Islamophobia

Protecting “Traditional Islam” from “Radical Islam”: Discourse of Islamophobia in the Russian Media

A number of papers on the sociology of Islam are based on an assumption about the domination of a negative, or at least “problematic” nature of Islam. Many authors connect such image with terrorism, violence and migration. A securitization of Islam occurs not only in the media, but even in academic research through reproducing the Orientalist approach. Despite the fact that the narrative of Islamophobia is firmly entrenched in many types of discourse about Islam, the simple question remains unanswered: how is this happening?

Perception of Islam in the Russian Society: Comparative Dimension

Unlike in Western Europe, there is no demand for exclusion of Muslims from the Russian “political market.” There are two reasons for this: the “autochthonous” nature of Islam in Russia and the specific features of the current political system. Due to these two factors, parties with an openly Islamophobic agenda are unlikely to emerge, and public articulation of negative attitudes toward Islam and Muslims is hampered. At the same time, Russia is experiencing tensions similar to those in Western European societies.