The fight against Islamophobia in Madrid, Paris and London: A comparative and qualitative analysis on Muslim activism in three cities

Abstract

This research focuses on new courses of action taken by Muslims in their fight against Islamophobia in global cities like London, Paris, and Madrid. Employing Putnam’s Social Capital Theory, this article demonstrates that the most effective actions against Islamophobia are those carried out by organizations deploying both bonding and bridging 2 social capital. Bonding social capital reinforces primary solidarity, which allows Muslim movements to survive in hostile contexts, while bridging social capital generates links outside the group and adds diversity to the movement. Using qualitative methods such as specific observations, biographical interviews and focus groups, this comparative research identifies a typology of anti-Islamophobia actions in each city. In addition, it shows the ideological and generational tensions that can arise from the myriad ways Muslim leaders incorporate religion into their activism, and the types of alliances they build inside and outside the primary group. This research also shows how both youth and women’s groups are trying to break away from these ideological confrontations by proposing new spaces of mobilization where it might be possible to turn a particular interest (the fight against Islamophobia) into a general one (the fight against extremist ideas and the defense of individual and collective rights).