Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia
The Islamisation phenomenon in Malaysia is characterised not only by an increased number of Islamic projects within the public institutions, but its permeation is evident in the increased awareness of hijab in the country. Since the late 1980s, hijab has attained many meanings, from a symbol of Is...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2021
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/1/49560-173378-1-PB.pdf http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/ https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1447 |
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| Summary: | The Islamisation phenomenon in Malaysia is characterised not only by an increased number of Islamic projects
within the public institutions, but its permeation is evident in the increased awareness of hijab in the country.
Since the late 1980s, hijab has attained many meanings, from a symbol of Islamic revivalism to a reconstruction
of Malay identity. Today, hijab has become a normative identity of Muslim women in Malaysia. For women who
have conformed to this norm, they are expected to be always wearing it and when they decide to de-hijab, the
decision can trigger public opprobrium, bullying, and abuse. The de-hijabbing decision of Muslim women in
Malaysia has been in the spotlight, particularly for public figures, with media representing the decision as a
threat to the Muslim community and Islam in general. However, public scorn, bullying, and abuse have reached
an unprecedented level and are increasingly common with the rise of public display of hijab on social media such
as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach and van Dijk’s
(1999; 2006) Ideological Square Model, this study examines the positive self and negative other representations
evident in the response of netizens to a Malaysian celebrity, Emma Maembong’s, de-hijabbing decision. The
findings of this research revealed not only the discursive strategies through which an outgroup population is
delegitimised in social media, but also contributed to a better understanding of the struggles faced by Muslim
women in exercising their agency. |
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