Islamophobia as Discursive Illusion: Identity Construction in the Speeches of Imran Khan, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Mahathir Mohamad

Abstract

This study examines the discursive illusions of Islamophobia crafted by three significant Muslim political actors: Imran Khan, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Mahathir Mohamad in their public speeches. Adopting Aditi Bhatia's (2015) concept of discursive illusions in public discourse, this study considers the political language as a means by which subjective and often deceptive versions of reality are produced, which influence public opinion and feelings. The aim was to uncover the discursive strategies of these leaders and analyse how such discourse helped to orient public opinion about Islamophobia to political gain by adhering to an ideology. Six speeches were presented in the United Nations General Assembly and at national fora, and they were purposively sampled and analysed qualitatively in terms of Bhatia's key theoretical concepts of historical background and context, the language and semiotic features used in the speeches, framing, and power relations. The results reveal that the three leaders employ the strategies of pronouns, repetition, historicisation, intertextuality, victimhood narratives, and self-other dichotomy to create a unity of Muslim identity and the West as unjust and hypocritical. They make analogies with antisemitism and play on Muslim pride in relation to Islamic civilisation, and question Eurocentric human rights discourse. The study concludes that such leaders frame a complex geopolitical issue into a binary moral discourse–with them playing a role as defenders of the Muslim Ummah–to substantiate both domestic legitimations and contexts while rendering their own political conundrums hidden. Politically, it is a study of the role of rhetoric in influencing discourse and public ends in the Muslim world, which is useful for policy makers and discourse analysts looking for insights into the politics of resistance and the construction of identity.