Muslim voices in discussions of diversity, equity, and inclusion for racialized communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The New Crusades: Islamophobia and the Global War on Muslims" by Khaled A. Beydoun is a significant contribution to the discourse on Islamophobia and Muslim ethnographies. The book explores the intersection of identity, marginalization, and the process of othering based on race, gender, nationality, and religion. Beydoun traces the historical roots of Islamophobia to the imperial project of colonization and the religious history of the Crusades. Through ethnographies and fieldwork, the book sheds light on the lived experiences of Muslims and challenges the academic discourse on Islamophobia. It is a valuable resource for scholars and researchers in Islamic Studies, Religious Studies, International Studies, Humanities, and Subaltern Studies. [Extracted from the article]

This article presents an ethnographic analysis of how young middle-class Muslims in Copenhagen create convivial narratives of their city. The article builds on Paul Gilroy's idea of conviviality by bridging it with Saba Mahmood's concept of agency. I argue that widening the conversation on urban conviviality to include a perspective on agency allows us to expand the sociological imagination to one that combines both phenomenological and critical theory in urban analysis. In the context of Denmark, middle-class Muslims' convivial narratives can be understood as an agency to navigate Islamophobic or racist experiences, enabled by their spatial mobility and class positioning. The article concludes that Muslims' conviviality is contingent on an intersectional understanding related to racialisation, gender and socio-economic position. This approach allows an appreciation of how socially mobile Danish Muslims can construct convivial narratives to evade racism and Islamophobia in everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For active internet users, exposure to racist content has become commonplace. However, little scholarly attention has been given to experiences of racism online. Building on a qualitative study, this article examines how young Muslims in Norway make sense of online racism and hateful content targeting their group identities. The article develops an analytical framework for studying lay understandings of online racism by analysing how young Muslims understand the a) nature, b) experience and c) causes of online racism. The analyses show that online racism appears distinct from common descriptions of contemporary racism that emphasise the subtle, covert and ambiguous nature of everyday racism. In contrast, online racism is understood to be massive and overt, but the nature of online communication creates a sense of control and distance for both the targets and perpetrators. The young Muslims' 'theories' of the causes of online racism differ along two dimensions: the perceived intentionality of the perpetrators and the ordinary or exceptional nature of racism, yielding four distinct understandings of what online racism reflects: a racist Norway, exceptional racism, trolling and ignorance. This article argues that we cannot ignore the online sphere when seeking to understand everyday experiences of racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the potential of memes as apparently innocuous communicative digital tools to spread gendered Islamophobia. Following Segev et al.'s (2015) theories of meme families, we studied a corpus of 100 memes retrieved from popular internet meme sites from 2017 to 2021. We applied the principles of multimodal discourse analysis to analyse Shifman's three dimensions of memes (content, form and stance) and described a large sample of memes, categorizing them into three popular tropes of Muslim women found in literature and electronic media. Our findings revealed that most misogynistic Islamophobic memes characterize Muslim women as oppressed by their own community. A smaller degree of memes portrays Muslim women's bodies as sexualized and assailable, and finally very few memes depict them as terrorists. We contend that internet memes can be a powerful and efficient means to disseminate vitriolic rhetoric in a subtle and camouflaged way leading to the trivialization and, eventually, acceptance of their hateful discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The months leading to the 2024 Indian general elections have witnessed intense discussions over the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). If implemented, the UCC aims to provide a single law governing all civil relationships between citizens who belong to a vast array of communities. This has triggered nationwide media debates among those favouring and opposing the UCC. Whilst the existing literature has primarily focussed on the constitutionality, impact, and necessity -- or lack thereof -- of such a move, this article views the discourse on UCC through a different lens by analysing the media's impact on such discourse on shaping the Muslim identity and rights in India. The main research question posed by this article is: Is there a direct link between the media coverage of socio-political issues concerning Muslims, particularly UCC, and increased polarisation and othering of the Muslim community in the country? Indeed, the overall objective of this article is to underscore how the country's mass media has successfully manufactured the consent for othering the Muslim community. However, tracking the UCC discourse in the humongous landscape of the Indian media in its entirety is not feasible in the short space of this article. Therefore, this article constructs its examination based on the primary and secondary contextual analysis of the mainstream Indian media narrative on the issue to highlight how the media has portrayed Muslims in a predominantly negative light, largely marginalising them. This article also underlines how similar media campaigns have affected other narratives pertaining to widely contested legal issues that impacted Muslims in the recent past. The analysis conducted finds that the Indian media has contributed immensely to the polarisation and othering of the Muslim community in the country. The article concludes by making a case for an urgent need for depolarisation of news in the Indian media landscape to ensure a non-partisan and neutral media that can strengthen democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The predominant conception of Islamophobia defines it as anti-Muslim racism. The consequence of this rather narrow characterisation is that Islamophobia is treated as a Western conundrum—that is, as a form of racism in Western societies—that affects Muslim immigrants from non-Western—Arab, Asian, and African—societies. I contend that whilst the conception of Islamophobia as racism is germane to Western societies, it is hardly universalisable not least because Islamophobia manifests in different ways in different societies. I argue that Islamophobia in some non-Western societies is not so much about racism but about tribalism as it involves grouping of Muslims into a single tribe and associating Muslimness with negative stereotypes regardless of racial identity. I contend that Islamophobia manifests as anti-Muslim tribalism in some non-Western contexts in order to capture varied expressions of the phenomenon beyond the West. For illustrative purposes, I draw on Nigeria where Islamophobia is typically expressed in ethnoreligious and ethnoregional strife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]