Mediatized Diaspora: Contentious Politics among Arab Media Users in Europe

Since the Arab Spring in 2011, Arab countries have been plagued by ongoing wars and conflicts, as well as increased control and restriction of political activism and the media.

As a result, several local activists and regime critical media have left the Arab countries and are now in diaspora. This project explores and discusses the impact of mediatization on transnational political mobilization among such new diasporic communities in Europe.

The project consists of four sub-projects studying and comparing the use and users of Syrian, Tunisian, Egyptian and Bahraini media.

Project information

Principal Investigator (PI)

Ehab Galal

Project period

November 2018

May 2025.

Organisation

Mediatized Diaspora: Contentious Politics among Arab Media Users in Europe is part of: Middle Eastern Studies

These different mediatized diasporas are investigated by identifying the relations between political action formation in its various forms and media use in a transnational social sphere. Taking a point of departure from user practices, the analytical and theoretical perspectives are qualitative and interdisciplinary.

The aim is to understand how multi-modal media use by Arab diasporas, eased by the access to different media platforms, stimulates or confines particular and context-sensitive political action formation across national borders.

Research questions

How have Arab diasporic communities in Europe used Arab media in transnational political action formation since 2011?
How does the use of different media platforms stimulate or confine particular diasporic action, and what does this mean for our understanding of mediatized diaspora?

Sub-projects

Sub-project 1

The shared struggle of the Islamist and liberal opposition against Egyptian regimes since the Egyptian uprising presents an ambiguous case of mediatization processes. The Islamists have historically been (collectively) well-organized, contrary to the liberal activists’ more fluid (connective) organization. We ask, how the shared experience of witnessing political activists and media targeted by the regimes, results in media use that exploits the multimodality of media in new forms of action across different ideological positions. Judging by the performance of new and traditional media established in Europe and in the Middle East, this could be the case. The study of media use among the Islamist and the liberal opposition and their supporters living in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France, and the U.K. will present new knowledge on multi-directional and situated aspects of diasporic political action formation.

Ehab Galal, project leader and principal investigator.

Sub-project 2

The ongoing Syrian civil war presents a case in which the explosion of diverse political factions, and the rapidly growing diasporic communities in Europe, has changed the diasporic landscape of mediatized political action formation. The question is how do Syrian diasporic media users navigate through a mediascape that is characterized by many new grass roots media and new digital activism, both in and outside of Syria, at the same time as the diaspora is undergoing organizational changes due to the large number of newcomers. The exploration of the Syrian diasporic communities in Denmark, Sweden, and Germany, and their use of multimodal media platforms, makes it possible to visit the concepts of connective and collective action initiatives in the context of constantly shifting configurations of diasporic communities and layered public spheres.

Zenia B. Henriksen Ab Yonus, PhD Fellow

Sub-project 3

The well-established Bahraini exiled community, primarily Shi’a Muslims, presents a case with clear-cut regime opposition divisions that have potentially acquired renewed strength. This is due to the Arab Spring and the movement of more Bahrainis, particularly political activists, to the U.K. The question is how they contribute to new and intensified media practices, and therefore, to new – sectarian, cross-sectarian, or non-sectarian – political action formation. Bahrainis in the U.K., and their use of broadcast and social media, will be explored in comparison to smaller groups of Bahrainis in Denmark and Sweden. This case study offers the opportunity to examine how a clearly defined politicized diaspora may utilise the multimodality of different media platforms to mobilize renewed political action formation.

Thomas Fibiger, senior researcher

Sub-project 4

Tunisia is the only country to have emerged from post-Arab Spring with a political transition towards democracy. Although some political activists, living in exile before the Tunisian uprising, have returned to take part in the struggle for political and social transformation of the country, the situation is still fragile due to the lack of political and economic progress, lack of security, threats from jihadists, and returning foreign fighters. The situation of political activists still living in diaspora has greatly changed and their contributions have taken on a new significance. This case study will examine how media practices of Tunisian political activists living in Denmark, Sweden and France contribute to political transformation in Tunisia, focusing on their attempts to negotiate and contest mediatized interpretations of current developments.

Mostafa Shehata, postdoc

“Mediatized Diaspora”: Modeling the transnational effects of media in diaspora.

Shehata, Mostafa, 2022. In: Global Media and Communication.

Egyptian imaginaries of resistance: Cinematic remembrance of the Suez crisis

Galal, Ehab, 31 Dec 2021. In: Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research. 14, 2.

Plads til opposition? Egyptisk tv i Istanbul

Galal, Ehab, 2021. In: Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier. 19, 1, p. 44-57 14 p., 4.

Qatar: A Small Country with a Global Outlook

Galal, Ehab, 2021, Arab Media Systems. Richter, C. & Kozman, C. (eds.). Germany: Global Communications, (GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS).

Reconfigurations of religiopolitical traditions and identities: Mediated religion in the Arab countries

Galal, Ehab, 2021. The Handbook of Media and Culture in the Middle East. Khali, J. F., Khiabany, G., Guaaybess, T. & Yesil, B. (eds.). Wiley.

