Babbelhuiskrantje: vrijdag 21 maart 2008
Artikels geschreven door de kinderen van het Babbelhuis
(Nederlandse schoolhulp OCMW Brussel)
Hier is de tweede uitgave van ons krantje. Onze journalisten vertellen weer in geuren en kleuren wat er zo al op de Stefaniastraat gebeurt. Zoals in de vorige uitgave kan je ook enkele weetjes (informatie) en spelletjes vinden. Prettige Paasvakantie!
Ismaël en Cérine : Het Babbelhuis: Van huiswerk tot fruitsla
Op het Babbelhuis spreken we Nederlands. We mogen niet lopen. We spelen spelletjes zoals Dora en met de kaarten. We spelen eigenlijk alles. We maken tekeningen. We lezen boeken en we gaan naar de Bibliotheek om boekjes te kiezen en daar lezen we dan ook samen. We hebben een computer die we mogen gebruiken om te schrijven. We hebben ook een keuken, waar we in werken: We maken fruitsla, de jongens hebben samen met de juf fruitsla gemaakt en die was heel lekker. In de keuken doen we ook de afwas.
We gaan ook naar het museum van de dinosaurussen, waar we grote dino’s, walvissen, een aap enz. gezien hebben. We mogen daar wel niet lopen en spelen. We hebben lekkere taart en snoep gegeten die Ismaël had meegenomen voor zijn verjaardag.
Soms kijken we ook een film op het Babbelhuis. Eén keer was het een film met een hond, de andere keer met een leeuw, dat was heel leuk.
Op school hebben we allebei ook een leuke juf. Juf Cindy (Ismaël) en juf Mireille (Cérine). We maken ook ons huiswerk en Ann en Johanna verbeteren ons huiswerk (eerder nakijken J). Soms zitten we ook op de poefen om een verhaaltje te lezen, of naar een video te kijken zoals die van Kabouter Plop.
Rania : Verjaardagshoed!
Het Babbelhuis is leuk. We maken ons huiswerk. De juffen helpen ons. Zo hebben we geen fouten (Oei misschien gaan we onze functie dan voorbij). En de juffen van het Babbelhuis zijn heel lief. In de vakantie zijn we naar de cinéma geweest en heb ik Asterix gezien (en ook Alvin and the chipmunks?) en ik ben ook gaan zwemmen. Ik heb ook mijn verjaardag gevierd en ik ga er iets over vertellen. Ik heb mijn verjaardag in het Babbelhuis gevierd en we hebben cake gegeten en ze hebben ook een kroon voor mij gemaakt.
Zakaria
Ik hou van het Babbelhuis: we doen ons huiswerk en we spelen spelletjes. Ik ben met mijn papa en mijn grote zus Nisrine en mijn kleine zus Rania en ik Zakaria zijn we naar de cinéma geweest en we hebben Asterix en de Olympische spelen gezien. Dat was een leuke film, die grappig was. Er was de speler Zidane. Nu ga ik over mijn voetbalclub praten en die heet K.V.K Wemmel. Dat is een hele leuke ploeg en ik ben een goede speler, later wil ik de nieuwe Zidane zijn. En we hebben goede spelers, maar er zijn spelers die met vakantie zijn en ik hou van voetbal. Ik Zakaria ben de Star.
Samira : Verjaardag in het Museum
In het park was de Verjaardag van Mounir. En we hebben gespeeld met de bal. En we zijn naar het Babbelhuis gegaan, en de mama’s en papa’s zijn gekomen. En de kindjes zijn naar huis gegaan en Juf Ann en juf Johanna zijn dan ook naar huis gegaan. Nu is het Babbelhuis leeg. We zijn ook naar het museum van de dinosaurussen geweest en in het museum van dinosaurussen hadden we een pauze en we hebben de verjaardag van Ismaël gevierd en we hebben een snoepje gekregen en hebben gespeeld.
En het is bijna paasvakantie. Ik schrijf een brief op de computer. En ik maak een brief voor de krant.
En het is mijn verjaardag op 25 mei, dat is op zondag en we vieren mijn verjaardag op maandag in het Babbelhuis, dat is leuk. En ik denk dat is voor de paasvakantie van 2008.
Hamza
Op het Babbelhuis spreken we Nederlands. Ik vond de verjaardag van Murat leuk en die van Ali. Ik heb de nieuwe computer graag. Als we iets niet begrijpen gaan we op het internet. We gaan op 21/03/08 naar het Babbelhuis om een toneelstuk te spelen en een feest te doen. We hebben op school een boon gezaaid, we zijn met een groep en de namen van mijn vrienden zijn: Youssef, Yassine en Isam.
Ibtissam: Krokusvakantie (met Kirsten)
In de Krokusvakantie hebben we allerlei activiteiten gedaan. De leukste activiteit was een snoephuisje maken. Iedereen vond dat de leukste activiteit. Kirsten had eetbare lijm gemaakt. Iedereen had veel snoep in (op) zijn snoephuisje gedaan.
Ibtissam en Nurevsan
Dag wij zijn Ibtissam en Nurevsan (Interviewers = I), wij gaan vandaag Ann (A) interviewen:
I: Dag Ann, Hoe oud ben jij?
A: 30 jaar
I: Waar werk jij?
In het babbelhuis, een afdeling OCMW Brussel
I: Waarom heb je dit beroep gekozen?
A: Omdat ik dit beroep leuk vindt. Omdat ik graag met kinderen werk, kinderen zijn heel spontaan en grappig.
I: Ga je nog naar school?
A: Ja naar de VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
I: In welke klas ben je?
A: Master in Politieke wetenschappen (laatste jaar aan de universiteit).
I: Heb je een juf of een meester?
Veel meesters en juffen = voor elk vak een andere professor
A: Wat zijn je hobby’s?
Studeren, zwemmen, fietsen, reizen, films kijken en … werk
Umit : De regels
Umit heeft voor ons enkele van de Huisafspraken uit geschreven:
Spreek Nederlands
Niet rond lopen
Niet vechten
Beleefd tegen iedereen zijn ook tegen de juf
Niet roepen
Niet in het lokaal met de bal spelen
Wij zitten goed op onze stoel (niet staan)
Om 16u gaan wij spelen
Murat en Ali
In de vakantie hebben we een feest gedaan met Ann en Kirsten en de andere kinderen van groep 1 en 2.
Murat en Ali hebben de hoofdpersonages gespeeld. Er waren ongeveer 8 kinderen. Murat en Ali hebben gelachen, het was een leuk toneel.
Behican
Babbelhuis is heel mooi want we doen veel leuke dingen die ik nog nooit heb gedaan. We doen ook spelletjes. Ik ga je zeggen wat we doen in het babbelhuis: knutselen, schilderen en ook het wolvenspel en het schoenenspel. We mogen ook niet vergeten dat we soms dansen en dat we onze verjaardagen vieren. Mijn verjaardag is op 23 maart.
Johanna xxxxx Ann xxx daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!!!
Nora
Het Babbelhuis is een super cool huis, waar je veel activiteiten kunt doen bv. gaan schaatsen, naar het museum, heel veel. Maar daar kunnen we ook ons huiswerk maken. Ik vind het leuk wanneer het feest is, dan bakken we lekkere pannekoeken en dat vind ik super leuk. Maar dat is niet alles, in het Babbelhuis zijn ook twee lieve juffen, juffrouw Ann en juffrouw Johanna!!!! (Ze zijn te lief!)
Kaan
In het Babbelhuis lezen we boeken en mogen we niet lopen, vechten of roepen en ook niet als we naar de bibliotheek gaan. We praten Nederlands en we mogen geen dingen stuk maken, we spelen niet binnen met de bal, en we luisteren naar de juffen. Ik reken graag, ik kleur graag. In de keuken staan bekers om water te drinken. We hebben de film Garfield gekeken.
Umut: Wat ik leuk vind
Ik schaats en ik teken graag. Wij hebben een leuk tekenboek in de bibliotheek gevonden, waardoor ik nog beter heb leren tekenen. Juf Ann en Johanna noemen mij nu een echte artiest. In de bibliotheek hebben we ook leuke boeken gevonden. Het ene heet chicken little en het andere is van Marsupilami (Oeba Oeba).
We hebben een piratenvlag gemaakt.
We hebben een piratenliedje geleerd op school.
We gaan naar kasteelklassen. We hebben zo veel keer betaald voor kasteelklassen. Het Babbelhuis is heel leuk. We gaan met het babbelhuis naar museum op woensdag 12 maart. Het schaatsen is heel leuk. Op school hebben we een boon gezaaid vandaag. Vandaag was heel leuk op school. Het schoenenspel is heel leuk.
En ik teken graag. En zondag zijn we naar Batibouw gegaan. En ik kijk graag naar Drangon Ball Z. En ook Dragon Booster.
