Securitization of Immigration and Refugee Policy in Contemporary Islamic Politics and International Law

Firas Meshhal Abduljabbar; Saad Abdulhameed Shalev; Rami Salih; Oudha Yousif Salman Al-Musawi; Yurii Khlaponin

doi:10.32332/milrev.v4i1.10266

Authors

Firas Meshhal Abduljabbar Alnoor University, Nineveh, Iraq
Saad Abdulhameed Shalev Al Mansour University College, Baghdad, Iraq
Rami Salih Al-Turath University, Baghdad, Iraq
Oudha Yousif Salman Al-Musawi Al-Rafidain University College, Baghdad, Iraq
Yurii Khlaponin Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, Ukraine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v4i1.10266

Keywords:

International Law, Islamic Politics, Migration Securitization, Refugee Policy.

Abstract

The increasing number of migrants has strengthened the configuration of international relations and legal frameworks in contemporary Islamic politics. However, the concept of an Islamic political system remains ambiguous—whether it refers to countries that implement Islamic law, policies of Muslim-majority states, or the broader discourse on Islamic politics. This study explores the securitization of immigration and refugee policies in Muslim-majority countries by highlighting the connection between international refugee law and contemporary Islamic political principles. The analysis is conducted within a broader framework, examining the development of international refugee law and contemporary Islamic political responses to migration and refugee crises, particularly in Syria, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. Through doctrinal legal analysis and empirical case studies from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, this research finds that many Muslim-majority countries have tightened border controls, restricting migrant and refugee access without adequate asylum mechanisms. Additionally, there has been an increase in asylum externalization policies, where responsibility for refugee protection is transferred to third countries, reducing the accountability of primary host nations. Detention policies are also becoming more common, with a growing number of detention centres and deportation practices that often violate contemporary Islamic political principles and international human rights commitments. Furthermore, findings indicate that in many cases, these securitization policies contradict Islamic values of protection and solidarity, which emphasize the rights of refugees and fair treatment for those seeking asylum. This study significantly contributes to evaluating the legal gaps between national policies, contemporary Islamic political principles, and international refugee law while offering policy recommendations that balance security concerns with human rights protection.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abou-El-Wafa, Ahmed. "The Right to Asylum between Islamic Shari’ah and International Refugee Law: Consequences for the Present Refugee Crisis." (2016). https://doi.org/10.1163/18757413-00190011.

Ambrosio, Thomas, Carson Schram, and Preston Heopfner. "The American Securitization of China and Russia: U.S. Geopolitical Culture and Declining Unipolarity." Eurasian Geography and Economics 61, no. 2 (2020/03/03 2020): 162-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/15387216.2019.1702566.

Balkılıç, Özgür, and Fatma Armağan Teke Lloyd. "Does Islamic Inclusion of Syrians Represent a Real Challenge to Europe's Security Approach?: Dilemmas of the Akp's Syrian Refugee Discourse." Turkish Studies 22 (2020): 357 - 79. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2020.1774372. .

Beck, Martin. "On the Making of the German ‘Refugee Crisis’: Securitizing Muslim Immigrants in 2015 and Beyond." Journal of Refugee Studies (2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feab011. .

Bilgiç, A., Gasper, D., & Wilcock, C. "A Human Security Perspective on Migration to Europe.". Haven: The Mediterranean Crisis and Human Security (2020). https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788115483.00021.

Cloquell-Lozano, Alexis, and Carlos Novella-García. "The Adiaphorization and Dehumanization of Migrations from the Ethical and Moral Approach of Public Policies." Social Sciences 11, no. 3 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11030089.

Costello, Cathryn, and Itamar Mann. "Border Justice: Migration and Accountability for Human Rights Violations." German Law Journal 21, no. 3 (2020): 311-34. https://doi.org/10.1017/glj.2020.27.

de la Orden Bosch, Gustavo. "Léonard, Sarah and Christian Kaunert. 2019. Refugees, Security and the European Union. London: Routledge. 220 P." Deusto Journal of Human Rights, no. 6 (11/16 2020): 267-73. https://doi.org/10.18543/djhr.1901.

De Witte, Bruno. "Legal Methods for the Study of Eu Institutional Practice." European Constitutional Law Review 18, no. 4 (2022): 637-56. https://doi.org/10.1017/S157401962200044X.

E.A., Borodina. "Functions of Legal Discourse within the Cognitive Discursive Paradigm Trough the Example of International Legal Acts." Courier of Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL) 1 (2020): 101-07. https://doi.org/10.17803/2311-5998.2020.65.1.101-107.

Flores Segovia, Miguel, and Eliud Silva. "Spatial Dynamics of Internal Migration Flows of the Skilled and Unskilled in Mexico." Población y Salud en Mesoamérica 17, no. 2 (01/01 2020). https://doi.org/10.15517/psm.v17i2.39930.

Futák-Campbell, Beatrix. "Facilitating Crisis: Hungarian and Slovak Securitization of Migrants and Their Implications for Eu Politics." International Politics 59, no. 3 (2022/06/01 2022): 541-61. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-021-00305-4.

Gulina, Olga R. "Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes: Navigating the Legal Landscape in Russia." Slavic Review 81, no. 3 (2022): 745-52. https://doi.org/10.1017/slr.2022.236.

Gulmez, Recep. "The Securitization of the Syrian Refugee Crisis through Political Party Discourses." Journal of International Migration and Integration 20 (2018): 887-906. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-018-0637-2.

Hitoshi, N. "Part I International Law and Global Security, Ch.2 the Global Security Agenda: Securitization of Everything?". The Oxford Handbook of the International Law of Global Security (2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/LAW/9780198827276.003.0003.

