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2 - The Construction of Threat of “Islamist Terrorism” in German Newspapers

from Part I - Conflict Discourse in Newspaper Reporting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2022

By
Enis Bicer ,
Lina Brink  and
Alejandra Nieves Camacho
Edited by
Innocent Chiluwa
Innocent Chiluwa
Affiliation:
Covenant University, Nigeria
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Summary

Media discourse about Islamist terrorism can be understood as an important source for the construction of meaning and reality. This chapter aims to explore the different meanings of threat constituted by the media discourse about Islamist terrorism. Additionally, it seeks to shed light on the role of anti-Muslim stereotypes and racism in the discursive construction of meaning and knowledge. Therefore, this study examines the discourse on three terrorist events from the years 2015 and 2016 gathered from four major German newspapers. By applying the Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse (SKAD), the findings reveal three interpretive schemes about threats associated with Islamist terrorism and their different references to anti-Muslim stereotypes and racism.

Keywords

Discourse analysissociology of knowledge approach to discourseIslamist terrorismthreatanti-Muslim racismconstruction of meaningmedia coverage
Type
Chapter
Information
Discourse, Media, and Conflict
Examining War and Resolution in the News
 , pp. 47 - 68
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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