This study critically explores Muslim students’ experiences on campus and in the community and identifies the opportunities, barriers, and constraints in students’ academic and social relations with peers, university personnel and communities at large. The study provides practical recommendations grounded in evidence for university administrators, faculty, staff and other stakeholders in the areas of service delivery, policy, programs, and educational curriculum development and instruction. The study utilizes a constructivist grounded theory methodology informed by semi-structured interviews of 32 Muslim students in undergraduate and graduate programs as data collection methods. Ambient Islamophobia was uncovered as the central phenomenon. I use a group of theoretical categories, subdivided into properties and dimensions, to illustrate my theory. These theoretical categories are further regrouped into five themes, which illustrate: (1) the ambient and endemic nature of Islamophobia on campus and in the community; (2) the causal conditions of ambient Islamophobia and the processes by which Muslim students become aware and contextualize the complex and multilayered Eurocentric and Orientalist ideologies, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that entrench Islamophobia; (3) the impacts/ consequences of ambient Islamophobia that affect Muslim students cognitively, affectively and behaviorally; (4) the coping and resistance strategies Muslim students develop to counter ambient Islamophobia and achieve social well-being, academic success; and (5) the longing for belonging, while confronting expectations held about Canada and studying at the university. Understanding the processes and foundations of ambient Islamophobia can be used by stakeholders to develop more inclusive policies, programs and classrooms to support the social and academic success of Muslim students on campus. / Graduate

This thesis investigates the continued hostilities and increasing backlash against the American Muslim community in the United States from a critical perspective that centralizes the racialization of Muslims and Muslim looking-people. The increasing anti-Muslim backlash against American Muslims warrants the need for a critical examination and analysis of the roots of this backlash and why, almost 11 years after September 11th, 2001, conditions for Muslims and Muslim looking-people are worsening. The term Islamophobia has been conceptualized and defined differently by various scholars, contributing to an analytical dilemma of how Muslims rationalize and resist anti-Muslim backlash. Therefore, the concept of racialization provides a fuller perspective and understanding as to why Muslim and non-Muslim Arabs, South Asians, and African Americans have been subjected to rising suspicion, surveillance, imprisonment, and violence in a post 9/11/2001 era. This thesis posits the notion of the white Christian Normative, an inherent Christian bias embedded deep within the racialized social system of the United States. This Christian Normative has its roots in the colonial confrontation between European colonizers and Indigenous populations in what is now considered the United States and has maintained its significance in impacting the life chances of non-white non-Christian minorities ever since. This thesis argues that it is the Christian normative that drives and sustains the anti-Muslim backlash in the United States. The anti-Muslim backlash that is growing stronger in the United States is also theoretically conceptualized within this thesis. This thesis utilizes qualitative data collected from 23 in-depth interviews with Arab and South Asian American Muslim college students between the ages of 18 to 35 years from the Midwest as its empirical basis.

The purpose of this thesis is to answer the question, why is there a variation in anti-Muslim sentiments across Western Europe? There is existing literature on individual and country-level variable s to explain why prejudice exists, but this research examines the impact of political institutions on anti-Muslim sentiments. Based on new institutionalism theory, electoral systems can shape public attitudes by providing far-right parties a platform to put their concerns on the agenda, and these parties promote anti-Muslim popular sentiments. The results of this analysis support this argument in that the larger the average district magnitude in a country, the greater the anti-Muslim sentiments. The findings also show that an increase in far-right party vote-share also covaries with an increase in anti-Muslim sentiments.

