THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE CULTURE AND LANGUAGE OF INTIMACY

Immigrants originating from »traditional« societies go through a transformation of culture and language of intimacy in Denmark. Many first and second generation Turkish immigrants either use Danish words or shift totally to Danish when speaking about sexual and intimate matters in Turkish. Turkish males make use of the new possibilities for sexual and intimate gratification with Danish women, while trying to preserve the original ethnic culture, especially in areas pertaining to women's control over their bodies and sexualities. Research on immigrants should take into account both the willingness and resistance to change among immigrants and avoid cultural patronizing.Immigrants originating from »traditional« societies go through a transformation of culture and language of intimacy in Denmark. Many first and second generation Turkish immigrants either use Danish words or shift totally to Danish when speaking about sexual and intimate matters in Turkish. Turkish males make use of the new possibilities for sexual and intimate gratification with Danish women, while trying to preserve the original ethnic culture, especially in areas pertaining to women's control over their bodies and sexualities. Research on immigrants should take into account both the willingness and resistance to change among immigrants and avoid cultural patronizing

Larmende Tavshed

Der er en del felter i forbindelse med etniske minoriteter i Danmark, som en række forskere og debattører ønsker at forbigå i tavshed. Man mener tilsyneladende, at videnskabelige undersøgelser og teoretisering samt en åben, offentlig debat om kontroversielle emner risikerer at sætte nydanskere i dårligt lys. I denne artikel diskuterer jeg kun to af disse områder, overkriminalitet og æresdrab. Artiklen bygger på en kritisk læsning af de pågældende forskeres og debattørers argumenter og synspunkter, som fremkommer enten i en videnskabelig form eller som artikler eller udtalelser i pressen. Yderligere inddrager jeg en del data fra Danmarks Statistik. Med hensyn til den eventuelle overkriminalitet blandt nydanskere handler tavsheden dels om at ignorere den videnskabelige debat om forskellige måder at korrigere rå data på, dels om at undgå at forholde sig til spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt den eventuelle overkriminalitet har at gøre med de etniske gruppers kulturelle baggrund. I denne sammenhæng ses der ofte bort fra de store forskelle mellem etniske minoritetsgrupper. Angående æresdrab fremfører man, at forklaringer, som inddrager kulturen som et hovedelement, er essentialistisk og kulturalistisk, og i stedet præsenterer man enten psykologiserende og partikularistiske eller generaliserende og universalistiske fortolkninger. I debatten om æresdrab har man eksempelvis flere gange påstået, at der ikke er væsentlige forskelle mellem æresdrab og jalousidrab. Jeg præsenterer til sidst en række mulige forklaringer på, hvorfor man prøver på at undgå kultur som en forklaringsfaktor, og argumenterer for, at man ikke nødvendigvis bliver kulturfundamentalist eller -determinist, blot fordi man bruger kultur som forklaringsfaktor i forbindelse med et negativt fæno- men. Man kan nemlig have en procesorienteret tilgang, der har blik både for kontinuiteten og forandringen. Søgeord: tavshed, kriminalitet, æresdrab, kultur, essentialisme, indvandrer- forskning There are certain issues concerning ethnic minorities in Denmark, which a number of scholars and public figures wish to pass over in silence. They appear to believe that scientific investigations, and open public debate on controversial topics risk throwing a negative light on ethnic minorities. In this article, I take up two of these topics: the overrepresentation of ethnic minorities in criminal statistics, and so-called honour killing among some ethnic communities. The article builds on a critical reading of the arguments and views of the researchers and public figures in question, which are put forward in scientific articles and in the media. In presenting my critique, I also draw on data from official Danish statistics. Regarding the possible overrepresentation of ethnic minorities in criminality, the silence is about ignoring the scientific debate about the different methods of statistical adjustment of data, and about avoiding the question of whether the overrepresentation in criminality has to do with the cultural backgrounds of ethnic groups. In this context, the major differences among ethnic groups are overlooked. With regard to the phenomenon of honour killing, the scholars and public figures in question claim that explanations which include culture as a main element are essentialising and culturalising; instead, they present psychologising and particularistic or generalising and universalistic interpretations. For instance, it has been claimed that there are no fundamental differences between honour killings and “crimes of passion”. Finally, I present some possible explanations why the concept of culture is avoided as an explanatory factor, and argue that a scholar does not become a cultural fundamentalist or determinist, merely because s/he uses culture as an explanatory element in relation to a social and cultural phenomenon. Rather, culture as an explanatory concept permits a process-orientated approach, which encompasses both continuity and change. Keywords: Silence, criminality, honor killing, culture, essentialism, immigrant research