Kuznetsova, N. "International Migration in the World: Current Development Trends and the Global Problems Management." Modern Economics 26 (2021): 64-73. https://doi.org/10.31521/modecon.v26(2021)-10.

Lagodiienko, V., Shvets, O., & Dolynska, O. "Methodological Tools for the Study of International Labor Migration in the Conditions of Globalization." (2020). https://doi.org/10.32782/2224-6282/164-1.

"Muslim World and Modern Political Asylum Law, a Study." Journal of Women University Mardan: FAHM-I-ISLAM 5, no. 1 (2022).

Orellana, Salomon, and Halil Bisgin. "Using Natural Language Processing to Analyze Political Party Manifestos from New Zealand." Information 14, no. 3 (2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/info14030152.

Penelope, M. "Part Vi Refugee Rights and Realities, Ch.50 Non-Refoulement." The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law (2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780198848639.003.0051.

Porivaev, S. " Judicial Practice in Administrative Cases on Challenging Normative Administrative Legal Acts." Journal of Russian State University of Justice 3 (2020): 55-67. https://doi.org/10.37399/issn2072-909x.2020.3.55-67.

Potyomkina, O. "Foreign Terrorist Fighters as a Factor of Securitization of the Eu Migration Policy." World Economy and International Relations (2021). https://doi.org/10.20542/0131-2227-2021-65-11-106-114.

Pugh, Jeffrey and Moya, Jennifer, . "Words of (Un)Welcome: Securitization & Migration Discourses in Ecuadorian Media." SSRN Electronic Journal (2020). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3679341.

Qolbi, Yahdi, M. Ibnu Ashari R, Diana, dan Imaro Sidqi. “Geopolitics and Muslim Countries: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Contemporary International Political Dynamics.” MILRev: Metro Islamic Law Review 3, no. 2 (13 Desember 2024): 217–35. https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v3i2.9910.

Rasdi, Mohammad Tajuddin Mohd. “Contextualism in Mosque Architecture: Bridging the Social and Political Divide.” Journal of Islamic Architecture 4, no. 4 (24 Desember 2017): 181–87.

Riemer, Lena. "Demanding Rights: Europe’s Supranational Courts and the Dilemma of Migrant Vulnerability." International Journal of Constitutional Law 18, no. 2 (2020): 664-68. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/moaa045.

Roura, Maria, Sonia Dias, Joseph W. LeMaster, and Anne MacFarlane. "Participatory Health Research with Migrants: Opportunities, Challenges, and Way Forwards." Health Expectations 24, no. 2 (2021/04/01 2021): 188-97. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13201. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13201.

Ş., ŞEner B. and Uzun. "Securitization of International Migration in the Context of Economic Security and Social Security: The Case of the French "National Front" Party." [In tr]. Socioeconomics 30, no. 54 (October 2022): 467-96. https://doi.org/10.17233/sosyoekonomi.2022.04.24.

Scheel, Stephan. "Reconfiguring Desecuritization: Contesting Expert Knowledge in the Securitization of Migration." Geopolitics 27, no. 4 (2022/08/08 2022): 1042-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2020.1774749.

Secen, Sefa. "Explaining the Politics of Security: Syrian Refugees in Turkey and Lebanon." Journal of Global Security Studies (2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/jogss/ogaa039. .

Shiddieqy, Ahmad Ash, Padlan Padil Simamora, dan Dinda Difia Madina. “Contemporary Islamic Politics in Tunisia: The Journey of Islamic Democracy Post-Arab Spring.” MILRev: Metro Islamic Law Review 3, no. 1 (11 April 2024): 119–40. https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v3i1.8976.

Strapáčová, Michaela, and Vít Hloušek. "Anti-Islamism without Moslems: Cognitive Frames of Czech Antimigrant Politics." Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics 12 (2018): 1 - 30. https://doi.org/10.2478/jnmlp-2018-0001. .

Streitwieser, Bernhard, Kathryn Duffy-Jaeger, and Jane Roche. "Comparing the Responses of Us Higher Education Institutions to International and Undocumented Students in the Trump Era." Comparative Education Review 64, no. 3 (2020/08/01 2020): 404-27. https://doi.org/10.1086/709427.

Ünver NOİ, Aylin. "Islamic State Recruitment and Its Impacts on the Re-Securitization of Migration in Europe." Marmara Üniversitesi Avrupa Topluluğu Enstitüsü Avrupa Araştırmaları Dergisi (2015). https://doi.org/10.29228/mjes.408. .

Voskoboinyk, V. and Voskoboinyk, D. "Trends of International Labor Migration in the Conditions of Intellectualization of World Economic Development and Digitalization of the Economy." Herald of Mariupol State University 21 (2021): 43-50. https://doi.org/10.34079/2226-2822-2021-11-22-43-50. .

Wanto, Adri. “The Paradox Between Political Islam and Islamic Political Parties: The Case of West Sumatera Province.” Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies 50, no. 2 (27 Desember 2012): 329–68. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2012.502.329-368.

Zah, M. "Cultural and Legal Aspects of Migration in Hungary in the New Millennium. Acta Musei Napocensis." Historica 56, no. 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.54145/actamn.56.10.

Zvada, Ľubomír. "Securitization of the Migration Crisis and Islamophobic Rhetoric: The 2016 Slovak Parliamentary Elections as a Case Study." Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Languag Politics 12 (2018): 216 - 35. https://doi.org/10.2478/jnmlp-2018-0010.