The struggle against Islamophobia? Tactical differences, institutional framing, and demobilization of Muslim activism at the local level
Type de matériel :
40
Analyzing the relative scarcity of protest actions against Islamophobia requires us to go beyond the identification of an unfavorable political opportunity structure, and to grasp, from a micro-sociological perspective, the mobilization work performed by intermediary actors who seek to convert certain feelings of injustice into collective action. This article proposes such an investigation based on a localized survey in the city of Roubaix and the ethnographic observation of two central collective actors: places of worship and associations fighting against the stigmatization of Muslims. For opposite reasons—institutional recognition in one case, disqualification in the other—these actors do not or no longer succeed in establishing themselves as effective drivers of mobilization against Islamophobia. While the mosques in Roubaix banded together in response to a controversy deemed Islamophobic, they have also forged harmonious relations with the public authorities—both right- and left-wing—allowing for the construction of several important buildings and the recognition of their place in the city. This has also meant, however, that they have distanced themselves from any contentious dynamics. The more militant associations, on the other hand, may have benefited from public funding for a time, but were soon attacked for their supposed “communitarianism,” with a string of controversies contributing to their marginalization. These collective trajectories allow us to understand the demobilization observed in the field despite a diffuse politicization linked to the stigmatization of Muslims.
Réseaux sociaux