Saskia Louise Shafer
Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies

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Racialising Religion in the Debate on Religious Freedom in Malaysia Shafer, Saskia Louise
Al-Jamiah: Journal of Islamic Studies Vol 47, No 1 (2009)
Publisher : Al-Jamiah Research Centre, Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.14421/ajis.2009.471.111-134

Abstract

This article summarises the results of a media analysis conducted by the example of one of the country’s biggest daily newspapers, the New Straits Times. With regard to the controversial religious freedom debate, it summarises what actors are involved in the discussion and how their positions are presented in the mainstream media. Several examples from articles show what strategies are employed in the discourse, such as the rhetoric of fear and crisis and the constant emphasis of racial and other supposedly separating categories. The close linkage of the categories ‘ethnicity’ and ‘religion’, which is manifested legally as well as politically, is perpetuated linguistically. Especially important in this context is the construction of a Muslim-Malay identity.