Ik heb Zakaria gezien gisteren. Ik hou van knutselen. En ik hou van zwemmen. Ik hou van titeuf. In de Ardennen zijn er slangen. Met Cédric was het leuk. Het is leuk dat er een internet is. Het is leuk als we naar het park gaan. De islam is heel leuk. Als we naar zwembad gaan zal het leuk zijn. En als we knutselen zal ook leuk zijn. Op Babbelhuis mogen we niet pesten en vieze woorden zeggen. Vandaag hebben we hekwerk gedaan op school. Donderdag was meester Mark ziek en we hadden rekenen.
We hadden vandaag toets van rekenen en ik had 15/15 gehad. Kit 2000 is heel leuk ze heet Mikael Knicht. Ik hou van Goku dragon ball Z. Ik ben een beetje slim. Bij islam kleuren we. Onze meester is ook een moslim.
Soufian
Ik heet Soufian Garbi Kammal, ik vind het Babbelhuis heel tof om 4 u stoppen we met de huistaken zodat we kunnen spelen.
Paasvakantie 2008
Dinsdag: 25 maart: 14.00-15.30u
Paasknutselen Prijs: 1 Euro
Woensdag 26 maart: 13.30u-17.30u
Kindermuseum Prijs: 4 Euro
Donderdag 27 maart: 10.30u-15.30u:
Bosspel + opdrachtenspel
Prijs: 1 Euro
Dinsdag 1 april: 11.30-14.30u
Pic-nic met de ouders Prijs:1 Euro
(tekenfilm op het Babbelhuis indien het slecht weer is, mama’s welkom voor een theetje)
Woensdag 2 april: 11.30u-16.30u
zwemmen Prijs: 4 Euro
Donderdag 3 april: 11.00u 15.30u
Paasfotozoektocht Prijs:1 Euro
Dansstage
De week van 31 maart tot 3 april is er samen met de Franstaligen een dansstage op maandag, dinsdag, woensdag en donderdag telkens van 14u-16.30u.
Prijs: 6 Euro voor de hele week
Paaspuzzel
Paasliedje
Ik zag twee hazen(Op de melodie van "ik zag twee beren"..) Ik zag twee hazen vlak voor Pasen zitten in een weiland. Met een mandje vol met eitjes,vlug aan 't verven met z'n beidjes. Kijk eens hier, kijk eens daar, nu zijn alle eitjes klaar.
Gecopieerd van http://paashaas1972.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!31759D869DFE6B19!178.entry
Evaluatie Activiteiten februari/maart 2008
Woensdag 20 en Dinsdag 26 februari:
Bibliotheek bezoek groep 1 en 2:
Met de kleintjes hebben we zelfs ter plaatse een boekje gelezen. De groteren waren deze keer iets rumoeriger, maar het werd weer een leuke uitstap. Vooral de leren-tekenen boeken hadden veel succes.
Woensdag 27 februari:
Tekenfilm op het Babbelhuis:
Groot succes (15 aanwezigen!). Ondanks dat de film Garfield op het einde niet meer mee werkte, hebben we een heel leuke namiddag gehad, diegenen die de film beu werden hebben rustig een boekje gelezen of puzzeltjes opgelost.
Woensdag 5 maart:
Dinosaurus museum: groep 1
Samen met de Franstaligen hebben we een leerzaam bezoek aan het museum gebracht. Eerst hebben we de verjaardag van Ismaël uitgebreid gevierd! Toen was er niet zoveel tijd meer, maar toch hebben we veel gezien, gehoord en gelezen over dinosaurussen en waren de kinderen zeer enthousiast!
Zaterdag 8 maart:
Het verteluurtje in de bibliotheek van Laken is spijtig genoeg niet doorgegaan wegens gebrekkige interesse.
Woensdag 12 maart:
Dinosaurus museum: groep 2
We kregen ook veel leuke reacties na het museumbezoek met groep 2! Er waren een aantal mama’s meegekomen, wat het nog leuker maakte, omdat we kleinere groepen konden maken en zo het museum van boven tot onder konden ontdekken! Zeker voor herhaling vatbaar!
Woensdag 19 maart:
“Albert street” tuin:
Deze uitstap is niet doorgegaan, omdat we hard moesten oefenen voor het dansje dat we opvoeren op het eetfestijn! Maar op een mooie, zonnige dag zullen we zeker nog een keer een kijkje nemen in deze plantentuin!
Vrijdag 21 maart:
Eetfestijn, dans- en theatervoorstelling:
We zijn heel blij met de vele inschrijvingen (meer dan 40 personen!!!) voor het grote feest! We zijn nog fanatiek aan het oefenen voor het toneelstuk en de K3-dans, kijken uit naar alle heerlijkheden die de mama’s bereiden en hopen op een zeer geslaagde avond!!!
maandag 30 juni 2008
zaterdag 28 juni 2008
Brief aan Yves Leterme, over illegalen
Geachte meneer de Minister, Brussel, 14 februari 2008
Ik heb net uw artikel “Geweld eindigt waar respect begint” gelezen en vind het bijzonder inspirerend. Tegelijkertijd stel ik me ook de vraag of u dit respect wel naar alle mensen in onze maatschappij doortrekt. Ik las de laatste tijd vaak in de kranten dat er sprake is om buitenlanders naar België te laten komen om het te kort aan arbeidskrachten aan te vullen, terwijl we in België net een grote reserve aan arbeidskrachten hebben met name de illegalen. Verdienen illegalen dan niet het respect op een menswaardig bestaan?
Enkele maanden geleden las ik over het voorstel om illegalen in ons land een tijdelijke arbeidsvergunning te geven, wat mij een heel constructief idee lijkt, zowel voor de Belgische economie als een erkenning van illegalen als volwaardige mensen (naast het feit dat kleine criminaliteit vermoedelijk ook zou afnemen). Nu wordt er echter klaarblijkelijk geen gehoor meer gegeven aan dit voorstel en zouden we zelfs op zoek gaan om nog meer mensen naar hier te halen van buitenaf?
Mijn vriend woont nu al zeven jaar in België (waarvan 5 jaar illegaal) en vraagt op dit ogenblik eigenlijk maar één ding: een arbeidsvergunning, zodat hij eindelijk na zeven jaar zijn brood kan verdienen en niet meer afhankelijk is van de goedgezindheid van anderen. Op dit moment hebben mijn vriend en ik het heel moeilijk om rond te komen (ik ben werkstudente). Het enige wat hij vraagt is een erkenning van zijn mens zijn en de mogelijkheid om in zijn eigen onderhoud te voorzien.
Ik hoop dat u in uw politieke beslissingen het respect dat u beschrijft ook kan doortrekken naar de mensen die zonder papieren in ons land vertoeven.
Ik dank u alvast voor uw tijd,
Met vriendelijke groet
Ik heb net uw artikel “Geweld eindigt waar respect begint” gelezen en vind het bijzonder inspirerend. Tegelijkertijd stel ik me ook de vraag of u dit respect wel naar alle mensen in onze maatschappij doortrekt. Ik las de laatste tijd vaak in de kranten dat er sprake is om buitenlanders naar België te laten komen om het te kort aan arbeidskrachten aan te vullen, terwijl we in België net een grote reserve aan arbeidskrachten hebben met name de illegalen. Verdienen illegalen dan niet het respect op een menswaardig bestaan?
Enkele maanden geleden las ik over het voorstel om illegalen in ons land een tijdelijke arbeidsvergunning te geven, wat mij een heel constructief idee lijkt, zowel voor de Belgische economie als een erkenning van illegalen als volwaardige mensen (naast het feit dat kleine criminaliteit vermoedelijk ook zou afnemen). Nu wordt er echter klaarblijkelijk geen gehoor meer gegeven aan dit voorstel en zouden we zelfs op zoek gaan om nog meer mensen naar hier te halen van buitenaf?
Mijn vriend woont nu al zeven jaar in België (waarvan 5 jaar illegaal) en vraagt op dit ogenblik eigenlijk maar één ding: een arbeidsvergunning, zodat hij eindelijk na zeven jaar zijn brood kan verdienen en niet meer afhankelijk is van de goedgezindheid van anderen. Op dit moment hebben mijn vriend en ik het heel moeilijk om rond te komen (ik ben werkstudente). Het enige wat hij vraagt is een erkenning van zijn mens zijn en de mogelijkheid om in zijn eigen onderhoud te voorzien.
Ik hoop dat u in uw politieke beslissingen het respect dat u beschrijft ook kan doortrekken naar de mensen die zonder papieren in ons land vertoeven.
