Rozprawy doktorskie na temat „Muslim”

Detta är ett arbete om hur det är att bo och leva i Sverige som muslim. De muslimer som finns i Sverige idag har till största delen flytt från sina hemländer för att undvika krig, fattigdom och förföljelser. Alltfler muslimer är nu även födda i Sverige och tillsammans med det mindre antal konvertiter som finns i Sverige skapar de nu en svensk islam. För att få insikt i hur det kan vara att leva som muslim i Sverige har jag läst litteratur som tar upp ämnet. Jag har kommit fram till att muslimer stöter på en mängd olika problem i utövandet av sin religion men att dessa problem på vissa håll kan lösas genom ömsesidig respekt och genom kompromisser. De svenska muslimerna har även börjat anpassa islam till det svenska samhället. Skolan är en viktig del i ungdomarnas liv och många av de problem som uppstår där beror ofta på att kommunikationen mellan skolpersonal och föräldrar är dålig. Det är ofta eleverna som kommer i kläm i dessa situationer. För att få reda på hur religionsundervisningen bedrivs på skolorna har jag besökt en kommunal grundskola och en muslimsk friskola. Besöket på friskolan bekräftade inte den bild jag tidigare haft av friskolor. Detta arbete har givit mig en större respekt och förståelse för islam och de muslimer som finns i Sverige.

HT 2015

Religiously based nonviolence varies in motive, intent and interpretation. John Howard Yoder outlines a variety of religious nonviolence in his book Nevertheless. Muslim nonviolence is not addressed in the book. Identifying a distinctly Muslim understanding of nonviolence requires an appreciation of aspects of peace building that are emphasized in Islam. Muhammad Abu-Nimer has formed a framework for identifying and encouraging nonviolence and peace building in an Islamic context. By applying the basic outlines formulated by Yoder and the framework developed by Abu-Nimer to three cases of Muslim movements of nonviolence, this paper identifies distinct variations of religious nonviolence and peace building that have been developed and practiced by Muslims. The first case is historic; the Khudai Khudmatgar sought independence from Great Britain through nonviolent demonstrations and civil disobedience. The second case puts emphasis on the peace building vision of Islam by examining a movement developed in contemporary Turkey. The followers of Said Nursi and the Gülen Movement collectively support "the middle way", education in both science and religion and opportunities for dialogue as a means to build peace locally and globally. The third case of religiously based nonviolence practiced by Muslims is that of the Shi'a led movement for democratic reforms in Bahrain, which uses collective action and protests to draw attention to the need for social change. Each movement demonstrates distinct approaches to nonviolence and peace building. In each case, the leadership frames the commitment to peace in Islamic terms. And in each case those who commit themselves to the movement do so through their understanding of the way they, as Muslims, should justly relate to one another and the world. This paper demonstrates Islam's unique characteristics that have enabled Muslims to pursue a common purpose and make change in a nonviolent manner.

"Our war is not against Islam.....Our war is a war against evil…" -President George W. Bush.

Despite President Bush's rhetoric attempting to separate Muslims in general from terrorists who adhere to the Islamic faith, the policies of the War on Terror have generally focused on Muslims domestically and abroad, often for no greater reason than a shared religious identity with the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack (see for example, National Special Entry-Exit Registration). While foreign-born Muslims were the primary subjects of earlier policies in the War on Terror, several cases involving Muslim Americans suggest that despite holding U.S. citizenship, they may be subject to differential standards of justice (i.e. Hamdi v. Rumsfeld or the targeted killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki). Building on previous scholarship that has examined the Muslim American experience post 9/11, this dissertation focuses on the relationship between the substance and implementation of laws and policies and Muslim American attitudes towards political efficacy and orientations towards the U.S. government. In addition, this dissertation examines the relationship between policy design and implementation and Muslim American political participation, alienation, and withdrawal.

This study was approached through the lens of social construction in policy design, a theoretical framework that was pioneered by Anne Schneider and Helen Ingram. Schneider and Ingram (1993, 1997) focus on the role of public policy in fostering and maintaining democracy. With the goal of understanding public policy as a vehicle to promoting or inhibiting democracy, their analysis focuses on how the use of social constructions of different policy group targets can affect their attitudes towards government and citizenship, in addition to behaviors such as political participation.

According to Schneider and Ingram (1993, 1997, 20005), groups with favorable constructions can expect to receive positive treatment and exhibit positive attitudes towards government and participate at higher levels than groups with negative social constructions, who will develop negative orientations towards government, a decrease in feelings of political efficacy, and lower levels of political participation. Within this conceptualization of the impact of policy on target groups is the element of political power, which Schneider and Ingram (1993, 1997, 2005) examine as a measure of the degree to which different target groups can challenge their social construction and, subsequently, the policy benefits or burdens directed at them.

Research studying the impact of policies on differently constructed groups (welfare recipients, veterans, etc.) has empirically verified Schneider and Ingram's (1993, 1997, 2005) social construction in policy design theory. However, none of the existing research has yet to apply this framework to Muslim Americans as a group and in the context of counter-terrorism policies.

In order to situate the Muslim American responses according to the theories' main propositions, this study provides a background on many of the post 9/11 counter-terrorism policies, highlighting those policies that have disproportionately impacted members of this group. This research also examines how the War on Terror has been framed, and the actors involved in the construction of the Muslim image, with a focus on discerning the ways in which members of this population have been demonized and positioned as collectively responsible for acts of terrorism perpetrated by other Muslims.

This study utilized a mixed methods approach and included a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews. Purposive sampling was used in order to obtain a sample of Muslim Americans from different racial and ethnic backgrounds proportionate to the demographics of this community in the United States. The study findings are based on surveys from 75 individuals and interviews with 61 individuals.

The findings in this study reveal that Muslim Americans overwhelmingly perceive themselves to be the target of the War on Terror policies. Further, the data in this study shows that Muslim Americans across a range of backgrounds question the degree to which they are entitled to equity in both cultural and legal citizenship, including procedural justice. Despite exhibiting these views towards citizenship and procedural justice, a majority of Muslim Americans nonetheless reported increased levels of political participation as a response to policies that targeted them.

These findings provide additional empirical support for the social construction in policy design framework. Specifically, this data demonstrates that Muslim Americans in large part believe themselves to be the policy targets and have internalized many of the social constructions that have emerged vis-à-vis policy design and implementation. Consequently, Muslim Americans have developed subsequently negative orientations towards government and a sense of diminished citizenship. While the study results in terms of increased political participation may appear to be at odds with what the framework suggests, these increased levels of political participation are more properly couched as being a function of fear or threat, and in this sense a symptom of being targeted. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This thesis seeks to answer this question in three parts. First, I look at the political and electoral structure of the CFCM and assess representation as a result of this structure. Then, I examine the constituent groups of the CFCM and their internal controversies to consider the representation of Muslims in France by the greater CFCM. Finally, I consider instances where the CFCM has ruled or spoken in an official capacity on both religious and social issues to demonstrate that the Council is effective at representation in some areas but not others. I ultimately conclude that by and large, the Council is not an effective representative for all Muslims in France, except in very limited circumstances. I further conclude that the Council is more effective at representing a large portion of faithful Muslims in France, but still not all.
Master of Arts