Medienarrativer og forståelser af religion i den syriske diaspora: Media narratives and understandings of religion in the Syrian diaspora

Ab Yonus, Zenia Bredmose Henriksen 2021. In: Tidsskrift for Islamforskning. 14, 01

Yonus og Dahy: Syrere i Danmark skal ikke sendes tilbage til systematisk vold blottet for retssikkerhed

Ab Yonus, Zenia Bredmose Henriksen & Dahy Aug 2021. In Ræson.

Five aspects of diasporic political communication: The case of the Arab diaspora in Europe

Shehata, Mostafa 2021. In The Arab Reform Initiative.

What can I do? The role of (Media) Activism among Bahrainis in London and Denmark.

Fibiger, Thomas 2021. In The Arab Reform Initiative

Politisk bevidsthed blandt arabiske migranter i Europa: Medieret diaspora og religion

Galal, Ehab (ed.) & Fibiger, T. (ed.) 2020. In: Tidsskrift for Islamforskning. 14, 1.

Ambiguous Belonging: Media Practices among Syrians in Denmark

Ab Yonus, Zenia Bredmose Henriksen, 1 Apr 2020, In: Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research. 13, 1.

Silencing the Voice of Bahrain? Regime-critical media and Bahrain's London diaspora

Fibiger, Thomas Brandt. I: Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research, Bind 13, Nr. 1, 2020.

Bulbul al-thawra: revolutionens sangfugl: Bulbul al-thawra: the songbird of the revolution

Ab Yonus, Zenia Bredmose Henriksen. In: Babylon - Nordisk tidsskrift for Midtøstenstudier.

Critical Media and Arab Diaspora: Challenges and Opportunities post-Arab Spring

Shehata, Mostafa (ed.), Yonus, Z. (ed.), Fibiger, T. (ed.) & Galal, Ehab (ed.), 1 Apr 2020, In: Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research.

Syrernes Grænseland: Medielandskab og Migrationsmosaik

Ab Yonus, Zenia Bredmose Henriksen, Grænser: Årbog for ToRS 2019. Pluwak, A. & Dahy, J. (eds.). 2019 ed. Vol. 10. (Year Book (ToRS)).

Mediering af politiseret religiøs identitet blandt den tunesiske diaspora i Europa

Shehata, Mostafa, 2020, In Tidsskrift for Islamforskning. 14, 1, p. 34-57 24 p.

Supportive, transformative and reverse effects of media on Tunisian diaspora’s political identity

Shehata, Mostafa, 2020, In: Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research. 13, 1, p. 85-103 19 p.

Globale reaktioner på COVID-19: religion og trossamfund i en krisetid

Riexinger, Martin Thomas; Thorsen, Jakob Egeris; Fibiger, Thomas Brandt; Fibiger, Marianne Qvortrup; Borup, Jørn. Religion I Danmark 2020. (red.) Marie Vejrup; Henrik Reintoft Christensen. Aarhus : Aarhus Universitet, 2021. s. 131-141 (Religion i Danmark).

Islam og Coronakrisen

Fibiger, Thomas Brandt; Riexinger, Martin Thomas. Religion i Danmark 2020. (red.) Marie Vejrup; Henrik Reintoft Christensen. Aarhus : Aarhus Universitet, 2021. s. 149-159 (Religion i Danmark).

”Hvor kan jeg gøre en forskel?”: Religiøs og politisk (medie)aktivisme blandt bahrainske shiamuslimer i Danmark og England

Fibiger, Thomas Brandt. I: Tidsskrift for Islamforskning, Bind 14, Nr. 1, 2020, s. 57-81.

Nye tendenser i studiet af islam i Europa og Danmark.

Fibiger, Thomas Brandt; Jacobsen, Brian Arly. I: Tidsskrift for Islamforskning, Bind 13, Nr. 2, 2019, s. 4-8.

Introduktion

Galal, Ehab & Fibiger, Thomas. In: Medier, Diaspora og Religion, 2020. In: Tidsskrift for Islamforskning. Volume 14, No. 1. Contribution to journal, peer-review

Myria Georgiou Department of Media and Communications, LSE
Tourya Guaaybess Department of Information and Communication Sciences, University of Lorraine
Kai Hafez Department of Media and Communication, University of Erfurt
Annette Hill Department of Communication and Media, Lund University
Stig Hjarvard Department of Media, Cognition and Communication, University of Copenhagen
Abdulhadi Khalaf Department of Sociology, Lund University
Carola Richter Department of Political and Social Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin
Naomi Sakr Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), School of Media, Arts and Design, University of Westminster
Christa Salamandra Lehman College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York
Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen
Mikkel Fugl Eskjær Department of Communication, Aalborg University

Partners and stakeholders

International Media Support (IMS), Michael Irving

The Royal Danish Defence Academy, Thomas Vladimir Brønd

Funding

Independent Research Fund Denmark

Researchers

Ehab Galal

Associate Professor Emeritus

E-mail
ehab@hum.ku.dk

Employee profile
See all information

External researcher

Thomas Fibiger, Associate professor, Aarhus Universitet

Other staff

Julie Gede Petersen, research assistant

Andreas Nabil Younan, research assistant

Wafae Hussain, research assistant

Essam An-Neseri, research assistant

Safaa Abdul Halim, research assistant

Lilli Dalila Barucic, student assistant

Gihan Koftan, student intern

Hinde Hadj Abderrahmane, student intern