My experiences as a Canadian Muslim nurse wearing a hijab have sparked the question concerning the experiences of nurses who, in their daily practice, choose to wear a head cover, an immediate visual signifier of their Muslim identity. I wish to generate understanding of how this religious identity and its racialization intersect with gender to shape nurses’ experiences with anti-Muslim racism. Through listening to the stories of ten Canadian Muslim nurses who were recruited across Canada and who wear different types of the hijab, come from varied and diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, and practice in different healthcare settings and contexts, their experiences are highlighted, and their voices are illuminated, revealing valuable insights into the challenges they encounter in their daily nursing practice. I situate these experiences within a conceptualization of Islamophobia and, more specifically, gendered Islamophobia as a form of anti-Muslim racism that is often experienced by women and girls who are identifiable as Muslims. In this dissertation, I attend to the overarching question: What are the experiences of Canadian Muslim nurses wearing hijab and practicing within the Canadian healthcare system? This question encompasses three sub questions: 1) How do Muslim nurses’ social locations that are produced at the intersections of gender-race-religion converge in understanding their experiences? 2) What are the power relations enacted within the discipline of Canadian nursing that produce and sustain social locations experienced by nurses who wear a hijab? 3) What are the ways these nurses resist their racialization and push against master-narratives that are constructed about them? These questions are approached using narrative inquiry as a research methodology that is informed by critical race feminism and care ethics. These questions are also explored through intersectionality as an analytical lens to unpack the complexities of these nurses’ experiences. In this study I present the nurses’ counter-narrative that challenges the stereotypical assumptions about them and unveils the multilevel contextual power structures that preserve racism within the discipline of nursing and reproduce the processes of racialization experienced by nurses who wear a hijab. In doing so, my aim is to provide a vessel in which the nurses share their stories and to reclaim control over the reductionist Orientalist colonial narratives about them. It is my hope that knowledge gleaned from this study will inform the understanding of the structures and processes that produce and maintain racism within nursing with the goal of advancing transformational change in nursing to achieve social justice. I capture the counter-narrative of nurses who wear a hijab in three composite narratives that I constructed from their stories based on key storylines that I needed to unpack. By ‘composite narrative’ I refer to a technique where several interviews are combined and presented in one or more individual stories that are linked by a shared purpose or identity among research participants. The technique of using composite narratives to present and analyse complex and extensive data is congruent with analyzing stories as a whole instead of fragmenting them. The counter-narrative offers a point of resistance as an alternative discourse that uplifts the voices of the nurses through understanding and generating knowledge about their experiences from their standpoint. The stories of Muslim nurses who wear a hijab bridge a gap in the literature about Muslim nurses’ experiences within the current charged political environment, post 9/11 era, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Quebec ban on wearing religious symbols and the ensuing debates it generated in Canada. Their stories provide a needed and timely understanding of the implications for nursing research, policy, practice, and education to create an inclusive and supportive environment for nurses who wear a hijab. Given the interconnected nature between racism and colonialism, fostering such an environment is inherently anti-racist and decolonial. Importantly, doing the work to create safer, anti-racist spaces for nurses who wear a hijab and to decolonize nursing which would benefit all racialized nurses. / Graduate

Anti-Muslim prejudice has increased precipitously since the attacks of September 11, 2001, including prejudicial effects related to socio-cultural differences on college campuses. The purpose of this quasi-experimental exploratory research was to understand the effectiveness of multicultural education programs (MEPs) in reducing anti-Muslim prejudice in higher education. Grounded in intergroup threat theory and frame analysis, it was hypothesized that students who are not engaged in multicultural affairs will perceive Muslims as more threatening and will therefore hold more prejudiced views than would students who active in multicultural affairs. The sample consisted of 125 respondents (N = 51 from a group participating in an MEP; and N = 74 from a control group of students who did not participate in an MEP) from a large research university in the Southeastern United States. Data were collected through a survey to measure symbolic threat, realistic threat, and Islamophobia. An independent group-posttest design was used to explore the effectiveness of MEPs and the independent groups' t test was performed to examine differences in the respondents' attitudes toward Muslims. Moderate yet significant differences were present between groups, suggesting that the effects of the MEP were positive. Respondents engaged in multicultural programs were less likely to perceive Muslims as threats and were less likely to hold Islamophobic views of Muslims than were their peers from the control group. Results indicate positive social change implications for the integration of American Muslims as well as the development of more comprehensive programs for educators and policy makers.

The purpose with this paper is to study anti-muslim content within Swedish parliament proposals between the years 2019 and 2022. The constitutional comittee response is highlighted so it could be compared to EU:s attempts to create a unified European identity. The questions for this paper are: what ideological content is uttered in anti-muslim Swedish parliament proposals during 2019 and 2022, what ideological content is shown in parliament debate and the following parliament decisions in relation to anti-muslim proposals and how does the Swedish parliament debate relate to both binding and nonbinding international guidelines and documents? Document- and content analysis has been used for this paper. The chosen theory for this paper is the multilateral model for understanding islamophobia as well as the conclusions made by Olivier Roy. The conclusions for this paper are that Swedish parliament proposals are in accordance with what is warned by international documents where islamophobias presence is increased in Sweden. The constitutional committe is seen as in accordance with international documents for the promotion of a united European identity and European values.