Ik dank u alvast voor uw tijd,
Met vriendelijke groet
Challenging the prevailing image of Muslims
1. Introduction
We are living in a time of globalization where immigration is a reality and multiculturalism is debated extensively. This debate does not continue effortlessly; particularly in the case of Muslims one can observe tensions, inconsistencies and misrepresentations. The image of the “Muslim” as significantly different from “Us” is constructed through a discourse that alienates Muslims in the mass media. With this in mind, a deeper investigation into how media reports about Islam and Muslims might reveal unconscious misperceptions. However, this research cannot only be restricted to an analysis of the language use in the representation of Muslims, but one must also question the idea of what is normal in our society. I will analyse concepts such as Islamophobia and Orientalism to demonstrate how the view of Muslims as “the other”, and the source of “conflict” is embedded in a culture where uniformity and homogeneousness are prioritized. The norm needs to be tackled and challenged to attain a profound understanding of how racist discourses are systematically accepted.
First I will look at how Muslims are represented and depicted in the Flemish newspapers. Here I will use Critical Discourse Analysis as a method to explore the construction of the image of Muslims; I will support these assesments by Flemish and International research on the subject. The phenomena of Orientalism and Islamophobia will help to clarify the formation of Muslims. As it will become apparent that the (Flemish) media uses a narrow and inaccurate image of Muslims and that Islam is constructed as opposite to European values, I will ascertain a way to tackle these misrepresentations and stigmatizations. I will conclude by briefly looking at projects of building international dialogue and the mainstreaming of this phenomenon.
2. The presentation of Muslims.
"When it comes to reporting on Muslim communities, the media is found to be overly selective, one sided, simplistic and clichéd (Ömür)[1]".
In this section I investigate how the images of Muslims are constructed in the Flemish newspapers. First I explore how discourse in general - and in this paper more specifically the discourse about Muslims - is a social practice. This analysis of the discourse about Muslims demonstrates how cultural beliefs and understandings about Muslims are often wrongly constructed. The process of Othering, which underlies phenomena like Orientalism and Islamophobia, illustrates how Islam is portrayed as clashing with European values and as contra European.
2.1. Constructing images in Flemish newspapers
“News is a practice, a discourse which does not reflect reality in a neutral manner but helps to “interpret”, “organize” and classify this reality (Manan)[2].”
This paper follows a constructionalist approach, with the idea that Muslims are constructed as a category like gender, sexuality, colour, race etc… The Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is used here as an approach to investigate how the image of Muslims is created in the Flemish newspapers. Critical Discourse analysts examine how discourse constructs reality; in particular, how discourse is applied to produce and reproduce social realities and consequently also social inequalities[3]. The goal of CDA is to reveal social practices, by studying the use of language. Hence CDA “…focuses on the role of discourse in the construction, consolidation and reproduction of dominance and challenges to that dominance…”[4]
As we study the formation of Muslims in Flemish media, and question the racist discourse, we need to consider the electoral success of the far right party in Flanders: “Vlaams Belang” (Flemish Interest). Their electoral achievements could raise some questions about racism in Flanders, as this right-nationalist party with the slogan “eigen volk eerst” advocates priority to their own people. Vlaams Belang promotes strict limitations on immigration and states to be against multiculturalism. However, the focus of this paper lay not with the phenomenon of Vlaams Belang, but with the study of the normalization of racist discourse and the implicit structural racism in Flemish society. Some mechanisms produce a general consensus to regard migrants - and moreover Muslims - as intruders, as a threat to Flemish society, this is evident in Media discourse about Muslims and immigrants.
2.1.1. Media research in the past
An early large-scale research project on multiculturalism in Flemish media in 1993 by the Association of Belgian Professional Journalists reveals some of these mechanisms. This research was published by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia; it shows how ethnic minorities were often associated with negative features such as crime and violence[5]. Moreover, corresponding to later research, this project shows how ethnic minorities were often referred to as one homogeneous group, in contrast to indigenous people who are often regarded as individuals. The most common terms used to define persons who are part of an ethnic minority are 'migrant', 'stranger' or 'refugee'. It is important to notice that the term Muslim is not yet referred to. The researchers point out that “'race', ethnicity and religion are seldom mentioned, contrary to nationality or country of origin which are often identified even if this has no relevance to the story”[6]. Journalists are easily tempted to ignore an ethical and impartial style and are responsible to harming the public interest by lack of respect for intercultural understanding. The results of this study led to six recommendations for journalists for how to deal with these issues:
Only mention nationality, country of origin, ethnicity, 'race', religion or culture when relevant;
Avoid irresponsible generalisations and polarisation ('us' against 'them');
Avoid unnecessary dramatisation: ethnic minorities should also be represented in 'normal' situations;
Be meticulous in reporting about ethnic minorities;
Give background about the far-right and racism: not just who and what, but also why and how;
The story is not finished when it's written; also pay attention to pictures, headlines, etcetera[7].
In 1995, a smaller, explorative study was carried out to see if these recommendations had been followed. However even though some individual reporters appeared to respect the guidelines, overall there was no improvement in media reporting observed.
Another often cited work is Blommaert and Verschueren’s research, debating diversity, a study of the discourse on racism and cultural diversity spread by the media. This research gives examples of explicit or implicit, positive or negative statements about ethnic minorities[8]. It shows how hidden positive and explicit negative statements are exceptional in main-stream Belgian media. The thrust of this essay is Blommaert and Verschueren’s conclusion that “the Belgian migrant debate is in essence based on a distancing and confrontational view of "us" versus the "other", captured in (often implicit) terms of "normality" versus ‘abnormality’”[9]. Multicultural policies mainly focus on the integration and the assimilation of immigrants. Instead of appreciating the differences, the differences seem to be problemized.
2.1.2. Recent developments
Muslims and Islam are increasingly linked with negative connotation and portrayed as significantly different. The infamous work of Huntington, which articulates the clash of civilisations, is even more sustained in general thinking. Eveline Vercauteren argues how Islam is demonized in the Flemish debate. She talks about the radicalisation of the discourse of media intellectuals after the September 11 attacks. She continues by stating that security experts proclaim a realistic view on the dangers of Islamization for our Western society, and so the use of stereotypes and prejudices towards Muslims are justified[10]. This evolution of justifying a healthy fear for radical Islam is a development that will be examined more in depth later in this paper when researching Islamophobia. The current chapter mainly focuses on the formation of the image about Muslims. Muslims are viewed from an ethnocentric vision, which portrays Muslims as mindless followers of “The Islam” as if there is only one way of experiencing Islam. “The Islam” is often associated with negative connotations like terrorist attacks, undemocratic regimes or women’s repression. Vercauteren observes a cultural superiority and a coloured representation of reality whereby the discourse constructs the idea of “The Islam”. This image will be so widespread and commonly used that it will be accepted as an objective given and seen as a factual representation of reality[11]. As a result of the reactions to the Muhammad cartoons’ reactions, stereotypes of Muslims intensified. The research of Asa Söderén shows how Muslim’s reactions are depicted as irrational, uncivilised, threatening and rejecting the freedom of speech. Protesters are not seen as individuals but as Muslims, whose protests were overpowering in that police had no hope to calm them. A “De Standaard” journalist Mia Doornaert uses in her article “Europa’s knikkende knieën” many metaphors to describe Europe’s fear of Islam; the title shaking knees, or the description of “schuimbekkende fanatici”[12] (fanatics with foam at the mouth) are unmistakable. Moreover Doornaert talks about the angry Muslim and the violent Muslim world, as a culture that despises the principles of Enlightenment. Even though she asserts later that it is the totalitarian version of Islam that is refusing a dialogue, her whole article portrays Islam and Flemish values as incompatible or clashing.
Paul Scheffer’s book “Het multiculturele drama” produced a large-scale commotion in the Netherlands in 2000. His consideration of the occurring multicultural drama as the main threat to societal peace resulted in a big public debate. However with the triumph of Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands (and ‘Vlaams Belang’ in Flanders) it becomes clear that many of the issues he raised were experienced as problematic, Scheffer calls this: an uprising of citizens[13]. He says that Pim Fortuyn knew to address and conceal the uneasiness that for many years was looking for a way out. In his new book “Het land van aankomst”- the country of arrival, he determines that immigration causes frictions, which are grown more problematic in our time of change. Three new phenomena; the rising numbers of Muslims in Western society, lower participation in the working force because of broad-developed social security system and easier sustainability of contacts with the country of origin, are challenging integration. Paul Scheffer shows a deliberated view on common perception of immigration; however, it is important to bear in mind that this picture of clashing societies flourished especially in the Islamophobic environment following the 11 September attacks. Recent research of two Flemish quality newspapers “De Standaard” and “De Morgen” conducted by Maly and Sghiar shows how Islamophobia becomes increasingly justified, as a normal human feature[14]. The researchers state further that through the normalisation of the concept Islamophobia a rhetoric foundation is created to portray Muslims as inferior, women oppressive and terroristic[15]. A process of Othering and us-them dichotomy validates implicit racism. Edward Said was the first to successfully demonstrate the existence of a tendency to view Muslims as significantly different.
