FOLIA GEOGRAPHICA

Menu

Folia Geographica 2019, 61/2, pp. 5-24

HOW THE CZECHS AND SPANISH PERCEIVE ISLAM: ISLAMOPHOBIA IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT

Jana SOBOTOVÁ A, Tomáš HAVLÍČEK B*, Kamila KLINGOROVÁ C

Received: September 9, 2019 | Revised: September 28, 2019 | Accepted: October 19, 2019

Paper No. 19-61/2-538

A Charles University, Department of Social Geography, Albertov 6, Prague, Czechia
jana56@post.cz

B* Charles University, Department of Social Geography, Albertov 6, Prague, Czechia
tomas.havlicek@natur.cuni.cz (corresponding author)

C Charles University, Department of Social Geography, Albertov 6, Prague, Czechia
kamila.klingorová@natur.cuni.cz


PDF FULL TEXT

Abstract
The paper discusses the transformations of the religious structure of European society manifested, among other ways, in an increased intolerance toward cultures other than Christian and secular, most notably the Muslim culture. The objective is to analyse the causes of the fear of Islam and explain Islamophobia in two socially and geographically distinct contexts: in Czechia and in Spain. The paper is based on a survey carried out in both countries in 2014. The issue of Islamophobia is viewed from the perspective of mainstream society, with a focus on differences in the perception of Islam by people of different nationality, religious belief, gender, age and education. The main objective of the paper is to analyse the differences in the perceived fear of Islam with regard to sources of information about the Muslim culture and personal contact with Muslims in an attempt to uncover the causes of Islamophobia. The analysis of the survey revealed that the phenomenon is generally very complex. In summary, however, Czechia registered a higher level of Islamophobia than Spain, likely due to less frequent contact between Czechs and Muslims and the Islamic culture.

Key words
Geography of religion, Islamophobia, perception of Islam, Czechia, Spain

