Identity Politics of Muslim Converts in Russia: Dominant Political and Media Discourse and Self-Representation
https://doi.org/10.22394/2073-7203-2023-41-3-4-390-419
Abstract
This article is devoted to the phenomenon of conversion to Islam in Russia, as well as the discourses formed around it. We examine the context of the emergence of this phenomenon in the 1990s and trace the dynamics of the formation of the image of Muslim converts as “dangerous”, as well as identify the reasons for the related discourse of securitization. Using the tools of corpus linguistics, we describe some of the linguistic strategies that shape the dominant discourse about Muslim neophytes in Russia. Finally, drawing on a series of interviews with Russian Muslim converts taken in 2010–2014, we analyze how the dominant discourse on Islam influences the self-presentation of Muslim converts and how their strategy of depoliticizing religious identity is constructed.
About the Authors
E. Rogaar
University of Amsterdam
Netherlands
Netherlands
Eva Rogaar
S. Ragozina
Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Sofia Ragozina — Research Fellow
Moscow
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Review
For citations:
Rogaar E., Ragozina S. Identity Politics of Muslim Converts in Russia: Dominant Political and Media Discourse and Self-Representation. State, Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide. 2023;41(3-4):390-419. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22394/2073-7203-2023-41-3-4-390-419
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