Larmende Tavshed

Der er en del felter i forbindelse med etniske minoriteter i Danmark, som en række forskere og debattører ønsker at forbigå i tavshed. Man mener tilsyneladende, at videnskabelige undersøgelser og teoretisering samt en åben, offentlig debat om kontroversielle emner risikerer at sætte nydanskere i dårligt lys. I denne artikel diskuterer jeg kun to af disse områder, overkriminalitet og æresdrab. Artiklen bygger på en kritisk læsning af de pågældende forskeres og debattørers argumenter og synspunkter, som fremkommer enten i en videnskabelig form eller som artikler eller udtalelser i pressen. Yderligere inddrager jeg en del data fra Danmarks Statistik. Med hensyn til den eventuelle overkriminalitet blandt nydanskere handler tavsheden dels om at ignorere den videnskabelige debat om forskellige måder at korrigere rå data på, dels om at undgå at forholde sig til spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt den eventuelle overkriminalitet har at gøre med de etniske gruppers kulturelle baggrund. I denne sammenhæng ses der ofte bort fra de store forskelle mellem etniske minoritetsgrupper. Angående æresdrab fremfører man, at forklaringer, som inddrager kulturen som et hovedelement, er essentialistisk og kulturalistisk, og i stedet præsenterer man enten psykologiserende og partikularistiske eller generaliserende og universalistiske fortolkninger. I debatten om æresdrab har man eksempelvis flere gange påstået, at der ikke er væsentlige forskelle mellem æresdrab og jalousidrab. Jeg præsenterer til sidst en række mulige forklaringer på, hvorfor man prøver på at undgå kultur som en forklaringsfaktor, og argumenterer for, at man ikke nødvendigvis bliver kulturfundamentalist eller -determinist, blot fordi man bruger kultur som forklaringsfaktor i forbindelse med et negativt fæno- men. Man kan nemlig have en procesorienteret tilgang, der har blik både for kontinuiteten og forandringen. Søgeord: tavshed, kriminalitet, æresdrab, kultur, essentialisme, indvandrer- forskning There are certain issues concerning ethnic minorities in Denmark, which a number of scholars and public figures wish to pass over in silence. They appear to believe that scientific investigations, and open public debate on controversial topics risk throwing a negative light on ethnic minorities. In this article, I take up two of these topics: the overrepresentation of ethnic minorities in criminal statistics, and so-called honour killing among some ethnic communities. The article builds on a critical reading of the arguments and views of the researchers and public figures in question, which are put forward in scientific articles and in the media. In presenting my critique, I also draw on data from official Danish statistics. Regarding the possible overrepresentation of ethnic minorities in criminality, the silence is about ignoring the scientific debate about the different methods of statistical adjustment of data, and about avoiding the question of whether the overrepresentation in criminality has to do with the cultural backgrounds of ethnic groups. In this context, the major differences among ethnic groups are overlooked. With regard to the phenomenon of honour killing, the scholars and public figures in question claim that explanations which include culture as a main element are essentialising and culturalising; instead, they present psychologising and particularistic or generalising and universalistic interpretations. For instance, it has been claimed that there are no fundamental differences between honour killings and “crimes of passion”. Finally, I present some possible explanations why the concept of culture is avoided as an explanatory factor, and argue that a scholar does not become a cultural fundamentalist or determinist, merely because s/he uses culture as an explanatory element in relation to a social and cultural phenomenon. Rather, culture as an explanatory concept permits a process-orientated approach, which encompasses both continuity and change. Keywords: Silence, criminality, honor killing, culture, essentialism, immigrant research

