Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia
The Islamisation phenomenon in Malaysia is characterised not only by an increased number of Islamic projects within the public institutions, but its permeation is evident in the increased awareness of hijab in the country. Since the late 1980s, hijab has attained many meanings, from a symbol of Is...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2021
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/1/49560-173378-1-PB.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848814572914343936 |
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| author | Natrah Noor, Bahiyah Abdul Hamid, |
| author_facet | Natrah Noor, Bahiyah Abdul Hamid, |
| author_sort | Natrah Noor, |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The Islamisation phenomenon in Malaysia is characterised not only by an increased number of Islamic projects
within the public institutions, but its permeation is evident in the increased awareness of hijab in the country.
Since the late 1980s, hijab has attained many meanings, from a symbol of Islamic revivalism to a reconstruction
of Malay identity. Today, hijab has become a normative identity of Muslim women in Malaysia. For women who
have conformed to this norm, they are expected to be always wearing it and when they decide to de-hijab, the
decision can trigger public opprobrium, bullying, and abuse. The de-hijabbing decision of Muslim women in
Malaysia has been in the spotlight, particularly for public figures, with media representing the decision as a
threat to the Muslim community and Islam in general. However, public scorn, bullying, and abuse have reached
an unprecedented level and are increasingly common with the rise of public display of hijab on social media such
as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach and van Dijk’s
(1999; 2006) Ideological Square Model, this study examines the positive self and negative other representations
evident in the response of netizens to a Malaysian celebrity, Emma Maembong’s, de-hijabbing decision. The
findings of this research revealed not only the discursive strategies through which an outgroup population is
delegitimised in social media, but also contributed to a better understanding of the struggles faced by Muslim
women in exercising their agency. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:36:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:18438 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:36:13Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:184382022-04-16T07:13:31Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/ Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia Natrah Noor, Bahiyah Abdul Hamid, The Islamisation phenomenon in Malaysia is characterised not only by an increased number of Islamic projects within the public institutions, but its permeation is evident in the increased awareness of hijab in the country. Since the late 1980s, hijab has attained many meanings, from a symbol of Islamic revivalism to a reconstruction of Malay identity. Today, hijab has become a normative identity of Muslim women in Malaysia. For women who have conformed to this norm, they are expected to be always wearing it and when they decide to de-hijab, the decision can trigger public opprobrium, bullying, and abuse. The de-hijabbing decision of Muslim women in Malaysia has been in the spotlight, particularly for public figures, with media representing the decision as a threat to the Muslim community and Islam in general. However, public scorn, bullying, and abuse have reached an unprecedented level and are increasingly common with the rise of public display of hijab on social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach and van Dijk’s (1999; 2006) Ideological Square Model, this study examines the positive self and negative other representations evident in the response of netizens to a Malaysian celebrity, Emma Maembong’s, de-hijabbing decision. The findings of this research revealed not only the discursive strategies through which an outgroup population is delegitimised in social media, but also contributed to a better understanding of the struggles faced by Muslim women in exercising their agency. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021-12 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/1/49560-173378-1-PB.pdf Natrah Noor, and Bahiyah Abdul Hamid, (2021) Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 27 (4). pp. 215-229. ISSN 0128-5157 https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1447 |
| spellingShingle | Natrah Noor, Bahiyah Abdul Hamid, Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia |
| title | Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia |
| title_full | Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia |
| title_short | Cyberbullying in the name of God : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in Malaysia |
| title_sort | cyberbullying in the name of god : critical discourse analysis of online responses to the act of de-hijabbing in malaysia |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18438/1/49560-173378-1-PB.pdf |