{"id":36293,"date":"2026-01-14T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/?post_type=article&#038;p=36293"},"modified":"2026-07-31T13:41:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T12:41:06","slug":"between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/","title":{"rendered":"Between Threat and Ideal: The Subjectivation of Imams"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Abstract<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Public debate on Muslims in Switzerland is characterized to a significant degree by issues of problematisation and securitisation. In this debate, imams have become an increasingly frequent topic, seen for example as those who steer Muslim communities. This article, published in the <em>Journal of Muslims in Europe<\/em> (vol. 15, no. 2, p. 229-253) by sociologist <a href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/chercheur\/noemi-trucco\/?lang=en\"><strong>Noemi Trucco<\/strong><\/a>, examines how perceptions and ascriptions in public debate affect the self-image of imams, and is therefore concerned with the subjectivation of imams.<\/p>\n<p>Based on a discourse analysis of mass media and political debates in Switzerland and interviews with male imams, the article reconstructs subject positions addressing imams, as well as their self-positionings. Findings indicate that imams are addressed by an anti-subject and an ideal model subject, leaving little space for manoeuvre in the imam&#8217;s self-positioning. However, applying Homi K. Bhabha&#8217;s concept of mimicry suggests that there may be more agency for imams than revealed at first glance.<\/p>\n<p>This article extends Noemi Trucco&#8217;s doctoral thesis, completed at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifr.ch\/szig\/en\/\"><strong>Swiss Centre for Islam and Society (SCIS)<\/strong><\/a> at the University of Fribourg, a partner institution of <em>Pluriel<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":36307,"template":"","class_list":["post-36293","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"date_tournage":"2026-01-14","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Between Threat and Ideal: The Subjectivation of Imams - Pluriel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Between Threat and Ideal: The Subjectivation of Imams - Pluriel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Abstract Public debate on Muslims in Switzerland is characterized to a significant degree by issues of problematisation and securitisation. In this debate, imams have become an increasingly frequent topic, seen for example as those who steer Muslim communities. This article, published in the Journal of Muslims in Europe (vol. 15, no. 2, p. 229-253) by [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pluriel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-31T12:41:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jome-15-2-cover.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"455\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/en\\\/article\\\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/en\\\/article\\\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\\\/\",\"name\":\"Between Threat and Ideal: The Subjectivation of Imams - Pluriel\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/en\\\/article\\\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/en\\\/article\\\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/jome-15-2-cover.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-14T07:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-31T12:41:06+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/en\\\/article\\\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/en\\\/article\\\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/en\\\/article\\\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/jome-15-2-cover.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/jome-15-2-cover.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":455},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/en\\\/article\\\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/?lang=en\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Between Threat and Ideal: The Subjectivation of Imams\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pluriel\",\"description\":\"University Platform for Research on Islam\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pluriel.fuce.eu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Between Threat and Ideal: The Subjectivation of Imams - Pluriel","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Between Threat and Ideal: The Subjectivation of Imams - Pluriel","og_description":"Abstract Public debate on Muslims in Switzerland is characterized to a significant degree by issues of problematisation and securitisation. In this debate, imams have become an increasingly frequent topic, seen for example as those who steer Muslim communities. This article, published in the Journal of Muslims in Europe (vol. 15, no. 2, p. 229-253) by [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/","og_site_name":"Pluriel","article_modified_time":"2026-07-31T12:41:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":455,"url":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jome-15-2-cover.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/","url":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/","name":"Between Threat and Ideal: The Subjectivation of Imams - Pluriel","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jome-15-2-cover.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-14T07:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-31T12:41:06+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jome-15-2-cover.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jome-15-2-cover.jpg","width":300,"height":455},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/article\/between-threat-and-ideal-the-subjectivation-of-imams\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/?lang=en"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Between Threat and Ideal: The Subjectivation of Imams"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/","name":"Pluriel","description":"University Platform for Research on Islam","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"wpml_langs":["ar","en","fr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/36293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"chercheur_langues","href":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chercheur_langues\/325"},{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"chercheur_tag","href":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chercheur_tag\/675"},{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"chercheur_tag","href":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chercheur_tag\/233"},{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"chercheur_tag","href":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chercheur_tag\/224"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chercheur\/29806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pluriel.fuce.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}