2.2. Orientalism
“Said’s work …raises ethical and moral dillemas, as well as present(s) an intellectual and apistomological challenge to those who seek to understand alien cultures.[16]”
Orientalism often refers to Oriental studies, where the culture language and history of the Orient, the East, are analyzed. However since the publication of Edward Said’s controversial book in 1978, Orientalism got a whole new meaning. Said’s book describes a tradition of hostile and disapproving views of the East by the West. It studies the Western domination and hostility towards the East, which is to be traced down to European imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this sense, the book implies Western prejudiced interpretations, and an imagined construction of the East in which it is viewed as contrary to the West. As Said mainly studied the Islamic Arab world, his view on the conceptions of the Orient is used to comprehend Western knowledge about Islam. It was the first book to effectively shed the light on identity construction and discourse formation in relation to ‘the Orient’[17]. Hereafter we will discuss Islamophobia and it will become clear that similarities between Orientalism and Islamophobia are large. Tom Demeestere shows how Islamophobia builds further on the constructed argumentation of Orientalism, as classical Orientalism is strengthened by the Islamophobic discourse after 9/11. The legacy of Orientalism is continued in the form of Islamophobia. Merryl Wyn Davies goes even further in indicating the important role of Orientalism in the current international environment. She claims the oriental discourse to feed Islamophobia as well as Muslim ‘fundamentalism’[18]. The authority of Orientalism contributed to a contra-reaction namely Occidentalism, as a justification to defend the harm done to Muslims. This assertion is in line with the criticism to Islamophobia as making it impossible to critique the shortcomings of Islam.
2.3. Islamophobia
On the website of Islamophobia Watch different definitions of Islamophobia are to be found that are summarized here as: hostility towards Islam to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims. Islam is believed to be unresponsive to change; simultaneously it is viewed as inferior and a threat to the West. Islam is seen as separate and 'other', it does not have values in common with other cultures. Islam is generally seen as supportive of terrorism and engaged in a 'clash of civilizations'.
The relevance of the term Islamophobia is debated on many fronts, some argue it is used to oppose any criticism of Islam; others appraise the term rather than the racial exclusion. One of the latter is Halliday who claims anti-Muslimism to be a more appropriate term as “The attack now is not against Islam as a faith but against Muslims as a people...[19]”. As argued earlier, anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural or normal. However in my opinion Islam as a religion is regarded to be a threat to Western values and especially after the contested Muslim-cartoons, the freedom of speech is seen to be endangered with this religion.
The research of Blommaert en Verschueren demonstrates how clear and explicit Islamophobic reasoning appeared sporadic in Flemish newspaper articles, however many implicit messages show the structural character of this racism[20]. Islamophobia is concealed and preferably ignored as a real problem. Islamophobia, even though generally employed by international organizations like the UN and the EU, it is not convincingly used by Flemish journalists. The study of Maly and Sghiar shows how a fear for Muslims and Islam seems like a normal response. The door for racism is wide-open; prejudices, stereotypes and generalisations towards Muslims are not recognized as thus anymore[21]. Maly and Sghiar emphasize how Mia Doornaert of “De Standaard” (see also above) is especially Islamophobic in her writing. She denies acknowledging Islamophobia as a real problem and rather views it as an instrument against criticism on Islam[22]. In rejecting Islamophobia as a form of racism in contrast to anti-Semitism, Doornaert still seems stuck in an essentialist approach to racism. She claims Islamophobia not to be a form of racism in contrary to anti-Semitism, as she acknowledges Jews as a race and Muslims not. This argument of Doornaert does not hold much ground as the concept of racism is contested, and not considered a legitimate biological concept, even though it is very powerful as a cultural concept. The European commission against racism and Intolerance argues that all people belong to the same race and that the term racism covers “any contempt for a person or a group of persons, or the notion superiority of a person or a group of persons on the basis of “…‘race’, color, language, religion, nationality or ethnic origin”[23] In this line many official organization like the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the UN[24],… the ‘Centrum voor Gelijkheid van Kansen en Racismebestrijding’ (Belgian Centre for equal opportunities and the fight against racism), all see the increasing racism towards Muslims as problematic. This paper will not go deep into the pro’s and contra’s of the term Islamophobia, here we will also not argue if Islam is a danger to Western values, rather we will focus how knowledge about the Islam is often constructed through an anti-Muslim discourse, and look at some of the attempts to deconstruct these stigma’s, prejudices and stereotypes.
3. Accepting diversity and tackling the norm
“Different does not have to mean inferior or threatening[25]”.
As demonstrated previously, a critical look at the formation of Muslims is necessary to see how we create an image that is based on misconceptions and wrong information. We have to acknowledge that Muslim society is as diverse as any Western or Christian society and therefore generalizations are often quite ignorant. Islamic religion expects its followers to adhere to the five pillars of Islam[26]. However different Muslims persevere differently to these pillars and Muslims cannot be described as one singular homogeneous group. As demonstrated above ethical Journalism needs to be promoted to tackle the anti-Muslim discourse. However as discourse is often unconsciously constructed, this paper looks at two different ways to manage the icon of clashing civilizations; through intercultural dialogue and mainstreaming.
3.1. Intercultural dialogue
One of the big tests of this century of globalization and multiculturalism is the challenge of diversity. The EU, through the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), has called 2008 the European year of intercultural dialogue with the aim of bringing communities together. This intercultural dialogue should provide Europeans with a tool to deal with the extensive changes in their cultural environment, by developing a genuine dialogue between different cultures and religions[27]. In the FRA May report “Beyond tolerance: learning from Diversity” different intellectuals voice their outlook to promote understanding and to provide opportunities for people from different backgrounds to get to know each other better, learn to respect each other and to live together as Europeans[28]. This report contains some very valuable suggestions; for instance teaching history that is not limited to Western history but to learning about the other empires and accomplishments. One of the authors in this report also emphasizes the importance of ethical journalism; this was stressed earlier when studying the way news papers report about Muslims. The last author of the report that is mentioned here will lead us to the next chapter about mainstreaming:
Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni Co-coordinator for Intercultural Dialogue at the Council of Europe emphasizes the need to promote values that endorse a cultural diverse society: “However, every case of discrimination, every occurrence of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia or indeed any form of racism and intolerance demonstrates that the legal protection of rights alone is not sufficient to safeguard the freedom and integrity of every individual”. She argues for a commitment of all social actors to cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. She explains how the Council of Europe emphasizes the promotion of intercultural skills, history teaching, language learning and the accommodation of diversity in social service provision [29]. In the year 2005, the council of Europe made the acquis communautaire focus on the development of a “White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue”, making clear it is serious about the intercultural dialogue. This White Paper is primarily inspired by the conviction that reconciling respect for different identities to strengthen social cohesion can only be successful if policy is founded on universal human rights and fundamental freedoms. The white paper stresses some important objectives for instance: the rights of minorities and migrants, the enhancement of the knowledge of other cultures and religions, the creation of spaces for intercultural dialogue. The latter Battaini-Dragoni specifies with examples like the “Intercultural Football Plan” in Ireland and the “Charter of Diversity” in France.
The May report also addresses the role of the media. Marc Gruber discusses how journalism turns out to be a challenging task in a globalizing world with a noticeable increase of intolerance, a growing popularity of anti-foreigner political parties and Politicians pressure in the name of a so-called “war on terror.” He criticizes the use of unverified information by “quasi-journalists” on websites and cautions for the risk of discrimination or misrepresentation of minorities in the mainstream media. Gruber asserts media to be guilty of providing a simplistic, one-sided view of “the other.” The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) and publishers and broadcasters organizations endeavor to address this problem by stressing the need for the reliability and the quality of information, a campaign labeled the “Ethical Journalism Initiative”[30].
Pierre Duret’s article takes an interesting direction by bringing up how cultural diversity in broadcasting is often assumed to be addressed by the commercial objective. In the past competition urged broadcasters to reach an as big as possible public, whereby programs were dedicated “for and about “them””. Lately the programs changed to “for all and about “them””, where public broadcasting services strive to reflect all segments of the population on screen in different sorts of programs and in all kind of roles. Most recently, Duret claims, diversity is considered in all on- and off-screen activities, to make television for all of us, taking into account the interests of different social and cultural groups: “It has become clear that television cannot be for “all of us” if it is just made by a few of “us”.[31]” Flemish television addresses this with programs like “Arabesk” or “Rwina”. Here immigrants make their own TV, and decide about the issues to bring; diversity is taken into account, this is what Duret calls mainstreaming.
3.2. Mainstreaming: an answer from the AEL
As we mentioned before, the multicultural society is causing a lot of distrust, as well by acknowledged intellectuals like Paul Scheffer as by the electoral victories of extreme right parties like Vlaams Belang. One answer from an immigrant Muslim in Belgium came from Dyab Abou Jahjah, he questioned the Belgian approach to multiculturalism and its underlying principles of integration and assimilation. He aspires the emancipation of the migrant (allochtone) community in the cases of employment, education and housing[32]. His party the AEL (Arab European League) rejects adaptation and assimilation. His actions were called alarming by some; however others looked at it as form of claiming his democratic rights. One might even call it a form of mainstreaming.
