From the Margins to the Centre (RaMi)

Are right-wing populist movements establishing an interpretation of Islam as a radical and violent religion? The RaMi project explores this central question by examining reporting and discourse in mass media and digital networks. The media analysis examines the role of such interpretations in the rise of right-wing populism, as well as how they shape the overall public discourse. As other political forces and established religious actors portray Islam as radical, such interpretations gain normality. RaMi tests the thesis that this process of normalization is reinforced by the medialisation of politics or the functional logic of media, respectively. The analysis will demonstrate how right-wing populist discourses link "Islam" with national identity and migration and ask about the effects of this linkage on social images of Islam. Using a mixed-method design, RaMi analyses large-scale media data: Besides content, political and religious actors as well as political events, e.g. terrorist attacks, are important. The study is based on data on Islam in Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy from 2000 to 2020.