Moving Between Visibility and Invisibility

Chair: Hayat Ahlili (PhD Candidate, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Utrecht University)
Room: Maarten Prak Polderkamer, Drift 6

‘Crimean Tatar Sameness in the Context of Post-Euromaidan Ukraine:  Representation and Adaption Aspect’ – Alina Zubkovych (Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre for Baltic and East European Studies, Södertörn University, Stockholm)
Annexation of Crimea has boosted development of various public discourses and new forms of practice. Concerns about the human rights situation, freedom of speech, safety of different ethnic groups have also arisen. The violation of human rights of Crimean Tatars (Muslim ethnic minority of the peninsula), xenophobic rhetoric, intimidation and usage of the legal power for political imprisonment have followed. The estimate total number of temporarily displaced Ukrainian citizens from Crimea amounts to 18,000 people, the majority of them are Crimean Tatars who have moved to mainland Ukraine. In the given research I aim to analyze transformation of Crimean Tatar image in Post-Maidan Ukraine. Application of the semi-structured in-depth interviews with Crimean Tatars who are temporary living in Kyiv and Lviv allows demonstrating peculiarities of their adaptation in mainland Ukraine. Visual analysis helps to analyze shifts visible in media regarding representation of Muslim ethnicity in Ukraine.

‘Coming Out of Shia Muslim Minority in Morocco’ – Nassr Eddine Errami (Independent Researcher in Political Science, Berlin)
Religious freedom and plurality are interpreted on an interfaith perspective, therefore any reference to intrafaith tolerance and diversity still face some challenges because of to the moroccan religious homogeniety and the geo-political obsession about shia moroccans’ loyalty and their potential redefinition of religious bundaries. I will navigate through this process of coming in – coming out and its impacts on how the community builds its self, strenghtens its members, empowers its advocacy around decriminalization of shiism and even strive for its recognition. I will highlight the challenges of the shia community when it comes to decolonizing mainstraim religious narratives, claiming the space and breaking the silence assigned to them by religious norms and institutions around visibility, public deliberations and political existence in the civil society arena.