Even as the intercultural dialogue has become a priority on the EU agenda, mutual respect and understanding seems to still go a long way. As we might suspect it to remain a far-fetched ideal we have to enquire some of our mainstream principles. The concept of mainstreaming is generally used in gender issues where gender mainstreaming tries to question the underlying norms in society. The norm needs to be tackled because public policies often reproduce inequality in that they do not question the white middle class male norm[33]. A FRA report about community cohesion adopts the term mainstreaming to raise awareness for the different needs of Muslims in our society; it stresses the necessity to confer with people:
“Mainstreaming certainly does not mean that there is one mainstream model of service provision of the one size fits all; rather the awareness of different needs and consequently of different models of service provision becomes central to the operational priority of the local authority. In addition, mainstreaming equalities also means primarily consulting people about how to meet their needs in order to be inclusive[34]”.
The research of Blommaert en Verschueren (1998) shows how the Belgian migration debate was dominated by policies trying to find solutions for the migrant problematization. Many researchers demonstrate how migrants in Belgium are often seen as a problem that needs to be solved; their way of life is not congruent with the homogenous Belgian society and therefore is labelled as abnormal. Most Belgium policies stress the necessity for immigrants to integrate and assimilate – to adapt. However here the public opinion gets really frustrated as they consider Muslims as not able to integrate and to adapt to Western values. This is the point where Ludo De Witte wonders if it is really necessary for Belgian society to stay a “monocultural” environment[35]. He pleads for a multicultural society in which there is respect for everyone’s culture. It might be necessary to question our cultural values and to accept that the world is changing. It was clear that Belgian (Flemish) society was not ready yet for the ideas of Abou Jahjah; however some of his ideas about tackling the norm - as he advocated to accepting and strengthening the interests of the Arabic and Islamic communities – could be relevant in the current migration debate. The idea that these communities’ societal position needed to be bolstered was very controversial at the time and it was resisted by conservative as well as “progressive” politicians. Abou Jahjah wanted to give a voice to Muslims in Flemish society within the boundaries of democracy, however this “revolutionary” idea was labelled as radical and some politicians called Abou Jahjah a terrorist. Abou Jahjah puts an emphasis on the protection of identity the Muslim community’s singularity. The importance of identity in the Muslim debate is shared by Professor Sami Zemni, he claims that Islam is used in the formation of another identity though, of a European identity[36]. The political parties, argues Zemni, use the Islam as an instrument in this process: “While the far-right is trying to control Islam by ‘getting rid of it’, the others are trying to control it by pushing forward their ‘own Islam’.”[37] At the same time Muslims try to formulate their own demands in Western Europe, however Muslims’ voices are barely heard, while the threat of ‘Islamic fundamentalism’ is applied to justify not having to consider the needs of this segment of the population. The fierce reaction of politicians aginst Abou Jahjah could exemplify this justification. One might wonder if the fear of change and of Islam as being unfamiliar, blinds people to see how some of the proposals of Abou Jahjah and other Muslims do not have to be a threat but could help to build towards a solution.
Conclusion
It becomes clear that this time of migration causes a universal uneasiness, however it is important to be aware of the underlying processes that causes our society to fall into opposing groups. The CDA approach is very useful in revealing how images about the other and especially about Muslims, are constructed in sometimes very extreme ways. The extensive research on the use of discourse in media shows how Muslims are depicted as problematically different from “Us”. Islamophobia as a variant of Orientalism proofs to have religious antipathy, that some may explain as a healthy fear. Once we realize how discourse constructs and reconstructs our reality, we might be more open to solutions like the Intercultural Dialogue or have a better understanding for the need to question our norms through mainstreaming. These two developments help to appreciate and to open up to other people’s history and culture, while also questioning the routine way of our lives. One cannot deny that this globalizing world is changing the form of society and that flexibility is necessary to avoid really moving towards a society of clashing groups. It is not an easy challenge but by learning about each other and mutually respecting each other’s way of life people might grow an understanding and acceptance of each other. This respect and understanding requires for people to be critical of the established way of thinking. Instead of being blinded by fear for differences, it is important to listen to proposed solutions.
.
[1] Ömür, O.: Media discourse and representation of muslims. OVSE, 16 april 2007
[2] Manan, S., (2001), Re-Reading the media: A stylistic Analysis of Malaysian Media coverage of Anwar and the Reformist Movement, Asia PacificMediaEducator, issue 11, Universiti Sains Malaysia
[3] Richardson, J. (2006), On delineating ‘reasonable’ and ‘unreasonable’ criticisms of Muslims gevonden op http://www.languageandcapitalism.info/wp- content/uploads/2006/08/richardson_04_09_islamophobia.pdf
[4] Tilbury, F, (2004) "They're intelligent and very placid people and it's unavoidable that they become your friends": Media reporting of 'supportive' talk regarding asylum seekers, in Revisioning Institutions: Change in the 21st Century, TASA (The Australian Sociological Association) 2004 Conference Refereed Proceedings, CD Rom.
[5] Ter Wal, J. (2002), An overview of research and examples of good practice in the EU Member States, 1995-2000, European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia
[6] Ter Wal
[7] TerWal
[8] Ter wal
[9] Blommaert, J., en Verschueren J. (1998), Debating diversity: analysing the discourse of tolerance. London: Routledge
[10] Vercauteren, Eveline (2005), Islamofobie: een nieuw racisme? Een theoretische inleiding. Gevonden op : http://www.scriptiebank.be/NL/index.php?jaar=2005&page=44&id=422
[11] Vercauteren
[12] Doornaert, M., Doorgeprikt staat netjes. Europa’s knikkende knieën, De Standaard 10 februari 2006
[13] Paul scheffer Scheffer, P. (2007), Het land van aankomst. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij
[14] Maly, I., en El Sghiar, H., Het Failliet van Islamofobie. 15 februari 2007. Gevonden op: http://site.kifkif.be/kifkif/nieuws.php?nws_id=814&page_class=three&open_menu_i=25
[15] Maly
[16] Hastings Donnan (ed.), 2002 Interpreting Islam: a theory, culture & society series, Sage. London
[17] Demeestere, T., Islamofobie: een nieuwe vorm van racisme? Universiteit Gent, Katholieke universiteit Leuven, academiejaar: 2005-2006
[18] Davies, M., W. (2002), Wilful imaginings New Internationalist, gevonden op http://www.newint.org/ features/2002/05/01/wilful-imaginings/
[19] Halliday, F. (1999), Islamophobia reconsidered, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22(5): 892-902
[20] Blommaert, J., en Verschueren J. (1998), Debating diversity: analysing the discourse of tolerance. London: Routledge
[21] Maly, I., en El Sghiar, H., Het Failliet van Islamofobie. 15 februari 2007. Gevonden op: http://site.kifkif.be/kifkif/nieuws.php?nws_id=814&page_class=three&open_menu_i=25
[22] Doornaert, Doorgeprikt staat netjes. Europa’s knikkende knieën, De Standaard 10 februari 2006
[23] Vercauteren
[24] Secretary-General, addressing headquarters seminar on confronting Islamophobia", United Nations press release, December 7, 2004.
[25] Pincus, Fred L. (2007), Understanding Diversity: An Introduction to Class, Race, Gender and Sexual Orientation, Lynne Rienner
[26] The five pillars are: the believe that Allah is the one and true god; Muhammad is his prophet; every Muslim is expected to pray five times a day; give two and half per cent of their savings and income to the needy, and fasten and discipline during the holy month which is called Ramadan. If they can effort it they are expected to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca.
[27] Equal voices, European Agency for fundamental rights (FRA), Beyond tolereance- learning from diversity May 2008 Report
[28] Equal voices, the May 2008 Report by FRA
[29] Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni in Equal Voices the May 2008 Report by FRA
[30] Marc Gruber in Equal Voices the May 2008 Report by FRA
[31] Pierre Duret in Equal voices the May 2008 Report by FRA
[32] De Witte, L. (2004), Wie is bang voor moslims? aantekeningen over Abou Jahjah, ethnocentrisme en islamofobie, Van Halewyck
[33] Meier, P. (2008), course Gender Diversity and Politics at the UA and the VUB, 18/03/2008
[34] European Union Agency for fundamental rights, (2008), Community cohesion at local level: addressing the needs of Muslim Communities Examples of local initiatives.
