AVRUPA’DA İSLAMOFOBİNİN YÜKSELİŞE GEÇMESİNDE ARAP BAHARI SÜRECİNİN ETKİSİ

Abstract

The Middle East has been a part of the power struggle of international actors in terms of its geographical location and rich oil resources from past to present. The "Arab Spring" process, which started with the popular uprisings in Tunisia in 2010, spread to other Middle Eastern countries in a short time, added new dynamics to the international system, and accelerated the long-standing wars of interest and power struggle for the Middle East. As a result of the civil war and violence in the region during the Arab Spring, Muslim migrant movements from the Middle East to other countries, especially European countries, have increased. In the context of the increasing migration movement towards Europe during the Arab Spring process, racism, xenophobia and Islamophobic attitudes towards immigrants and Muslims began to increase and rise. The study where the Comparative Historical Sociological Research method is used is aimed aimed to make evaluations on the historical developments and prejudices that prepared the ground for the rise of Islamophobia, which became widespread in Europe during the Arab Spring process, by turning into new racism and anti-Muslim sentiment. In this context, in the study, political and security threat discourses reflected in the media through mass media on xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia, historical analysis and current data were utilized. In the study, the perception created for the association of the September 11 attacks and terror and security-related events with the Muslim identity gained popularity and during the Arab Spring period, anti-Muslim, xenophobic, racist, and marginalizing behavior patterns towards immigrants in the axis of the wave of migration to Europe were strengthened through the media as a result of the hate speeches and anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim policies of anti-immigrant countries, and in this process, xenophobia, racism and anti-Muslim attitudes have turned into a dangerous process.