Muslim response to islamophobia discourse and its impact : an integrated analysis of Macron’s 2020 speech on Islam

Abstract

This thesis examines the Muslim online response to Macron’s 2020 speech on Islam in a bid to deconstruct the Islamophobic discourse prevalent in Western mainstream media. In October 2020, French President Macron made an incendiary speech where he claimed Islam was a religion ‘in crisis’. The global media subsequently portrayed Muslims as reacting to Macron’s speech in a violent fashion, with many media outlets streaming video clips of violent protests by Muslims in Africa and the Indian subcontinent, amongst other places. This study charts an original methodology to the study of Muslim global opinion by incorporating big data analysis within an Islamic civilizational framework. Macron’s 2020 speech is placed into the historical background of France’s complicated relation with the Muslim world. This is followed by an analysis of major mainstream news outlets and how they portrayed the ummatic backlash against Macron. This will be supplemented by a multilingual big data analysis of selected Muslim responses and a topography of global Muslim opinion. By contrasting the thematics that the Western Media associate with Muslim response, and the actual data of Muslim respondants, it will be demonstrated how radically different both presentations are. This research aims to show how greater accuracy in detailing the ummatic discourse can deconstruct stereotypes about the Muslim world in the media. This research can contribute to a more robust dialogue and debate between the Muslim world and the Western world. Also, the novel methodology used will support an increased awareness on the importance of using big data on issues traditionally discussed within Islamic studies.