ABSTRACT
Islamophobia in the Muslim world remains an understudied field. We assert that media across the globe, and in particular the satirical press, is crucial in the creation of Islamophobic images, reproduction of Islamophobic tropes and in sum an acceleration of the Islamophobic atmosphere.
Through their use of imagery, satirical magazines perpetuate Islamophobia, which in turn simultaneously trivializes and also normalizes the ‘Othering’ and discrimination of Muslims. Furthermore, in both France and Turkey such satirical magazines are constructed as carriers of normative ideologies, thus furthering the effects and reach of their Islamophobic discourse.
This chapter seeks to critically analyse and compare the nature of Islamophobic cartoons from the Turkish magazine Penguen and the now infamous French weekly, Charlie Hebdo. Through the comparison of the established French case and the novel study of Islamophobia in Penguen this contribution highlights the commonalities and the features that differentiate Islamophobia in Western and Muslim societies.