Jihadi Kitsch: The Promesse de Bonheur of Islamist Terrorism

Elaborating on conceptualizations of kitsch in the realm of art and sociology in the context of ISIS propaganda and culture, this article introduces the concept of jihadi kitsch. Kitsch is characterized by a compulsion to escape from the banality of daily reality and lack of coherent meaning in modern society through, in the words of the philosopher and sociologist Theodor Adorno, a self-made and futile promesse de bonheur, i.e. promise of happiness. The article explicates and illustrates seven distinct aspects of jihadi kitsch: (1) escape from daily life, (2) eroticization of power and “pornokitsch,” (3) “kitsch of death”: romanticized and trivialized violence and death, (4) purity and filth, (5) moral collapse, (6) simplism: an easily accessible worldview, (7) nostalgia: looking back with longing to an authentic past. Capturing the kitsch aspect of jihadi propaganda and culture, the article contributes a new theoretical approach to the existing literature discussing the attractions of jihadism, and ends with a discussion on how the concept of jihadi kitsch can potentially contribute to combating Islamist terrorism through humor

Minareterne er vore bajonetter

«Men hvem er den rigtige Tayyip Erdogan?» spurgte digteren Henrik Nordbrandt, som er en af Danmarks få Tyrkiet-kendere, i 2004. «Er det den statsminister, der indfører reform efter reform og siger de rigtige ting under hyppige besøg i europæiske hovedstæder? Eller den Erdogan, som på et møde i 90’erne citerede følgende verslinjer: “Minareterne er vores bajonetter, kuplerne vores skjolde og moskeerne vores kaserner, de troende vore soldater. Denne hellige hær beskytter min religion. Allah-u Akbar (Allah er stor)”?

Skrækken for kulturel forskellighed. Inspirationen fra Edward Said i dansk indvandrerforskning

I dansk forskning om forholdet mellem indvandrere og danskere er det ganske udbredt at fremføre, at danskerne lider af skræk for indvandrernes kulturelle anderledeshed. Artiklens hovedtese er, at det i virkeligheden er de anklagende forskere selv, der lider af skræk for kulturelle forskelle. På det teoretiske plan skyldes dette i høj grad et ønske om ikke at virke essentialistisk, et ønske, hvis teoretiske inspiration ikke mindst har en kilde i Edward Saids anti-essentialisme, som den udlægges i bogen Orientalisme. Artiklen argumenter for, at det er Saids formaninger imod brugen af kultur til at forklare et fænomen i forbindelse med Orienten og islam, der har gjort en række danske forskere bange for at anerkende og italesætte kulturelle forskelle. Artiklen fremfører, at danske forskere må tage kulturelle forskelle mellem danskere og indvandrere alvorligt og gentænke den populære forestilling om, at danskernes reaktioner imod kulturel anderledeshed altid handler om racisme, fordomme, stereotyper, skræk og panik. Inddragelsen af alternative teorier for at analysere interaktionen mellem danskere og indvandrere, ikke mindst danskernes forskellige reaktionsformer over for indvandrere, vil gavne sociologisk forskning. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Mehmet Ümit Necef: Fear of Cultural Difference. Inspiration from Edward Said in Danish Research on Immigrants Danish researchers who study the relations between Danes and Immigrants commonly claim that Danes suffer from the fear of immigrants’ cultural difference. The main thesis of this article is that it is really the researchers themselves who suffer from these cultural differences. At the theoretical level, this fear stems primarily from a desire of not being essentialist. This desire, and in particular its theoretical inspiration, stems in part from Edward Said’s anti-essentialism as it is constructed in his book Orientalism. This article argues that Said’s admonitions against employing the concept of culture to explain a phenomenon related to the Orient and Islam have contributed to a number of Danish researchers’ fear of recognizing and articulating cultural otherness. The article argues that Danish researchers should take cultural differences between the Danes and immigrants seriously, and not simply subscribe to the widespread idea that the reactions of Danes to cultural differences are always about racism, prejudice, stereotypes, fear and panic. Furthermore, the article argues that our sociological understanding of the relations between the Danes and the immigrants would be enriched by involving additional and alternative theories in analyses. Key words: Orientalism, Edward Said, honour killing, essentialism, difference, racism