University of Huddersfield Repository Raja, Irfan Azhar Reporting British Muslims: the re-emergence of Folk Devils and Moral Panics in post-7/7 Britain (2005-2007) Original Citation Raja, Irfan Azhar (2016) Reporting British Muslims: the re-emergence of Folk Devils and Moral Panics in post-7/7 Britain (2005-2007). Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/31087/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. 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For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ Reporting British Muslims: The Re- Emergence of Folk Devils and Moral Panics in Post-7/7 Britain (2005-2007) Irfan Azhar Raja A thesis submitted to the University of Huddersfield in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 15 July, 2016 The University of Huddersfield 1 Dedication: This PhD Thesis is dedicated to my most respected teachers, the late Mrs. Andrews (also known as Maan Jee, which means The Mother) at Presentation Convent School, Wah, and the late Hafiz Zain-ul-Abidin who taught me the Quran. I would also like to dedicate it to my beloved parents Raja Azhar Mehmood Khan and Mrs. Rehana Gul. Lastly, I dedicate it to Fatima, known as Gulloo, who is a special child, and to my beloved daughter Maryam Khan. 2 Table of Contents: Page Number Abstract: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13 Chapter 1: Introduction:…………………………………………………………………………………15 1.1-Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………15 1.2-Significance of this Thesis:…………………………………………………………………………….17 (i)-Original Contributions: ………………………………………………………………………………….19 (ii) Reliability and Validity: …………………………………………………………..…………………….20 (iii)-The Initial Idea: ………………………………………………………………………….………………21 1.3-Initiating the Debate:…………………………………………………………………………..……….21 1.4-Media Power and its Impact on Society:………………………………………………………28 1.5-Problem and Reaction:………………………………………………………………………………..29 1.6- The Notion of Representation in the Context of British Muslims:………….……. 35 1.7-The Polemic Media: A Few Illustrations of British Journalism: ………………..…...37 1.8-The British Press Representation of British Muslims before 7/7:…………….….43 1.9-The British Press Representation of British Muslims after 7/7:……………….….51 1.10-Chapters Overview:……………………………………………………………………………..…...53 Chapter 2: The Context: London Bombings and the Press Response. ……,55 2.1-The Making of the Term ‘7/7’:………………………………………………………….………,55 2.2-A Typical Day and the Press Reporting:……………………………………………………,59 2.3-The Guardian’s Reporting of that Particular Moment on the 7th of July:……...65 2.4-The Daily Telegraph’s Reporting of that Particular Moment on the 7th July:..,65 2.5-The Next Day Reporting of the London Bombings in The Daily Telegraph:…,67 2.6-The Next Day Reporting of the London Bombings in The Guardian: ………….69 3 2.7-Conclusion:…………………………………………………………………………………………….70 Chapter 3: Literature Review: ---------------------------------------------------------.-72 3.1-Introduction:…………………………………………………………………………………………..72 3.2-News Discourse: Discrimination and Racism:……………………………………….….74 3.3-News Production: Tamasha (Drama)………………………………………………….….78 3.4-The Language of News:...........................................................................................................81 3.5-Terrorism Discourse:…………………………………………………………………………..…84 (i) Defining and Understanding Terrorism:…………………………………………………..85 (ii)-The Big Debate: “Newness” in Terrorism. ………………………………………………86 3.6-Orientalism in the Words of Said:…………………………………………………………….91 3.7-Critique of ‘Orientalism’:………………………………………………………………………….94 3.8- ‘Orientalism’: Relevance in Contemporary Debates on Islam and Muslims..97 3.9- The Current State of Affairs: The Re-Emergence of ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’ ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..103 3.10-Criticism of ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’: ……………………………………………107 3.11-Strengths and Weaknesses of the idea of ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’: …110 3.12- Justification of Adapting Cohen’s Concept, ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’:..111 3.13-Relevance and Usefulness of “Folk Devils and Moral Panics”: ………………….112 3.14-‘The West’ and ‘the Rest’:…………………………………………………………………………..112 Chapter 4: Methodology: --------------------------------------------------------------------118 4.1-Applied Method: Reliability, Validity and Relevance……………………………………118 (i)-Discourse Analysis:………………………………………………………………………………………119 (i-a)-Strengths and Weaknesses of Discourse Analysis: ………………………………………120 (ii)- Specified Method: Thematic Analysis: ……………………………………………………………121 (iii)-Emergence of Themes: ………………………………………………………………………………….121 (iv)- Justification of Using Inductive Reasoning:……………………………………………………123 4 4.2-Thematic Coding Scheme: ……………………………………………………………………………….125 4.3-Justification of Newspapers’ Selection:…………………………………………………………….128 4.4-Research Timeframe: ……………………………………………………………………………………..131 4.5-The Data Collection and Sampling Procedure: Methodological and Theoretical Explanations………………………………………………………………………………………………………….132 4.5.1-The Guardian/Observer: ………………………………………………………………………………..137 4.5.3-Item Analysed: ……………………………………………………………………………………………..138 4.5.4-Items Collected in the Original Dataset but Discarded as Irrelevant: ……………….138 4.5-Defining Key Types of Journalism: …………………………………………………………………..139 4.6-Editorial Policies of The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph: ………………………………140 4.7-Ethical Considerations and Research Challenges:……………………………………………..142 4.8-Data Analysis:………………………………………………………………………………………………….143 Chapter 5: Theme 1. Home-grown ‘Islamists terrorism’ Threat……………………..147 5.1-Introduction: ………………………………………………………………………………………………….147 Section I: Original Data and Findings:……………………………………………………………..148 5.2-The Dataset: Explanation of “Home-grown Islamist Terrorism Threat” Theme..148 5.3- The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph Categorisation of Terrorism: ………………152 (i)- “Islamic Terrorism”: ……………………………………………………………………………………….152 (ii)- “Islamist Terrorism”: ………………………………………………………………………………………154 (iii)- “Home-grown Terrorism”:…………………………………………………………………………...…154 5.4-Islamists’ Terrorism Threat May Continue to the Next Generations: …………..……155 5.5-The ‘Religious Ideology’ Discourse: “Islamist” Ideology…………………………………….158 (i)-Wahhabi Ideology: …………………………………………………………………………………………158 (ii)-Muslim Brotherhood Ideology: ……………………………………………………………………....161 5.6-Al-Qaeda: Home-grown “Cells” and “Networks”. ……………………………………………...163 5.7- The Terrorism Debate within The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph: Interpretations and Responses……………………………………………………………………….……164 5 (i)- The Guardian Perspective on Counter-Terrorism: ……………………………………..166 (ii)-The Daily Telegraph Perspective on Counter-Terrorism:……………………………..168 Section II: Narrative of Contextual Debates, Critical Analysis and Commentary on Islamist Terrorism Threat: ………………………………………………………………………...171 5.8-The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph Attitude and Approach to the Terrorism Threat: Radicalisation and the Religious Ideology. ……………………………………………171 (i) Categorisation of Terrorism in the Context of 7/7: Contextual Explanation of “Islamic”, “Islamist” and “Home-grown”. …………………………………………………………..171 (ii)- Will the “Islamist Terrorism Threat” Continue in the Next Decades? …………...176 (iii)- Radicalisation and Religious Ideology: ………………………………………………………..180 5.9- The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph Views on Tackling Terrorism: …………..185 5.10-Differences and Similarities in The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph Reporting on the “Islamist Terrorism Threat”:………………………………………………………………………...190 5.11-Conclusion: ………………………………………………………………………………………………...193 Chapter 6: Theme 2. Britain’s Foreign Policy in Iraq Risks its Internal Security 6.1-Introduction: ……………………………………………………………………………………………….195 Section I: The Explanations of the Dataset and Original Findings: ……………..196 6.2-The Dataset: ……………………………………………………………………………………………….196 6.3-Britain’s Foreign Policy: Iraq War, Radicalisation and Internal Security. …..…..200 6.4-The London Bombings: Anti-Muslim Backlash and Britain’s Internal Security..206 6.5-British Security Institutions and Islamist Radical Organisation Connections:…211 6.6-Descriptions of British Radicals (7/7 and 21/7 Bombers): ………………………….216 6.7- The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph Attitude and Approach to Britain’s Security Operating System: A Way Forward. …………………………………………………………………..218 6.8-Government Security Model: Public Concerns and Possible Measures. ………….219 6.9-Demands for a Public Inquiry into the London Bombings: …………………………….221 6 Section II: Narrative of Contextual Debates, Critical Analysis and Commentary on Britain’s Foreign Policy in Iraq that Risks its Internal Security. …223 6.10-British Foreign Policy Debate: Narrative of The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph Views on Iraq War and Britain’s