Från elevutbyten till slöjförbud och samhällshot : Islamofobiska artikulationer i användargenererade kommentarer om slöjförbud på sociala medier

Sammanfattning

This study examines how the hijab, Islam, Muslim women, Swedishness, and national belonging are represented and discussed in user-generated comments on social media. The empirical material consists of a news article published by Riks concerning Eskilstuna Municipality’s decision to stop student exchange trips to France, together with comments collected from Facebook, X, and YouTube. The study is conducted through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) based on the analytical model developed by Idevall Hagren and Westberg. The analysis focuses on framing, lexical choices, modality, and positioning. The theoretical framework is informed by Mondon and Winter’s understanding of Islamophobia as discursive articulations, with particular attention paid to liberal and illiberal forms of Islamophobia. The findings show that the news article establishes a conflict-oriented framing in which the hijab is linked to questions of freedom, secularism, and gender equality. In the comment sections, the hijab is frequently constructed as a symbol of oppression, while Islam is associated with ideas of cultural conflict, Islamisation, and threats to Swedish society. The analysis further demonstrates how users reproduce, negotiate, and occasionally challenge these interpretations through different forms of positioning and argumentation. Taken together, the findings illustrate how contemporary Islamophobic discourses are articulated and circulated through the interaction between news reporting and social media discussions. Additionally, the study highlights the didactic relevance of addressing media representations, Islamophobia, and digital public discourse within religious education.