Seminar Group1 by Xingyi Li

Summary: Securitized citizens: Islamophobia, racismand the 7/7 London bombings

splxl — 2023-11-22 16:58:48 UTC

Following this reading strategy:

5 mins - abstract and introduction (the basic idea)

5 mins - methodology (how they did it)

10 mins - discussion/findings (what they found out and how they justified their claims)

5 mins - conclusion (what they say it means for the field and for society)

Write 100-200 words to summarize this article.

ss23eb1 — 2023-11-28 14:31:04 UTC

Use of semi structured interviews in the areas in Leeds where the bombers from the London bombings lived and created the bomb. They looked at the views of non-Muslims and Muslims. Muslim perspective, saw an erasure in their Muslim identity and an increase of being defined as individuals, Muslim women who wore hijabs feared leaving the house and men also wore traditional outfits outside less, they also confirmed that the actions of the bombers were of a small minority of the religion.

The non-Muslims were concerned that the Iraq war was a reason for the bombings, this was encouraged by the government, they became more concerned about immigration and multiculturalism, and they had a narrow and negative view of Islam consistent of the effects of Islamophobic securitisation.

Some non-Muslims views were not directly Islamophobic but instead stemmed from nationalistic white identity and therefore wider racism, proving the interconnection between racism and Islamophobia.

2023-11-29 17:56:27 UTC

-This article focuses on attitudes towards Muslim British citizens after the London bombings on the 7th July 2005. The aim was to discover how perceptions of Muslim people had changed since the attacks, whilst also examining how much they felt they were 'securitized citizens'.

-The author's have collected qualitative data from 141 semi structured interviews from a wide variety of ethnic groups including Muslim and non Muslims but all based in West Yorkshire. These interviews took place in September 2005 and September 2006 and were funded by the University of Leeds.

-The non Muslim interviewees expressed concern over the Iraq war, and some even said they view mosques as sites of terrorism. These participants also seemed to mention the BNP which is on the rise with anti Muslim sentiment. Lastly, a common view held was that Muslim citizens were leeching off of British welfare and were a drain to society. The data collected from the Muslim interviewees showed that they as well did not condemn the attacks and felt it was not part of their religon. They express criticism as not being able to be seen as an individual, and instead being grouped with extremists.