[35] De Witte
[36] Zemni
[37] Zemni, S. (2002), Islam European identity and the limits of multiculuralism gevonden op: http://www.psw.ugent.be/menarg/publications/multicul.pdf
We are living in a time of globalization where immigration is a reality and multiculturalism is debated extensively. This debate does not continue effortlessly; particularly in the case of Muslims one can observe tensions, inconsistencies and misrepresentations. The image of the “Muslim” as significantly different from “Us” is constructed through a discourse that alienates Muslims in the mass media. With this in mind, a deeper investigation into how media reports about Islam and Muslims might reveal unconscious misperceptions. However, this research cannot only be restricted to an analysis of the language use in the representation of Muslims, but one must also question the idea of what is normal in our society. I will analyse concepts such as Islamophobia and Orientalism to demonstrate how the view of Muslims as “the other”, and the source of “conflict” is embedded in a culture where uniformity and homogeneousness are prioritized. The norm needs to be tackled and challenged to attain a profound understanding of how racist discourses are systematically accepted.
First I will look at how Muslims are represented and depicted in the Flemish newspapers. Here I will use Critical Discourse Analysis as a method to explore the construction of the image of Muslims; I will support these assesments by Flemish and International research on the subject. The phenomena of Orientalism and Islamophobia will help to clarify the formation of Muslims. As it will become apparent that the (Flemish) media uses a narrow and inaccurate image of Muslims and that Islam is constructed as opposite to European values, I will ascertain a way to tackle these misrepresentations and stigmatizations. I will conclude by briefly looking at projects of building international dialogue and the mainstreaming of this phenomenon.
2. The presentation of Muslims.
"When it comes to reporting on Muslim communities, the media is found to be overly selective, one sided, simplistic and clichéd (Ömür)[1]".
In this section I investigate how the images of Muslims are constructed in the Flemish newspapers. First I explore how discourse in general - and in this paper more specifically the discourse about Muslims - is a social practice. This analysis of the discourse about Muslims demonstrates how cultural beliefs and understandings about Muslims are often wrongly constructed. The process of Othering, which underlies phenomena like Orientalism and Islamophobia, illustrates how Islam is portrayed as clashing with European values and as contra European.
2.1. Constructing images in Flemish newspapers
“News is a practice, a discourse which does not reflect reality in a neutral manner but helps to “interpret”, “organize” and classify this reality (Manan)[2].”
This paper follows a constructionalist approach, with the idea that Muslims are constructed as a category like gender, sexuality, colour, race etc… The Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is used here as an approach to investigate how the image of Muslims is created in the Flemish newspapers. Critical Discourse analysts examine how discourse constructs reality; in particular, how discourse is applied to produce and reproduce social realities and consequently also social inequalities[3]. The goal of CDA is to reveal social practices, by studying the use of language. Hence CDA “…focuses on the role of discourse in the construction, consolidation and reproduction of dominance and challenges to that dominance…”[4]
As we study the formation of Muslims in Flemish media, and question the racist discourse, we need to consider the electoral success of the far right party in Flanders: “Vlaams Belang” (Flemish Interest). Their electoral achievements could raise some questions about racism in Flanders, as this right-nationalist party with the slogan “eigen volk eerst” advocates priority to their own people. Vlaams Belang promotes strict limitations on immigration and states to be against multiculturalism. However, the focus of this paper lay not with the phenomenon of Vlaams Belang, but with the study of the normalization of racist discourse and the implicit structural racism in Flemish society. Some mechanisms produce a general consensus to regard migrants - and moreover Muslims - as intruders, as a threat to Flemish society, this is evident in Media discourse about Muslims and immigrants.
2.1.1. Media research in the past
An early large-scale research project on multiculturalism in Flemish media in 1993 by the Association of Belgian Professional Journalists reveals some of these mechanisms. This research was published by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia; it shows how ethnic minorities were often associated with negative features such as crime and violence[5]. Moreover, corresponding to later research, this project shows how ethnic minorities were often referred to as one homogeneous group, in contrast to indigenous people who are often regarded as individuals. The most common terms used to define persons who are part of an ethnic minority are 'migrant', 'stranger' or 'refugee'. It is important to notice that the term Muslim is not yet referred to. The researchers point out that “'race', ethnicity and religion are seldom mentioned, contrary to nationality or country of origin which are often identified even if this has no relevance to the story”[6]. Journalists are easily tempted to ignore an ethical and impartial style and are responsible to harming the public interest by lack of respect for intercultural understanding. The results of this study led to six recommendations for journalists for how to deal with these issues:
Only mention nationality, country of origin, ethnicity, 'race', religion or culture when relevant;
Avoid irresponsible generalisations and polarisation ('us' against 'them');
Avoid unnecessary dramatisation: ethnic minorities should also be represented in 'normal' situations;
Be meticulous in reporting about ethnic minorities;
Give background about the far-right and racism: not just who and what, but also why and how;
The story is not finished when it's written; also pay attention to pictures, headlines, etcetera[7].
In 1995, a smaller, explorative study was carried out to see if these recommendations had been followed. However even though some individual reporters appeared to respect the guidelines, overall there was no improvement in media reporting observed.
Another often cited work is Blommaert and Verschueren’s research, debating diversity, a study of the discourse on racism and cultural diversity spread by the media. This research gives examples of explicit or implicit, positive or negative statements about ethnic minorities[8]. It shows how hidden positive and explicit negative statements are exceptional in main-stream Belgian media. The thrust of this essay is Blommaert and Verschueren’s conclusion that “the Belgian migrant debate is in essence based on a distancing and confrontational view of "us" versus the "other", captured in (often implicit) terms of "normality" versus ‘abnormality’”[9]. Multicultural policies mainly focus on the integration and the assimilation of immigrants. Instead of appreciating the differences, the differences seem to be problemized.
2.1.2. Recent developments
Muslims and Islam are increasingly linked with negative connotation and portrayed as significantly different. The infamous work of Huntington, which articulates the clash of civilisations, is even more sustained in general thinking. Eveline Vercauteren argues how Islam is demonized in the Flemish debate. She talks about the radicalisation of the discourse of media intellectuals after the September 11 attacks. She continues by stating that security experts proclaim a realistic view on the dangers of Islamization for our Western society, and so the use of stereotypes and prejudices towards Muslims are justified[10]. This evolution of justifying a healthy fear for radical Islam is a development that will be examined more in depth later in this paper when researching Islamophobia. The current chapter mainly focuses on the formation of the image about Muslims. Muslims are viewed from an ethnocentric vision, which portrays Muslims as mindless followers of “The Islam” as if there is only one way of experiencing Islam. “The Islam” is often associated with negative connotations like terrorist attacks, undemocratic regimes or women’s repression. Vercauteren observes a cultural superiority and a coloured representation of reality whereby the discourse constructs the idea of “The Islam”. This image will be so widespread and commonly used that it will be accepted as an objective given and seen as a factual representation of reality[11]. As a result of the reactions to the Muhammad cartoons’ reactions, stereotypes of Muslims intensified. The research of Asa Söderén shows how Muslim’s reactions are depicted as irrational, uncivilised, threatening and rejecting the freedom of speech. Protesters are not seen as individuals but as Muslims, whose protests were overpowering in that police had no hope to calm them. A “De Standaard” journalist Mia Doornaert uses in her article “Europa’s knikkende knieën” many metaphors to describe Europe’s fear of Islam; the title shaking knees, or the description of “schuimbekkende fanatici”[12] (fanatics with foam at the mouth) are unmistakable. Moreover Doornaert talks about the angry Muslim and the violent Muslim world, as a culture that despises the principles of Enlightenment. Even though she asserts later that it is the totalitarian version of Islam that is refusing a dialogue, her whole article portrays Islam and Flemish values as incompatible or clashing.
Paul Scheffer’s book “Het multiculturele drama” produced a large-scale commotion in the Netherlands in 2000. His consideration of the occurring multicultural drama as the main threat to societal peace resulted in a big public debate. However with the triumph of Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands (and ‘Vlaams Belang’ in Flanders) it becomes clear that many of the issues he raised were experienced as problematic, Scheffer calls this: an uprising of citizens[13]. He says that Pim Fortuyn knew to address and conceal the uneasiness that for many years was looking for a way out. In his new book “Het land van aankomst”- the country of arrival, he determines that immigration causes frictions, which are grown more problematic in our time of change. Three new phenomena; the rising numbers of Muslims in Western society, lower participation in the working force because of broad-developed social security system and easier sustainability of contacts with the country of origin, are challenging integration. Paul Scheffer shows a deliberated view on common perception of immigration; however, it is important to bear in mind that this picture of clashing societies flourished especially in the Islamophobic environment following the 11 September attacks. Recent research of two Flemish quality newspapers “De Standaard” and “De Morgen” conducted by Maly and Sghiar shows how Islamophobia becomes increasingly justified, as a normal human feature[14]. The researchers state further that through the normalisation of the concept Islamophobia a rhetoric foundation is created to portray Muslims as inferior, women oppressive and terroristic[15]. A process of Othering and us-them dichotomy validates implicit racism. Edward Said was the first to successfully demonstrate the existence of a tendency to view Muslims as significantly different.
