Good Minzu and bad Muslims: Islamophobia in China's state media

Abstract

Since 2014, observers of Chinese society have noted an upsurge in Islamophobic sentiment among China's ethnic majority Han. China's Muslims, in particular those who identify as Hui and Uyghur, report an increase in harassment, both online and in person. This Islamophobic backlash occurs in conjunction with retrenchments by the Chinese state on the right to practice religion. What gives rise to this increase in bigotry? This pilot study examines official discourse about Islam through an inductive analysis of the presentation of Muslims in China's state media. Using a process of constant comparative analysis, I examine the state media's portrayal of Muslims in the flagship newspaper, The People's Daily. Drawing from a sample of 70 articles published between 2014 and 2018, I argue that the party's depiction of Muslim minorities in China emphasizes ethnic rather than religious identities, while coverage of global Islam emphasizes Islam as dangerous and associated with extremism. I contend that such depictions carry the unintended consequence of arousing suspicions about China's Muslims among Han.

Introduction: “Love Jihad”: Sexuality, Reproduction and the Construction of the Predatory Muslim Male

“…Importantly, however, Islamophobia is not limited to the "West": anti-Muslim hostility takes place outside of North America and Europe as well. For example, from 2014 to 2018, there was an outbreak of online harassment of Muslims on Chinese platforms such as Sina Weibo and Weixin (Stroup 2021). Further research has shown that in order to construct an image of ethnic unity at home, Chinese state media have drawn stark contrasts between Islam internationally and China's Muslim minorities, framing Islam internationally as dangerous, but at the same time stripping Chinese Muslim communities of their "Muslimness".…”

“…Further research has shown that in order to construct an image of ethnic unity at home, Chinese state media have drawn stark contrasts between Islam internationally and China's Muslim minorities, framing Islam internationally as dangerous, but at the same time stripping Chinese Muslim communities of their "Muslimness". This extremely negative depiction of Islam in the global context may unintentionally give rise to popular suspicion of domestic Muslim communities (Stroup 2021). Looking to the world's largest democracy, India, the Modi era (2014-) demonstrates the power of anti-Muslim Hindu nationalist politics aiming to build a Hindu majoritarian state (Chatterji et al 2019).…”