The Melodrama of “Mosque-War” in Catalonia: Villains, Victims and Heroes

This paper examines the conflicts surrounding mosques in Catalonia in the last decade. During the last two decades Spanish citizens have been engaged in organized mosque-opposition in 56 different Spanish municipalities, 30 of which are in Catalonia. I integrate the literature on frame alignment processes, emotions, movement-countermovement dynamics and melodrama. I claim that melodrama is the overarching frame in the discourse of the “mosque-war”. I demonstrate that all actors in the “mosque-war” were engaged in the processes of victimization , vilification and heroization. First, I show that these processes fuelled powerful emotions for participants on both sides, such as fear, anger, suspicion, and indignation. Second, I look at the ways in which melodrama can provide the energy for mobilization, in particular to encourage a unity of feeling, offering a basis for identification. Third, I examine how by nurturing moral outrage against the villains and generating sympathy for victims, melodramatic representation could transform isolated local troubles into broader regional and even national problems.