2.2. Orientalism
“Said’s work …raises ethical and moral dillemas, as well as present(s) an intellectual and apistomological challenge to those who seek to understand alien cultures.[16]”
Orientalism often refers to Oriental studies, where the culture language and history of the Orient, the East, are analyzed. However since the publication of Edward Said’s controversial book in 1978, Orientalism got a whole new meaning. Said’s book describes a tradition of hostile and disapproving views of the East by the West. It studies the Western domination and hostility towards the East, which is to be traced down to European imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this sense, the book implies Western prejudiced interpretations, and an imagined construction of the East in which it is viewed as contrary to the West. As Said mainly studied the Islamic Arab world, his view on the conceptions of the Orient is used to comprehend Western knowledge about Islam. It was the first book to effectively shed the light on identity construction and discourse formation in relation to ‘the Orient’[17]. Hereafter we will discuss Islamophobia and it will become clear that similarities between Orientalism and Islamophobia are large. Tom Demeestere shows how Islamophobia builds further on the constructed argumentation of Orientalism, as classical Orientalism is strengthened by the Islamophobic discourse after 9/11. The legacy of Orientalism is continued in the form of Islamophobia. Merryl Wyn Davies goes even further in indicating the important role of Orientalism in the current international environment. She claims the oriental discourse to feed Islamophobia as well as Muslim ‘fundamentalism’[18]. The authority of Orientalism contributed to a contra-reaction namely Occidentalism, as a justification to defend the harm done to Muslims. This assertion is in line with the criticism to Islamophobia as making it impossible to critique the shortcomings of Islam.
2.3. Islamophobia
On the website of Islamophobia Watch different definitions of Islamophobia are to be found that are summarized here as: hostility towards Islam to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims. Islam is believed to be unresponsive to change; simultaneously it is viewed as inferior and a threat to the West. Islam is seen as separate and 'other', it does not have values in common with other cultures. Islam is generally seen as supportive of terrorism and engaged in a 'clash of civilizations'.
The relevance of the term Islamophobia is debated on many fronts, some argue it is used to oppose any criticism of Islam; others appraise the term rather than the racial exclusion. One of the latter is Halliday who claims anti-Muslimism to be a more appropriate term as “The attack now is not against Islam as a faith but against Muslims as a people...[19]”. As argued earlier, anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural or normal. However in my opinion Islam as a religion is regarded to be a threat to Western values and especially after the contested Muslim-cartoons, the freedom of speech is seen to be endangered with this religion.
The research of Blommaert en Verschueren demonstrates how clear and explicit Islamophobic reasoning appeared sporadic in Flemish newspaper articles, however many implicit messages show the structural character of this racism[20]. Islamophobia is concealed and preferably ignored as a real problem. Islamophobia, even though generally employed by international organizations like the UN and the EU, it is not convincingly used by Flemish journalists. The study of Maly and Sghiar shows how a fear for Muslims and Islam seems like a normal response. The door for racism is wide-open; prejudices, stereotypes and generalisations towards Muslims are not recognized as thus anymore[21]. Maly and Sghiar emphasize how Mia Doornaert of “De Standaard” (see also above) is especially Islamophobic in her writing. She denies acknowledging Islamophobia as a real problem and rather views it as an instrument against criticism on Islam[22]. In rejecting Islamophobia as a form of racism in contrast to anti-Semitism, Doornaert still seems stuck in an essentialist approach to racism. She claims Islamophobia not to be a form of racism in contrary to anti-Semitism, as she acknowledges Jews as a race and Muslims not. This argument of Doornaert does not hold much ground as the concept of racism is contested, and not considered a legitimate biological concept, even though it is very powerful as a cultural concept. The European commission against racism and Intolerance argues that all people belong to the same race and that the term racism covers “any contempt for a person or a group of persons, or the notion superiority of a person or a group of persons on the basis of “…‘race’, color, language, religion, nationality or ethnic origin”[23] In this line many official organization like the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the UN[24],… the ‘Centrum voor Gelijkheid van Kansen en Racismebestrijding’ (Belgian Centre for equal opportunities and the fight against racism), all see the increasing racism towards Muslims as problematic. This paper will not go deep into the pro’s and contra’s of the term Islamophobia, here we will also not argue if Islam is a danger to Western values, rather we will focus how knowledge about the Islam is often constructed through an anti-Muslim discourse, and look at some of the attempts to deconstruct these stigma’s, prejudices and stereotypes.
3. Accepting diversity and tackling the norm
“Different does not have to mean inferior or threatening[25]”.
As demonstrated previously, a critical look at the formation of Muslims is necessary to see how we create an image that is based on misconceptions and wrong information. We have to acknowledge that Muslim society is as diverse as any Western or Christian society and therefore generalizations are often quite ignorant. Islamic religion expects its followers to adhere to the five pillars of Islam[26]. However different Muslims persevere differently to these pillars and Muslims cannot be described as one singular homogeneous group. As demonstrated above ethical Journalism needs to be promoted to tackle the anti-Muslim discourse. However as discourse is often unconsciously constructed, this paper looks at two different ways to manage the icon of clashing civilizations; through intercultural dialogue and mainstreaming.
3.1. Intercultural dialogue
One of the big tests of this century of globalization and multiculturalism is the challenge of diversity. The EU, through the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), has called 2008 the European year of intercultural dialogue with the aim of bringing communities together. This intercultural dialogue should provide Europeans with a tool to deal with the extensive changes in their cultural environment, by developing a genuine dialogue between different cultures and religions[27]. In the FRA May report “Beyond tolerance: learning from Diversity” different intellectuals voice their outlook to promote understanding and to provide opportunities for people from different backgrounds to get to know each other better, learn to respect each other and to live together as Europeans[28]. This report contains some very valuable suggestions; for instance teaching history that is not limited to Western history but to learning about the other empires and accomplishments. One of the authors in this report also emphasizes the importance of ethical journalism; this was stressed earlier when studying the way news papers report about Muslims. The last author of the report that is mentioned here will lead us to the next chapter about mainstreaming:
Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni Co-coordinator for Intercultural Dialogue at the Council of Europe emphasizes the need to promote values that endorse a cultural diverse society: “However, every case of discrimination, every occurrence of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia or indeed any form of racism and intolerance demonstrates that the legal protection of rights alone is not sufficient to safeguard the freedom and integrity of every individual”. She argues for a commitment of all social actors to cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. She explains how the Council of Europe emphasizes the promotion of intercultural skills, history teaching, language learning and the accommodation of diversity in social service provision [29]. In the year 2005, the council of Europe made the acquis communautaire focus on the development of a “White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue”, making clear it is serious about the intercultural dialogue. This White Paper is primarily inspired by the conviction that reconciling respect for different identities to strengthen social cohesion can only be successful if policy is founded on universal human rights and fundamental freedoms. The white paper stresses some important objectives for instance: the rights of minorities and migrants, the enhancement of the knowledge of other cultures and religions, the creation of spaces for intercultural dialogue. The latter Battaini-Dragoni specifies with examples like the “Intercultural Football Plan” in Ireland and the “Charter of Diversity” in France.
The May report also addresses the role of the media. Marc Gruber discusses how journalism turns out to be a challenging task in a globalizing world with a noticeable increase of intolerance, a growing popularity of anti-foreigner political parties and Politicians pressure in the name of a so-called “war on terror.” He criticizes the use of unverified information by “quasi-journalists” on websites and cautions for the risk of discrimination or misrepresentation of minorities in the mainstream media. Gruber asserts media to be guilty of providing a simplistic, one-sided view of “the other.” The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) and publishers and broadcasters organizations endeavor to address this problem by stressing the need for the reliability and the quality of information, a campaign labeled the “Ethical Journalism Initiative”[30].
Pierre Duret’s article takes an interesting direction by bringing up how cultural diversity in broadcasting is often assumed to be addressed by the commercial objective. In the past competition urged broadcasters to reach an as big as possible public, whereby programs were dedicated “for and about “them””. Lately the programs changed to “for all and about “them””, where public broadcasting services strive to reflect all segments of the population on screen in different sorts of programs and in all kind of roles. Most recently, Duret claims, diversity is considered in all on- and off-screen activities, to make television for all of us, taking into account the interests of different social and cultural groups: “It has become clear that television cannot be for “all of us” if it is just made by a few of “us”.[31]” Flemish television addresses this with programs like “Arabesk” or “Rwina”. Here immigrants make their own TV, and decide about the issues to bring; diversity is taken into account, this is what Duret calls mainstreaming.
3.2. Mainstreaming: an answer from the AEL
As we mentioned before, the multicultural society is causing a lot of distrust, as well by acknowledged intellectuals like Paul Scheffer as by the electoral victories of extreme right parties like Vlaams Belang. One answer from an immigrant Muslim in Belgium came from Dyab Abou Jahjah, he questioned the Belgian approach to multiculturalism and its underlying principles of integration and assimilation. He aspires the emancipation of the migrant (allochtone) community in the cases of employment, education and housing[32]. His party the AEL (Arab European League) rejects adaptation and assimilation. His actions were called alarming by some; however others looked at it as form of claiming his democratic rights. One might even call it a form of mainstreaming.
