The Shifting Boundaries of Prejudice : Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Contemporary Norway

• Author: Christhard Hoffmann; Vibeke Moe
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 electronic resource (328 p.)

In recent years, harassment and violent attacks against Jews and Muslims have become issues of concern in many Western countries. However, antisemitism and Islamophobia are often framed as essentially different phenomena, not least as a result of political polarization and deeply divided opinions on both immigration and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The present volume challenges this view and argues that antisemitism and Islamophobia are largely related phenomena and linked to xenophobic ideas in the general population. The study is based on varied and comprehensive survey data about attitudes towards Jews and Muslims in Norway, including the attitudes and experiences of the two minority groups themselves. Moreover, it supplements survey analysis with qualitative research, exploring the discursively constructed boundaries of “what can or cannot be said” about Jews and Muslims. Focused on the rich material of the Norwegian case, the volume thus offers new perspectives for the study of prejudice in general.

Table of Contents

$g Introduction / Christhard Hoffmann & Vibeke Moe. - A fading consensus : public debates on antisemitism in Norway, 1960 vs 1983 / Christhard Hoffmann. - The Gaarder debate revisited : drawing the demarcation line between legitimate and illegitimate criticism of Israel / Claudia Lenz & Theodor Vestavik Geelmuyden. - A growing consensus ? : a history of public debates on Islamophobia in Norway / Cora Alexa Døving. - Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Norway : a survey analysis of prevalence, trends and possible causes of negative attitudes towards Jews and Muslims / Ottar Hellevik. - Counting Antisemites versus measuring Antisemitism : an "elastic view" of Antisemitism / Werner Bergmann. - Conspiracy beliefs about Jews and Muslims in Norway / Asbjørn Dyrendal. - How do Jews and Muslims in Norway perceive each other? : between prejudice and willingness to cooperate / Werner Bergmann. - "Muslims are - " : contextualising survey answers / Cora Alexa Døving. - How people explain Antisemitism / Christhard Hoffmann & Vibeke Moe- Negotiations of Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Group Conversations among Jews and Muslims / Claudia Lenz & Vibeke Moe Acknowledgements / Christhard Hoffmann & Vibeke Moe.