İslamofobi Çağında Mutluluğu Müzakere Etmek: Duygulanımsal ve Dini Bir Sarsıntı Olarak ‘Mutlu Britanyalı Müslümanlar’ Videosu

Ayaz H.

JOURNAL OF MUSLIMS IN EUROPE, cilt.16, ss.1-27, 2026 (Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 16
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1163/22117954-bja10159
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF MUSLIMS IN EUROPE
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Scopus, ATLA Religion Database, Index Islamicus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-27
  • İnönü Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This article examines how the viral video Happy British Muslims functions as a site

of affective, religious, and political negotiation of Muslim identity in contemporary

Western societies. Based on a thematic analysis of over 300 YouTube comments, the

study identifies emotional and discursive responses, including praise, religious critique,

emotional resistance, identity claims, media skepticism, and gendered anxieties.

While some viewers interpret the video as a joyful counter-narrative to Islamophobia,

others view it as a violation of Islamic ethics, particularly regarding music, dancing,

and female modesty. Drawing on classical Islamic philosophy, especially Ibn Rushd’s

concept of saʿada, and contemporary sociological theory, including Bourdieu’s habitus

and Bauman’s liquid modernity, the article argues that joy operates not merely

as an emotion but as a socially situated and morally regulated act. In digital public

space, Muslim happiness emerges as a form of affective resistance and ethical scrutiny,

revealing struggles over visibility and legitimacy.