Islamofobi är ett växande problem i Europa som negativt påverkar muslimers förutsättningar och möjligheter i samhället. Samtidigt är religionsfriheten en mänsklig rättighet och en av grundvalarna för ett demokratiskt och pluralistiskt samhälle. Denna uppsats undersöker hur islamofobi påverkar religionsfrihetens implementering i Sverige. Resultatet visar att muslimers rätt att utöva sin religion hotas av islamofobiska praktiker, så som attacker mot moskéer, motstånd mot muslimska organisationer och förbud av slöjan. Studien utforskar även statens förpliktelser och ansvar för att motverka islamofobi och främja muslimers rättigheter och lika möjligheter – för att på så sätt kunna uppnå ett verkligt demokratiskt och pluralistiskt samhälle där utsatta grupper beskyddas. / Islamophobia is an increasing problem in Europe which has a negative effect on Muslims’ conditions and opportunities within the society. At the same time, freedom of religion is a human right and one of the foundations in a democratic and pluralistic society. This thesis examines how islamophobia affects the implementation of freedom of religion in Sweden. The result shows that Muslims’ right to practice their religion is substantially threatened by islamophobic practices, such as attacks against mosques, resistance towards Muslim organizations and banning of the veil. The study also explores the state’s obligations and responsibility to counteract islamophobia and promote Muslims’ rights and equal opportunities – and thus be able to achieve a truly democratic and pluralistic society where vulnerable groups are protected.

Islamofobi är ett växande problem i Europa som negativt påverkar muslimers förutsättningar och möjligheter i samhället. Samtidigt är religionsfriheten en mänsklig rättighet och en av grundvalarna för ett demokratiskt och pluralistiskt samhälle. Denna uppsats undersöker hur islamofobi påverkar religionsfrihetens implementering i Sverige. Resultatet visar att muslimers rätt att utöva sin religion hotas av islamofobiska praktiker, så som attacker mot moskéer, motstånd mot muslimska organisationer och förbud av slöjan. Studien utforskar även statens förpliktelser och ansvar för att motverka islamofobi och främja muslimers rättigheter och lika möjligheter – för att på så sätt kunna uppnå ett verkligt demokratiskt och pluralistiskt samhälle där utsatta grupper beskyddas. / Islamophobia is an increasing problem in Europe which has a negative effect on Muslims’ conditions and opportunities within the society. At the same time, freedom of religion is a human right and one of the foundations in a democratic and pluralistic society. This thesis examines how islamophobia affects the implementation of freedom of religion in Sweden. The result shows that Muslims’ right to practice their religion is substantially threatened by islamophobic practices, such as attacks against mosques, resistance towards Muslim organizations and banning of the veil. The study also explores the state’s obligations and responsibility to counteract islamophobia and promote Muslims’ rights and equal opportunities – and thus be able to achieve a truly democratic and pluralistic society where vulnerable groups are protected.

No description available.

With Islamophobia on the rise in Canada, it may reasonably be expected that social work, a seemingly care-oriented profession, would have effective support readily available for the Muslim community. However, rather than the Muslim community experiencing social services as a place where such support can be accessed, their interactions with these services demonstrate the ways that Islamophobia seeps into social work settings amidst discriminatory assumptions about Muslims and a lack of religiously informed care. In response, informed by an Islamic worldview and drawing upon decolonial thought and community-based participatory research principles, this study aims to centre Islamic ways of knowing, being, and doing in considering how mainstream social services and social work practice can most effectively support the Muslim community. Emerging from interviews with five Muslim community leaders and scholars were four key themes: the role of Islam in the lives and well-being of Muslims; anti-Muslim sentiment and the devaluing of Islamic identity in mainstream social work education and practice; the need for Islamically informed care; and reimagining social work from an Islamic worldview. The findings reveal significant challenges for the Muslim community in accessing and receiving effective support from mainstream social services, while also underscoring important considerations for enhanced social work practice with Muslims. Implications and recommendations for the social work profession, social work education, and the Muslim community are discussed, alongside suggestions for future research and action, with an emphasis on the importance of contributions from Islam and Muslims to elicit meaningful change. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)