REFERENCES

  1. AGUILERA-CARNERERO, C. (2018). Islamophobia in Spain. National Report 2018. In: Bayrakli, E., Hafez, F. eds. European Islamophobia Report 2018. Ankara, SETA Publishing.
  2. AITCHISON, C., HOPKINS, P., KWAN, M. (2008). Geographies of Muslim identities: diaspora, gender and belonging. Ashgate, Aldershot.
  3. AL HASSANI, S. (2005). ENAR Shadow Report 2005 Islamophobia in Europe. Brussels, ENAR.
  4. BALIBAR, E. (1991). Race, Nation, Class: Ambiguous Identities. New York, Verso.
  5. BAYRAKLI, E., HAFEZ, F. eds. (2018). European Islamophobia Report 2018. Ankara, SETA Publishing.
  6. BERGER, P. L. (1999). The Desecularization of the World: A Global Overview. In: BERGER, P. L., ed. The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Religion and the World Politics (1-18). Washington D. C., William B Eerdmans Publishing Co.
  7. CASTLES, S. (1973). Immigrant Workers and Class Structure in Western Europe. London, Oxford University Press.
  8. CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIONES SOCIOLÓGICAS (2008). Religión (II) ISSP, Estudio n°2.776, X-XII. Madrid, Centro de investigaciones sociológicas.
  9. COMMUNICATIE, INFORMATIE, EDUCATIE (2001). Universidad Islámica Internacional Averroes de Al-Andalus. http://www.cie.ugent.be/univcordoba.html.
  10. ČERNÝ, K. (2008). Islám v diaspoře – muslimové v zemích Evropské unie. Geografické rozhledy 4, 2-4.
  11. ČERMÁKOVÁ, D., LEONTIYEVA, Y. (2017). I do not mind immigrants; it is immigration that bothers me. The inconsistency of immigration attitudes in Europe. Geografie 122, 4, 500–525.
  12. Czech Statistical Office (2011). Databáze výsledků ze Sčítání lidu, domů a bytů k 26. 3. 2011. Elektronická databáze dat. Praha, Český statistický úřad.
  13. DIZDAREVIČ, S. M. (2018). Islamophobia in the Czech Republic. National Report 2018. In: Bayrakli, E., Hafez, F. eds. European Islamophobia Report 2018. Ankara, SETA Publishing.
  14. ERDENIR, B. (2010). Islamophobia qua racial discrimination: Muslimophobia. TRIANDAFYLLIDOU, A., ed. Muslims in 21st Century Europe: Structural and Cultural Perspectives (27-45). Oxon, Routledge.
  15. EUROPEAN UNION MILITARY COMITTEE (2013). Nejdůležitější informace ze zprávy EUMC – Muslimové v Evropské unii: diskriminace a islamofobie. http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/1936-EUMC-highlights-CS.pdf.
  16. FALAH, G. W., NAGEL, C. (2005). Geographies of Muslim women: gender, religion, and space. New York, Guilford Press.
  17. FEKETE, L. (2008). Integration Islamophobia and civil rights in Europe. London, Institute of Race Relations.
  18. GÖKARIKSEL, B., SECOR, A. (2015). Post-secular geographies and the problem of pluralism: Religion and everyday life in Istanbul, Turkey. Political Geography 46, 21–30.
  19. GOTTSCHALK, P., GREENBERG, G. (2008). Islamophobia: Making Muslims the enemy. Lanham, US-MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
  20. HABERMAS, J. (2008). Notes on Post-Secular Society. New Perspectives Quarterly 24(5), 17–29.
  21. HALLIDAY F. (1999). Islamophobia reconsidered. Ethnic and Racial Studies 22(5), 892-902.
  22. HAVLÍČEK, T. (2006). Church-state relations in Czechia. GeoJournal 67 (4), 331-340.
  23. HAVLÍČEK, T. (2008). Věřící jako menšina v Česku. Geografické rozhledy 4, 5, 19.
  24. HAVLÍČEK, T., KLINGOROVÁ, K. (2018). City with or without God? Features of post-secularism in religious landscape of post-communist Prague. Social & Cultural Geography 19, 6, 789–811.
  25. HENN, A. (2008). Crossroads of religions: Shrines, mobility and urban space in Goa. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 32 (3), 658–670.
  26. HEŘMANOVÁ, E., FARYADOVÁ K. (2012). Efektivnost integrace muslimských minorit v zemích EU (se zaměřením na situaci v Česku). Současná Evropa 1, 111-132.
  27. HOPKINS, P. (2004). Young Muslim men in Scotland: Inclusions and exclusions. Children’s Geographies 2(2), 257-272.
  28. HUNTINGTON, S. (1996): Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York, Simon & Schuster.
  29. JANEČEK, M. (2011). Islámská rozpínavost: včera, dnes a zítra. Praha, Epocha.
  30. JANKŮ, L., KNOB, M., KRAJŇANSKÝ, V., MATUŠINOVÁ, A., MELCROVÁ, Z., SMEKAL, H. (2013). ENAR Stínová zpráva 2011-2012, Rasismus a diskriminace v České republice.
  31. KANTAROVÁ, K. (2007). Mediální boj o mešitu v Teplicích. Cizinci, našinci a média: Mediální analýzy (54-58). Praha, Multikulturní centrum Praha.
  32. KEPEL, G. (1994). The revenge of God: The resurgence of Islam, Christianity and Judaism in the modern world. Cambridge, Polity.
