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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: Natrah Noor,, Bahiyah Abdul Hamid,
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021
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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spelling my-ukm.journal.184382022-04-16T07:13:31Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/ Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia Natrah Noor, Bahiyah Abdul Hamid, 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. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021-12 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/1/49560-173378-1-PB.pdf Natrah Noor, and Bahiyah Abdul Hamid, (2021) Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 27 (4). pp. 215-229. ISSN 0128-5157 https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1447
institution Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
building Tun Sri Lanang Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
content_source UKM Journal Article Repository
url_provider http://journalarticle.ukm.my/
language English
description 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.
format Article
author Natrah Noor,
Bahiyah Abdul Hamid,
spellingShingle Natrah Noor,
Bahiyah Abdul Hamid,
Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia
author_facet Natrah Noor,
Bahiyah Abdul Hamid,
author_sort Natrah Noor,
title Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia
title_short Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia
title_full Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia
title_fullStr Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia
title_sort cyberbullying in the name of god : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in malaysia
publisher Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate 2021
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/1/49560-173378-1-PB.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/
https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1447
_version_ 1731226537573744640
score 13.211869

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