Anti-Muslim Racism on Trial: Muslims, the Swedish Judiciary and the Possibility of Justice

Description

This book constitutes a critical engagement with debates on the possibilities and limits of fighting racism with the help of criminal law. With in-depth analyses of cases of anti-Muslim violence in Sweden―a mosque fire, hate speech and of a series of assaults―Anti-Muslim Racism on Trial sheds light on issues central for understanding the ways in which racism is approached in court. It also illustrates the different forms that Islamophobia can take. Departing from a definition of law as a knowledge regime that embodies the power to decide on the meaning of the acts on trial and to establish a valid version of these events, the author explores the possibility of justice and recognition in court. From within a post-Holocaust and post-colonial context, this book recounts the complex and ambiguous history of laws against racism, examining the ways in which racist practices change in a society where certain manifestations of racism have come to be treated as crimes. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology and criminology with interests in Islamophobia, race and ethnicity and violence. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgements 1. Introduction The power of the judiciary Contextualizing the book: beyond ‘Swedish exceptionalism’ Overview of the book Bibliography 2. Anti-Muslim racism: scales and contexts The Mohammed cartoons controversy and staging the clash of civilizations Veil affairs and the gendered nature of anti-Muslim racism The accusation of terrorism and the ‘war on terror’ Migration, nation, Europe Conclusions Notes Bibliography 3. Meeting with the court documents: methodological reflections Collecting evidence Infected words Struggling with methodological nationalism Anger and anxiety Learning to read the material: towards an understanding of court documents Conclusions Notes Bibliography 4. Making racism a crime Recognition and denial: historical background of the legislation against racism in Sweden The rise and decline of the concept of ‘race’ in Sweden Conclusions Notes Bibliography 5. On the politics and poetics of hate-crime statistics The changing politics of hate-crime statistics The poetics of hate-crime statistics What is a hate crime? On the emotions of racist violence and travelling concepts Islamophobia as a hate crime Conclusions Notes Bibliography 6. In search of a racist subject The value of a mosque The innocence of a joke Dispensing justice When racism becomes invisible Conclusions: unintelligible acts and unrecognized harm Notes Bibliography 7. Hate speech, linguistic injury and language in court Staging the conflict The rightness of slander or the limits of legitimate criticism The impoliteness of racist speech or racism as a class problem Forbidden speech and the judicial doctrine of language Guilt, punishment and epilogue Conclusions: racist language on trial Notes Bibliography 8. On judging and responsibility The two cases Racism and victimology Law’s self-containment and the discretion of judges The two judgements and rhetorical justice Conclusions: the penalty enhancement provision—a law in progress Notes Bibliography 9. Conclusions Bibliography Index