  33. KNIPPENBERG, H., ed. (2005). The changing religious landscape of Europe. Amsterdam, Het Spinhuis.
  34. KONG, L. (1990). Geography and Religion: trends and prospects. Progress in Human Geography 14(3), 335-371.
  35. KONG, L. (2004). Religious Landscapes. In: DUNCAN, J. S., JOHNSON, N. C., SCHEIN, R. H. (2004): A Companion to Cultural Geography (365-381). Oxford, Blackwell Publishing.
  36. KONG, L. (2010). Global shifts, theoretical shifts: Changing geographies of religion. Progress in Human Geography 34(6), 755-776.
  37. KROPÁČEK, L. (2002). Islám a západ: Historická paměť a současná krize. Praha, Vyšehrad.
  38. KŘÍŽKOVÁ, M. (2007). Neviditelná menšina – analýza mediálního obrazu českých menšin. Cizinci, našinci a média: Mediální analýzy (48-53). Praha, Multikulturní centrum Praha.
  39. KUNST, J., SAM, D., ULLEBERG, P. (2013). Perceived islamophobia: Scale development and validation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37, 225-237.
  40. LAHUERTA, S. B. (2014). ENAR: The voice of the anti-racist movement. http://www.enar-eu.org/Shadow-Reports-on-racism-in-Europe-203.
  41. LEE, S. A., GIBSONS, J. A., THOMPSON, J. M., TIMANI, H. S. (2009). Islamophobia scale Instrument development and initial validation. The international Journal for the Psychology of religion 19(2), 92-105.
  42. LEWIS, B. (2004): The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. New York, Random House Edition.
  43. MCGINTY, A.M., SZIARTO, K., SEYMOUR-JORN, C. (2013). Researching within and against Islamophobia: A collaboration project with Muslim communities. Social and Cultural Geography 14(1), 1-22.
  44. MEER, N. (2013). Semantics, scales and solidarities. Ethnic and racial studies 36(3), 500-515.
  45. MENDEL, M., OSTŘANSKÝ, B., RATAJ, T. (2007). Islám v srdci Evropy. Praha, Academia.
  46. MODOOD, T. (2007). Multiculturalism: a civic idea. Cambridge, Polity Press.
  47. MURAD, M. (2009). Bezpečnostní aspekty irácké migrace do České republiky. Obrana a strategie 2.
  48. NEŠPOR, Z., LUŽNÝ, D. (2007). Sociologie náboženství. Praha, Portál.
  49. NOVOTNÝ, J., POLONSKÝ, F. (2011). The Level of Knowledge about Islam and Perception of Islam among Czech and Slovak University Students: does Ignorance Determine Subjective Attitudes. Sociológia 43(6), 674-696.
  50. OSTŘANSKÝ, B., ed. (2017) Islamofobie po česku. Vyšehrad, Praha.
  51. PARKES, B., MAYNARD, E., KARIM, R., ROBINSON, A. (2013). Racism in Europe, ENAR Shadow Report 2011-2012. Brussels, ENAR.
  52. PASTORELLI, S. (2009). The European Union and New Religious Movements. LEUSTEAN, L. M., MADELEY, J.T.S. (eds.): Religion, Politics and Law in the European Union (193-206). London, Routledge.
  53. PEACH, C. (2006). Islam, ethnicity and South Asian religions in the London 2001 census. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 31(3), 353-370.
  54. PEW RESEARCH CENTER ed. (2018). Eastern and Western Europeans Differ on Importance of Religion, Views of Minorities, and Key Social Issues. https://www.pewforum.org/2018/10/29/eastern-and-western-europeans-differ-on-importance-of-religion-views-of-minorities-and-key-social-issues/
  55. RATTANSI, A. (2007): Racism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
  56. SCHMITT, T. (2013). Moschee-Konflikte und deutsche Gesellschaft. HALM, D., MEYER, H., eds. Islam und die deutsche Gesellschaft (145-166). Wiesbaden, Springer.
  57. SOBOTOVÁ, J. (2014). Islamofobie v Evropě: příklad Česka a Španělska. Master Study, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha.
  58. SOYER, F. (2013). Faith, culture and fear. Ethnic and Racial studies 36 (3), 399-416.
  59. STEVEN, M. (2009). Religions Lobbies in the European Union from Dominant Church to Faith-based Organisation? Religion, State and Society 37(1-2), 181-191.
  60. TARAS, R. (2013). Islamophobia never stands still: race, religion and culture. Ethnic and Racial Studies 36(3), 417-433.
  61. VĚTROVEC, L. (2013). Definice a kontextualizace pojmu islamofobie. http://www.e-islam.cz/sites/default/files/VETROVEC%20K%20definici%20a%20kontextualizaci%20islamofobie.pdf.
  62. WERBNER, P. (2013). Folk devils and racist imaginaries in a global prism: Islamophobia and antisemitism in 21st century. Ethnic and racial studies 36(3), 450-467.
  63. WIEVIORKA, M. (1995). The Arena of Racism. London, SAGE Publications.
  64. WILLIAMS, A. (2015). Postsecular geographies: Theo-ethics, rapprochement and neoliberal governance in a faith-based drug programme. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 40(2), 192-208.
  65. WORLD CHRISTIAN DATABASE (2014). http://worldchristiandatabase.org/wcd/.