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De-escalating Hate : Muslim Organizations’ Counter-Speech to Buddhist Islamophobia in Sri Lanka (2012–2014)

Johansson, Andreas LU (2025) In CyberOrient 19(1). p.29-64
Abstract
In contemporary Sri Lanka, nationalistic Sinhala organizations like Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) have made a great impact on the debate over what role Buddhism should play in the country. BBS claims that Islam is a non-Sri Lankan element in the Buddhist majority society, campaigning on such issues on social media between 2012 and 2014. This led Sri Lankan Muslim organizations to use social media to counter BBS campaigns, one of many self-defense strategies the Muslim community uses, including political forums like the parliament and ecumenical discussions among theologians. The focus of this article is on how Muslim organizations use social media in relation to dual nationalism (Muslim) and nation (Sri Lankans) in their reaction toward... (More)
In contemporary Sri Lanka, nationalistic Sinhala organizations like Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) have made a great impact on the debate over what role Buddhism should play in the country. BBS claims that Islam is a non-Sri Lankan element in the Buddhist majority society, campaigning on such issues on social media between 2012 and 2014. This led Sri Lankan Muslim organizations to use social media to counter BBS campaigns, one of many self-defense strategies the Muslim community uses, including political forums like the parliament and ecumenical discussions among theologians. The focus of this article is on how Muslim organizations use social media in relation to dual nationalism (Muslim) and nation (Sri Lankans) in their reaction toward organizations like BBS. The data analyzed are pictures posted on the Facebook pages of Muslim political organizations between 2012 and 2014. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Islamofobia, Sri Lanka, Muslims, Bodu Bala Sena, Dual nationalism, social media activism
in
CyberOrient
volume
19
issue
1
pages
36 pages
publisher
American Anthropological Association
ISSN
1804-3194
project
Religion and politics in Sri Lanka
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
81e242b5-79fe-4a95-9550-9af962cab5f0
alternative location
https://cyberorient.net/2025/10/30/de-escalating-hate-muslim-organizations-counter-speech-to-buddhist-islamophobia-in-sri-lanka-2012-2014/
date added to LUP
2025-12-02 20:52:31
date last changed
2025-12-11 14:42:27
@article{81e242b5-79fe-4a95-9550-9af962cab5f0,
  abstract     = {{In contemporary Sri Lanka, nationalistic Sinhala organizations like Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) have made a great impact on the debate over what role Buddhism should play in the country. BBS claims that Islam is a non-Sri Lankan element in the Buddhist majority society, campaigning on such issues on social media between 2012 and 2014. This led Sri Lankan Muslim organizations to use social media to counter BBS campaigns, one of many self-defense strategies the Muslim community uses, including political forums like the parliament and ecumenical discussions among theologians. The focus of this article is on how Muslim organizations use social media in relation to dual nationalism (Muslim) and nation (Sri Lankans) in their reaction toward organizations like BBS. The data analyzed are pictures posted on the Facebook pages of Muslim political organizations between 2012 and 2014.}},
  author       = {{Johansson, Andreas}},
  issn         = {{1804-3194}},
  keywords     = {{Islamofobia; Sri Lanka; Muslims; Bodu Bala Sena; Dual nationalism; social media activism}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{29--64}},
  publisher    = {{American Anthropological Association}},
  series       = {{CyberOrient}},
  title        = {{De-escalating Hate : Muslim Organizations’ Counter-Speech to Buddhist Islamophobia in Sri Lanka (2012–2014)}},
  url          = {{https://cyberorient.net/2025/10/30/de-escalating-hate-muslim-organizations-counter-speech-to-buddhist-islamophobia-in-sri-lanka-2012-2014/}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}