The Effects of the Politics of Fear

The Effects of the Politics of Fear

On the Representations of Muslim Migrants

Hanane Darhour

Abstract:

Processes of globalisation, the cultural hegemony of the powerful states and the persistence of a politics of fear on the part of different radical, political and religious ideologies in the world have had significant effects communication and effectively on the representations of Muslim migrants, especially in the aftermath of the events of the 11th of September. The terrorist events, not only in American but in Spain Turkey, England and Morocco, are said to be the result of the rise of radical Islam represented by Ben Laden and other terrorist figures. These events and accusations will have lasting effects on the representations of Muslims and Arabs. The paper discusses then the oscillation of these images and representations of Muslim migrants between illusion and reality and explains in part how images are seized by politicians and radical thinkers to further the reigning a global politics of fear. Using in-depth interviews with Moroccan Migrants to European countries, I am going to see to what extent they think migration, taken in its positive side as a chance for ‘forced’ communication and bridging factor of multi cultural identities, can end the spreading of the mediatised politics of fear which has become a powerful force dominating European public imagination and constructing derogative media images of Muslim migrants, and especially generalising that all Muslims are potential terrorists threatening the national security of the ‘developed’ countries.

Curriculum Vitae

hanane darhour

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