Daily Archive: February 13, 2010

The cultural production of The Muslim – Identity Talk and Homogenizing 'Us' and Excluding 'Them' 0

The cultural production of The Muslim – Identity Talk and Homogenizing 'Us' and Excluding 'Them'

Recently, albeit certainly not new, we have seen a new wave of identity debates in Europe. What does it mean to French, German, Dutch or, for that matter, European? The focus on values is part of a trend emerged in the Netherlands and throughout Europe during 1990s; a new rhetoric of exclusion and inclusion based upon cultural essentialism. The current debates meant to create agreement on values and norms however create more tensions. The solution is that the rhetoric of culture produces a homogenized and idealized vision of the national moral community at the expense of a cultural other.