Join us for the Islamophobia Beyond Borders Workshop, in The Sir Duncan Rice Library, to discuss the international context, repercussions, and consequences of modern Islamophobia. Hosted by Professor Nadia Kiwan of the University of Aberdeen and Dr Jim Wolfreys of King's College London, inviting a host of prominent academics and civil society stakeholders to discuss and share.
Ibrahim Bechrouri, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, USA : title tbc
In order to defeat the far right and "Macronie" in the snap parliamentary elections called for late June and early July 2024, the Nouveau Front Populaire (New Popular Front) was hastily formed on June 10 as a political coalition uniting the main French left-wing parties, supported by various unions, media outlets, and civil society organizations. Ironically, this union of leftist forces highlighted a number of fault lines within the French left that are preventing, for better or worse, the formation of a big tent party, as exists in the UK and US. These rifts are not only evident between the dominant political parties but also within them, where conflicting political views clash, particularly on addressing issues of racism, Islamophobia, and antisemitism. This contribution will offer an analysis of the way in which the narratives of Islamo-leftism, on the one hand, and Islamophobia, on the other, structure the French left and its relationship to Islam, Muslims, and anti-racism. The goal is to highlight the broader fractures between the racist and anti-racist left, as well as the subtler divisions hindering the emergence of a solid anti-racist mainstream position within the French left. Special attention will be given to the dominant left-wing political parties (Parti communiste français, La France insoumise, Europe Écologie Les Verts and Parti socialiste) as well as leftist media, with an emphasis on Mediapart, which often positions itself as the arbiter (or "juge de paix") of progressive forces in France.
Mame Fatou-Niang, Carnegie Mellon University, USA: ‘Gaza, the 2024 snap elections and the frenchification of Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism’
In this communication, I will offer a first-person account of the days following the (not so surprising) French far right historical score at the 2024 European elections, and Macron's shocking announcement of a snap vote after his party was all but obliterated.
I am a seventh-generation French and Muslim woman who has witnessed the rise of anti-Muslim hate in contemporary France, from the 1989 veil affairs to the afterlives of the 2015 attacks. I will speak here about the particular flavour of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments that permeate the current campaign trail, a moment marked by the removal of the vulgar stigma often associated in France with gross display of racism. In the context of the genocide in Gaza and in a country where the Left is now considered the far right, and where the far right has been "normalized," anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate have become the main driver of politics in France.
Reza Zia-Ebrahimi, Kings College London, UK : ‘Dire prophecies: Race and conspiracism in the history of Islamophobia’
This paper critically interrogates the genealogies of racialised conspiracy theories targeting Muslims and theorises their role in the racialisation process. It foregrounds the entanglements with antisemitic conspiracism through an inclusive, diachronic lens. Nineteenth-century discourses racialised Jews as inherently disloyal, alleging their manipulation of finance and media for global domination. Simultaneously, Muslims were constructed as fanatical adversaries to European colonialism, generating anxieties about the potential demise of White Supremacy.
The paper connects these historical narratives to contemporary constructs like Islamisation, Eurabia, and the Great Replacement, which fantasise the West being overwhelmed by Muslim demographics and Islamisation instincts. Beyond mere historical context, these theories are posited as central to the racialisation process, ascribing immutable, inherited traits to Muslims, framing them as existential threats to Western civilisation. The paper argues that racialised conspiracy theories underpin and rationalise systemic Islamophobia, in addition to legitimising terroristic violence in the name of civilisational self-defence. It contributes a theoretical model situating racialised conspiracy thinking within the matrix of structural inequality and racial violence.
- Venue
- The Sir Duncan Rice Library, Meeting Room 1
- Contact
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Please fill out the form to register your interest.
- Booking
- Online booking available