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SAMKUL-Samfunnsutviklingens kulturell

Muslim Voices - Muslimske stemmer

Awarded: NOK 0.49 mill.

MuslimVoices revolves around everyday religion among young Muslims in Norway. It is a visual dissemination project on social media. "Regular" young Muslims are often neglected in discussions on religious extremism. The goal was to present young Muslims with a platform to express thoughts and meanings on Islam within a public debate that constantly alienates Islam. Ten short videos were, and will be, published on Facebook and Instagram weekly during the spring and fall of 2018 in order to showcase everyday religion. Based on filmed interviews with eleven young Muslims, the project highlights important topics, such as individual approaches to faith and God, but also to diverse controversial Islamic concepts. One topic was tackled per video, with themes including doubt, prayer, jihad and identity questions. The answers among the participants differed. This variation is presented through, and in the format of the videos, whether it is individual reasoning or through multiple voices. MuslimVoices involved three research assistants and led by professor Sveinung Sandberg. The research team found the participants, interviewed them, set up the manuscript for the final product, and worked with promoting the project. The videoes were filmed and edited with the assistance of Hynnekleiv Media AS. The videos challenge existing prejudices against young Muslims and diminishes the gap between "us" and "them". The visual product and use of social media provide an opportunity to reach a broad audience. Using social media as our platform enables us to reach outside of academic circles, while the use of short videos catches online attention. MuslimVoices is part of the SAMKUL Project "Radicalization and resistance", also at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, UiO. MuslimVoices has been promoted online by actors such as the Anti-racism Center (Antirasistisk Senter), the culture magazine Utrop, and the organization Norwegian People's Aid. The first video discussed why young Muslims chose to believe in God and quickly reached over 13 000 views. The most popular video on identity reached over 25 000 people in a short time span. Another important aim was to spread some positivity within a social media environment that is too often filled with the wrongdoings of the world. In addition, the videos will further be used in presentations about the overall project "Radicalization and resistance."

In accordance with SAMKUL's proposal for alternative dissemination, we apply for funding in order to: a) film a selection of interviews, b) edit and produce short clips from the interviews, and c) publish these on Facebook and the University of Oslo's (UiO) webpages. As of November 2017, we have interviewed eighty young Muslims across Norway, including Muslims born into the religion as well as converts. The participants are women and men, aged between eighteen and thirty years old. We have been able to access a wide variety of counter-radicalization narratives, ranging from alternative religious interpretations of the Quran, to jokes about radicals, and emotional stories about the horror of terrorism. The participants have particularly discussed their Islamic faith and practices in everyday life, which will be disseminated in this project. The ambition of ?Muslim Voices/Muslimske stemmer? is to give young ?ordinary? Muslims a platform in an increasingly hostile public and media debate about Islam.

Funding scheme:

SAMKUL-Samfunnsutviklingens kulturell