Page - 123 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/02

Making Space, Claiming Place | 123www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/2, 107–131 and interacting with their constituencies in the period leading up to the elections in March 2021. Not only were the “traditional” ways of engaging with (potential) voters severely restricted (mass events could not be held, for example), but parties realized more than ever how beneficial a solid dig- ital presence is for remaining visible and engaged. For DENK and NIDA the transition to digital platforms seemed to go particularly smoothly because they had already invested so much in their social media presence. The first session I attended digitally shortly after the coronavirus out- break was organized by NIDA on the evening of 26 March 2020 and seemed to be an early attempt to try out a new format for engaging with online audiences. The announcement made on the same day, aptly titled “Live with Nourdin in quarantine: about corona, politics, work, school & mosque”, is a good example of a trend or (unconscious) strategy I had recognized in the political leaders of both DENK and NIDA, in which their individual self-pres- entation and personalization of political engagement was becoming an in- tegral part of their online media presence.79 In the following months up to spring 2021, I attended most of the online sessions held by both parties. NIDA was the first of the two to start this type of informal sessions and continued to hold them until January 2021, with a total of 20 sessions featur- ing various guests (other NIDA members, but also prominent professionals with an Islamic background) and tackling various subjects, such as Islamo- phobia, free speech, and Islam in Dutch politics. DENK started their live ses- sions in October 2020, and by March 2021 had held eight sessions exploring topics such as Islam and media institutions, terrorist attacks in Europe, and systemic racial discrimination. As I suggested with regard to the parties’ use of social media more gen- erally, these online sessions can be seen as spaces for these politicians (and their supporters from the same marginalized communities) to finally break free from the (offline) public space and establish a platform where they could discuss (controversial) issues without feeling subjected to a dominant frame they must adhere to. In these sessions, they are able to discuss important issues related to the position of Muslims in society with an audience who seemed to be mostly sympathetic to the cause. For example, NIDA went live on Facebook to discuss the need for (more) Islamic burial space in the Nether - lands due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.80 In line with Bhabha’s charac- 79 Mohamed/Kamaruzzaman 2019; Ekman/Widholm 2015. 80 This session took place on 5 April 2020, 8–9pm. When the first fatalities as a result of the