ABSTRACT
In the past two decades a virtual Ummah has evolved in cyberspace. While some of these websites are directed explicitly at Muslims, others attempt to provide outreach on Islam or counter Islamophobic bias. As noted by Anderson and Eickelman (Anderson, 2003), in groundbreaking research on Islam in cyberspace, Muslims were among the first engineering students to create websites at the dawn of the Internet, before mainstream Islamic organizations posted official websites. Recent researchers (Varisco, 2010) have described the emergence of a ‘transnational Islamic public sphere’, building upon the concepts of a new media public sphere (Gerhards and Schäfer, 2010). Gary Bunt’s extensive research on Muslims and new media clearly demonstrates how the Muslim world and diaspora are actively engaging with new/digital media in a variety of ways from social to cultural to political (Bunt, 2000, 2003, 2009). This chapter explores expressions of young British Muslim identity and how they are played out online in what has been argued to be an egalitarian, post ‘race’ space. It will specifically examine how Islamophobic/anti-Muslim racism is challenged and discussed by young Muslims online. It considers how those online may feel less accountable to social norms and mores as when they are offline, while ambiguous identities and cyber processes blur notions of authenticity and acceptability in racialized debates. To explore these issues examples are drawn that are not overtly about Islam or even ‘race’ but these examples show how religion/ethnicity operate as ‘floating signifiers’ (Hall, 1996) that influence understanding and discourse of everyday situations. It appears that research both at an academic and policy level has focused
mainly around tackling the issue of online radicalisation and therefore the literature regarding online Islamophobia as a result remains less developed. First, it will be argued that the new social media reflect social reality. So just
as minority representation in media is related to structures of ideology and power it can be reasonably assumed that the wider public sphere influences equivalent depictions/discourses about cyber culture. In short, if media images articulate the histories and discourses of inclusion/exclusion then one could
speculate that the Web may be the logical successor of these ideologies. Hence even young British Muslims’ use of the new media is seen in some quarters as suspicious and possibly harboring ‘terrorist’ sentiments. This can be seen most clearly in the UK’s response to terrorism and radicalization under the auspices of the Prevent Strategy. Since July 2006, when the British government made public its strategy to counter international terrorism (CONTEST), the Internet has been identified as a domain ‘where many types of radical views are strongly promoted’ (UK Home Office, 2006). The growth of the use of the Internet, with its ability to connect people and
to facilitate dissemination of information and ideas, has had a significant impact on the accessibility and flow of radical ideas. The shift in activity to the Internet supports the observation of the former Chief Constable of West Yorkshire and ACPO lead on Prevent, Sir Norman Bettison, that ‘the internet features in most, but not all, terrorism cases’ (House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, 2012). Awan (2014) notes that although Prevent in principle covers all forms of far right extremism from animal rights groups to anti-capitalists, it has by implication only targeted Muslim communities. Counter-terror legislation such as pre-charge detention, control orders, and stop and search powers under the Terrorism Act 2000, were too broad and had been used disproportionately against Muslim communities and revealed that British Muslims, and young British men in particular, feel a sense of victimization and stigma (Thomas, 2011). Second, the nature of racist abuse online relates to types of racisms. A cultural racism is evident that implies Muslims are incompatible with the West and indeed pose a threat to secular multiculturalism. Thus in relation to Islam and young British Muslims it could be suggested that ideas, thoughts and concerns about Muslims/Islam in wider culture are reproduced online. It has been suggested that the destiny of multiculturalism itself in Britain has become interweaved with the political and social identities of Muslims (Meer and Modood, 2009), especially the manner in which Muslims assert identity ‘claims’ such as Sharia Law, right to worship and halal meat and so on. This is seen as particularly assertive, difficult to accommodate and at times contrary to ‘British values’ (Saeed 2004; Joppke, 2009; Meer, 2012). Meer and Modood (2012) note that this need to uphold ‘British values’ is particularly applied to Muslims, who are alleged to have breached liberal discourses such as individual rights and secularism. However, what is also worrying is that there appears to be a resurgence of almost primate biological racism that is apparent in the online postings (Farrington et al., 2015). The relative anonymity that social media provides allows the possibility for explicit statements to be posted (whether they are firmly believed or not) knowing that justification for these comments will be rarely required on a personal or face-to-face basis (Leung, 2005). Finally it will explore how young Muslims are employing the power of new media to challenge Islamophobic sentiments whilst also asserting an Islamic identity that is progressive. Indeed it could be suggested that these Muslims are the embodiment of active ‘citizens’ (Wayne et al., 2010) in the modern new media public sphere.
