Securitization and Religious Divides in Europe after 9/11

Objectives

The 9/11 terrorists attacks have modified the traditional dilemma between Security and Civil liberties since the former is now defined as the primary liberty to defend nationally as well as at the European level. The political insistence on danger and the necessity to protect citizens has made secondary concerns on freedom and civil liberties.

This change in balance is particularly striking in the case of Muslims living in Europe. The securitization of European politics goes through an externalization of Muslims living in Europe as potential terrorists or allies to terrorists. Immediately after 9/11 Muslims had been victims of verbal abuse, physical aggression and harassment in the USA and all over Europe. The media sometimes misrepresented the teachings of the Islamic religion and the beliefs of ordinary Muslims.

But unlike the US, the externalization of Muslim groups was already present in major European countries before 9/11. Our main hypothesis is that 9/11 intensified the perception of Islam and Muslims as a threat in Europe but did not create it. Since the 1980s, the fact of considering Islam as a risk factor in international relations has direct consequences on the condition of Muslim immigrants living in the midst of European societies who were perceived and treated as the Enemy within. In this regard, the situation of Muslims in the US was quite different since before 9/11 a distinction was drawn between Islam as an international threat and Muslims at the domestic level.

Since 9/11 some reports have listed the prejudices made to Muslims as a consequence of the terrorist attacks. But none has provided an in-depth analysis of the discrimination process against Muslims in a transatlantic perspective nor combined this analysis with an empirical research on the political and cultural consequences for Muslim groups and their integration within European societies.

The research initiated by GSRL intends to fill up this gap.

The main objectives of WP 10 are:

A) To deconstruct and analyze the exceptionalism of Islam and Muslims in European political discourse and policy-making at the national level and the European Union level.

B)To identify differences in the orientations and content of policies after 9/11,

C) To compare with the situation of Islam and Muslims in the US.

D) To analyze the consequences for Muslims on their integration processes within European societies in terms of citizenship, political participation and religious recognition.

The results of this workpackage will also serve to inform the observatory.

Description of work

This will be a cross-cutting workpackage which will build upon the work of other workpackages while also serving as a basis for further thinking and research for the other partners.

Based on a research experience of ten years in the field of Muslims in Europe, GSRL will take advantage of previous long-standing cooperation with European research institutions that work on Islam and Muslim in several European countries ( such as the United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Sweden.). Doctoral students under the supervision of confirmed scholars will contribute in these different institutions to the research by gathering information and data in different European countries and will receive an honorarium.

Under the direction of GSRL, a systematic comparison of the status of Islam and Muslims in the new security measures adopted in France, Germany and the UK as well as at the European level will be undertaken. A link will also be created with the Italian and Spanish colleagues of WP 8 and 9. The consequences on Muslim groups in these countries will also be analyzed in a comparative way. The following tasks will be completed:

I. Analysis of Legal provisions and Political Discourse linking Islam and Terrorism

a) A systematic investigation of the mention of Islam and Muslims in the texts on security and terrorism since 9/11 in 3 European countries as well as at the EU level will be conducted.

b) The difference with previous texts on security at the domestic level (delinquency, risks related to dangerous political groups or religious movements) well as with other forms of legislation concerning Islam and Muslims will be analyzed ( recognition of Islam in multicultural policies, integration of Islam in European legal systems) An analysis of public and political discourses (content analysis of discourses from government, Parliament, political parties as well as the political institutions of the European Union on the topic of Security, Terrorism and Islam will be provided as well as a comparison with the same discourse in the USA and Canada.

A study based on an historical approach will be systematically conducted in order to understand the Muslim case in the broader analytical framework of Religions and Threat in the European political history (first at the moment of the Nation-State building and the political separation with the historically dominant Churches at the beginning of the 20th century, second in the post-cold war era and the political concern that new sects and cults can threaten the safety of citizens).

The methodology used will be content analysis and semiotic analysis and historical comparison.

II. Consequences of policies and public discourse on Muslim communities

We will closely look at the implementation of security measures by national governments from anti-terrorism measures to immigration policies and legislation on domestic security. The investigation will be conducted primarily in countries with a significant Muslim population such as France, the UK and Germany in urban centres such as Paris, Berlin and London where this population is concentrated in order to understand how these measures are affecting the daily life of Muslims.

a) Who is targeted? Migrants/nationals How is the control exercised? Control of persons, activities, organizations, mosques.

The responses to these research questions will facilitate the mapping of discriminations related to the securitization of European politics ant the eventual resources Muslims can solicit at the national levels and at the EU level to counter the discrimination process. The comparison will be made through the existing work on this topic done by the main investigator in the US. The American and Canadian case will serve as a background case to highlight the specificity of the European situation.

b) The variety of responses of Muslims in different European countries will be investigated.

A typology of Muslim response to the construction of Islam as the Enemy will be established. A particular attention will be given to their potential changes in loyalties, religious and political allegiances as well as their use of violence.

The methodology used will be of ethnographic type through semi-directive interviews of Muslims (leaders of organizations and lay persons) in different European contexts. These interviews will be complemented by of focus groups (defined on the basis of gender/socio-economic, status/ethnic, background/education/ religiosity).