Stereotypes regarding Muslim Men and Muslim Women on the Romanian Internet: a qualitative comparative analysis for 2004-2009 and 2010-2015
Stereotypes regarding Muslim Men and Muslim Women on the Romanian Internet: a qualitative comparative analysis for 2004-2009 and 2010-2015

Summary/Abstract: In the first part of this article I provide a presentation and an analysis of some demographic aspects of the Muslim community in Romania, classifying it according to various criteria. To this end I employ the data provided by the 2002 and 2011 censuses. The data is analyzed in order to obtain a clearer picture of the demographic characteristics of the Muslim community, which in turn is necessary for the qualitative analysis of stereotypes regarding Muslim men and women on the Romanian internet, which is the subject of the second part of the paper. These stereotypes have been aggravated by the January 2015 events in Paris and by the incessant politically-originating conflicts in the Middle East. The purpose is to assess whether we can identify Islamophobic attitudes on the Romanian Internet. The main concern is the gender dimension of Islamophobia, which will be called here Hijabophobia. The relevance of this subject is given by the possibility that these attitudes (should they exist) become more widespread and eventually ingrained through an institutionalization process. The data analysis is based on a comparative assessment of the stereotypes prevalent in two periods, 2004-2009, respectively 2010-2015. Finally, this paper provides a series of recommendations that aim to improve the perception of the Muslim community in the eyes of the majority population and at a better integration of the Muslim population on the labor market.

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