Introduction: Sweden’s Governance of Suspicion: Islamophobia and Conditional Belonging

Research output

Complete citation

Poljarević, Emin, and Amanj Aziz. “Introduction: Sweden’s Governance of Suspicion: Islamophobia and Conditional Belonging.” Islamophobia Studies Journal 9, no. 2 (2026): 138–141. https://doi.org/10.13169/islastudj.9.2.0001.

Status

Published (2026)

Publication type

Scholarly introduction to a special issue

Overview

This introduction situates a special issue on Islamophobia and conditional belonging at a decisive moment in Swedish political life. It identifies a widening gap between Sweden’s self-image as an egalitarian democracy and the institutional practices through which Muslim organisations and citizens are increasingly subjected to suspicion, exceptional scrutiny, and unequal standards of legitimacy. The text frames Islamophobia not only as prejudice or hostile speech but as a mode of governance operating through law, public funding, political discourse, and administrative judgement. It introduces the issue’s contributions as analyses of how Muslimness is assessed, disciplined, and rendered conditional across different institutional settings. Its contribution is to establish a shared conceptual frame for studying how apparently neutral procedures can reproduce exclusion while retaining the language of democracy, security, and public accountability.

Research question or central concern

How has suspicion of Muslims become embedded in Swedish institutions, and how does this governance shape the conditions under which Muslims are recognised as legitimate citizens and civil-society actors?

Main argument, approach, and contribution

The introduction conceptualises Islamophobia as governance rather than only individual animus. It connects political discourse, legal interpretation, funding decisions, and institutional assessment to a broader structure of conditional belonging. By framing the special issue in this way, it shows how formally neutral procedures can produce patterned disadvantages for Muslim actors.

Keywords

Islamophobia; Sweden; governance of suspicion; conditional belonging; Muslim civil society; citizenship; institutional discrimination