Even as the intercultural dialogue has become a priority on the EU agenda, mutual respect and understanding seems to still go a long way. As we might suspect it to remain a far-fetched ideal we have to enquire some of our mainstream principles. The concept of mainstreaming is generally used in gender issues where gender mainstreaming tries to question the underlying norms in society. The norm needs to be tackled because public policies often reproduce inequality in that they do not question the white middle class male norm[33]. A FRA report about community cohesion adopts the term mainstreaming to raise awareness for the different needs of Muslims in our society; it stresses the necessity to confer with people:
“Mainstreaming certainly does not mean that there is one mainstream model of service provision of the one size fits all; rather the awareness of different needs and consequently of different models of service provision becomes central to the operational priority of the local authority. In addition, mainstreaming equalities also means primarily consulting people about how to meet their needs in order to be inclusive[34]”.
The research of Blommaert en Verschueren (1998) shows how the Belgian migration debate was dominated by policies trying to find solutions for the migrant problematization. Many researchers demonstrate how migrants in Belgium are often seen as a problem that needs to be solved; their way of life is not congruent with the homogenous Belgian society and therefore is labelled as abnormal. Most Belgium policies stress the necessity for immigrants to integrate and assimilate – to adapt. However here the public opinion gets really frustrated as they consider Muslims as not able to integrate and to adapt to Western values. This is the point where Ludo De Witte wonders if it is really necessary for Belgian society to stay a “monocultural” environment[35]. He pleads for a multicultural society in which there is respect for everyone’s culture. It might be necessary to question our cultural values and to accept that the world is changing. It was clear that Belgian (Flemish) society was not ready yet for the ideas of Abou Jahjah; however some of his ideas about tackling the norm - as he advocated to accepting and strengthening the interests of the Arabic and Islamic communities – could be relevant in the current migration debate. The idea that these communities’ societal position needed to be bolstered was very controversial at the time and it was resisted by conservative as well as “progressive” politicians. Abou Jahjah wanted to give a voice to Muslims in Flemish society within the boundaries of democracy, however this “revolutionary” idea was labelled as radical and some politicians called Abou Jahjah a terrorist. Abou Jahjah puts an emphasis on the protection of identity the Muslim community’s singularity. The importance of identity in the Muslim debate is shared by Professor Sami Zemni, he claims that Islam is used in the formation of another identity though, of a European identity[36]. The political parties, argues Zemni, use the Islam as an instrument in this process: “While the far-right is trying to control Islam by ‘getting rid of it’, the others are trying to control it by pushing forward their ‘own Islam’.”[37] At the same time Muslims try to formulate their own demands in Western Europe, however Muslims’ voices are barely heard, while the threat of ‘Islamic fundamentalism’ is applied to justify not having to consider the needs of this segment of the population. The fierce reaction of politicians aginst Abou Jahjah could exemplify this justification. One might wonder if the fear of change and of Islam as being unfamiliar, blinds people to see how some of the proposals of Abou Jahjah and other Muslims do not have to be a threat but could help to build towards a solution.
Conclusion
It becomes clear that this time of migration causes a universal uneasiness, however it is important to be aware of the underlying processes that causes our society to fall into opposing groups. The CDA approach is very useful in revealing how images about the other and especially about Muslims, are constructed in sometimes very extreme ways. The extensive research on the use of discourse in media shows how Muslims are depicted as problematically different from “Us”. Islamophobia as a variant of Orientalism proofs to have religious antipathy, that some may explain as a healthy fear. Once we realize how discourse constructs and reconstructs our reality, we might be more open to solutions like the Intercultural Dialogue or have a better understanding for the need to question our norms through mainstreaming. These two developments help to appreciate and to open up to other people’s history and culture, while also questioning the routine way of our lives. One cannot deny that this globalizing world is changing the form of society and that flexibility is necessary to avoid really moving towards a society of clashing groups. It is not an easy challenge but by learning about each other and mutually respecting each other’s way of life people might grow an understanding and acceptance of each other. This respect and understanding requires for people to be critical of the established way of thinking. Instead of being blinded by fear for differences, it is important to listen to proposed solutions.
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[1] Ömür, O.: Media discourse and representation of muslims. OVSE, 16 april 2007
[2] Manan, S., (2001), Re-Reading the media: A stylistic Analysis of Malaysian Media coverage of Anwar and the Reformist Movement, Asia PacificMediaEducator, issue 11, Universiti Sains Malaysia
[3] Richardson, J. (2006), On delineating ‘reasonable’ and ‘unreasonable’ criticisms of Muslims gevonden op http://www.languageandcapitalism.info/wp- content/uploads/2006/08/richardson_04_09_islamophobia.pdf
[4] Tilbury, F, (2004) "They're intelligent and very placid people and it's unavoidable that they become your friends": Media reporting of 'supportive' talk regarding asylum seekers, in Revisioning Institutions: Change in the 21st Century, TASA (The Australian Sociological Association) 2004 Conference Refereed Proceedings, CD Rom.
[5] Ter Wal, J. (2002), An overview of research and examples of good practice in the EU Member States, 1995-2000, European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia
[6] Ter Wal
[7] TerWal
[8] Ter wal
[9] Blommaert, J., en Verschueren J. (1998), Debating diversity: analysing the discourse of tolerance. London: Routledge
[10] Vercauteren, Eveline (2005), Islamofobie: een nieuw racisme? Een theoretische inleiding. Gevonden op : http://www.scriptiebank.be/NL/index.php?jaar=2005&page=44&id=422
[11] Vercauteren
[12] Doornaert, M., Doorgeprikt staat netjes. Europa’s knikkende knieën, De Standaard 10 februari 2006
[13] Paul scheffer Scheffer, P. (2007), Het land van aankomst. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij
[14] Maly, I., en El Sghiar, H., Het Failliet van Islamofobie. 15 februari 2007. Gevonden op: http://site.kifkif.be/kifkif/nieuws.php?nws_id=814&page_class=three&open_menu_i=25
[15] Maly
[16] Hastings Donnan (ed.), 2002 Interpreting Islam: a theory, culture & society series, Sage. London
[17] Demeestere, T., Islamofobie: een nieuwe vorm van racisme? Universiteit Gent, Katholieke universiteit Leuven, academiejaar: 2005-2006
[18] Davies, M., W. (2002), Wilful imaginings New Internationalist, gevonden op http://www.newint.org/ features/2002/05/01/wilful-imaginings/
[19] Halliday, F. (1999), Islamophobia reconsidered, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22(5): 892-902
[20] Blommaert, J., en Verschueren J. (1998), Debating diversity: analysing the discourse of tolerance. London: Routledge
[21] Maly, I., en El Sghiar, H., Het Failliet van Islamofobie. 15 februari 2007. Gevonden op: http://site.kifkif.be/kifkif/nieuws.php?nws_id=814&page_class=three&open_menu_i=25
[22] Doornaert, Doorgeprikt staat netjes. Europa’s knikkende knieën, De Standaard 10 februari 2006
[23] Vercauteren
[24] Secretary-General, addressing headquarters seminar on confronting Islamophobia", United Nations press release, December 7, 2004.
[25] Pincus, Fred L. (2007), Understanding Diversity: An Introduction to Class, Race, Gender and Sexual Orientation, Lynne Rienner
[26] The five pillars are: the believe that Allah is the one and true god; Muhammad is his prophet; every Muslim is expected to pray five times a day; give two and half per cent of their savings and income to the needy, and fasten and discipline during the holy month which is called Ramadan. If they can effort it they are expected to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca.
[27] Equal voices, European Agency for fundamental rights (FRA), Beyond tolereance- learning from diversity May 2008 Report
[28] Equal voices, the May 2008 Report by FRA
[29] Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni in Equal Voices the May 2008 Report by FRA
[30] Marc Gruber in Equal Voices the May 2008 Report by FRA
[31] Pierre Duret in Equal voices the May 2008 Report by FRA
[32] De Witte, L. (2004), Wie is bang voor moslims? aantekeningen over Abou Jahjah, ethnocentrisme en islamofobie, Van Halewyck
[33] Meier, P. (2008), course Gender Diversity and Politics at the UA and the VUB, 18/03/2008
[34] European Union Agency for fundamental rights, (2008), Community cohesion at local level: addressing the needs of Muslim Communities Examples of local initiatives.
[35] De Witte
[36] Zemni
[37] Zemni, S. (2002), Islam European identity and the limits of multiculuralism gevonden op: http://www.psw.ugent.be/menarg/publications/multicul.pdf
dinsdag 24 juni 2008
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I like to share my experiences with others, that's why I put some of my most interesting experiences on this blog.
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Ann
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