CISAC Islamic Studies Research Colloquium

Contributed By: events coordinator
Organizing Institution: ISRA
Contact email: [email protected]
Start Date: April 29, 2024 (12:00pm)
End Date: April 29, 2024 (1:30pm)
Cost: Free
Website: https://www.isra.org.au/events/cisac-islamic-studies-research-colloquium/
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Description:

Islamophobia post 7 October

Speakers

• A/Prof Derya Iner
• Dr Susan Carland
• Prof. Scott Poynting

Scott Poynting
*This is a co authored paper with Dr Heela Popal.

Title: Islamophobia since October 7^th.

Abstract

The Hamas-led attacks of 7^th October 2023 led to an immediate and predictable propaganda response from the Israeli state, echoed in its western allies. This was to justify the imminent and still ongoing campaign of Israeli genocide in Gaza. Contradicting the conceit that it all began on October 7, the ideology of demonising Palestinians drew on longstanding elements of Islamophobia that have been prevalent in the ‘war on terror’:

– Dehumanisation of Arabs and especially Muslims;

– Associating Muslims with terrorism;

– Depicting Islam as violent and extremist;

– Representing Islam as backward, medieval and misogynistic;

– Condemning Islam as incompatible with Australian ‘values’/way of life;

– constructing a ‘suspect community’ and surveilling it (e.g. in mosques/schools);

– scapegoating/discrediting/blaming/traducing Muslim leaders (and now leaders of the Palestinian support movement in Australia), such as insisting that community leaders condemn extremist attacks/Hamas/October 7 incursion as precondition for a public voice;

– collective blame, as if Muslim communities in Australia were complicit in terrorism (and, currently, anti-Semitic violence). 

Bio

Scott Poynting is a sociologist and criminologist and is Adjunct Professor, CISAC, Charles Sturt University. He is co-author of seven books and co-editor of seven volumes, the most recent of which are The Normalization of the Global Far Right – Pandemic Disruption? (2022) with Ulrike Vieten and  Racism, Violence and Harm: Ideology, media and resistance  (2023) with Monish Bhatia and Waqas Tufail, respectively. He has written extensively on Islamophobia since 2001.

Derya Iner

Title : Fluctuating Islamophobia and the unconditional hate behind Islamophobia

Abstract  

Islamophobia incidents and hate crimes increase in tandem with heightened tension against Muslims. This is particularly the case in times of crises through which Muslims are stigmatised and associated with overseas terrorism such as ISIS. Even in cases where Muslims were the victims of terrorism and war crimes, as in the cases of Christchurch massacre and Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians since the 7^th October 2024, Islamophobia drastically increased. For instance, the Islamophobia Register Australia reported 16-fold increase in the reported Islamophobia incidents in the aftermath of the 7^th October 2024. A comprehensive analysis is essential to disclose not only the quick increase and spread of Islamophobia but also the heightening of hate intensity towards Muslims as well as the foundation behind it.  This presentation will focus on the fluctuating numbers of Islamophobia cases in tandem with the heightening intensity of hate following the trigger events and delve into the stable and unconditional hate behind the scenes.

Bio

Derya Iner is an Associate Professor and research coordinator at the Centre for Islamic Studies (CISAC), where she teaches and conducts research on contemporary issues related to Islam, Islamic cultures, and Muslims. She received her PhD in Cultural Studies (major) and Gender and Women’s Studies (minor) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) in 2011 and started teaching at UW in 2014. Derya is known for her work as the chief investigator and editor of the Islamophobia in Australia Reports I, II, III, and IV (2017, 2019, 2022, and 2023), which have gained nationwide and worldwide attention. The second report alone reached a potential audience of 730 million internationally, while the third report reached over 200 million within the first week of its launch

 Susan Carland 

Title : A War of Words: Preliminary Media Analysis of the 2023 Israel-Gaza War

This academic report was commissioned by the Islamophobia Register Australia and conducted by Dr Susan Carland. The research analysed the Instagram accounts of Australian news outlets, revealing an imbalance in reporting of the Israel-Gaza situation. The research examined media posts made from ABC News, The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, 9News, news.com.au and The Daily Aus between October 7th and November 7th 2023.

Bio

Dr Susan Carland is a sociologist of religion and the Deputy Director of Research, Impact, and Engagement for the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. She has received a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellowship and a Churchill Fellowship Her first book, “Fighting Hislam: women, faith, and sexism”, was published by Melbourne University Publishing, and she has also published books with Oxford University Press and Brill.  She has written numerous academic publications on topics ranging from the religious practices of Australian Muslims during Ramadan, analysis of biased media coverage of the Gaza war, a historical analysis of the relationship between feminism and religion, Muslim women’s countering Islamophobia strategies, and gender and violent extremism.