Previous literature, although helpful in demonstrating the insidious nature and effects of Islamophobia on Muslims, does not underscore the varying forms and intensities of Islamophobia that a diverse range of Muslims in the West face and the powerful ways in which race and socio-economic class factor into their experiences, coping mechanisms, and stigma responses. This dissertation contributes to the literature on Muslims in The West in three ways: (1) offering a qualitative approach to understanding the ways in which Islamophobia is perpetuated through media discourse and coinciding political legislation, and is experienced differently by a diverse range of Muslims in Canada, (2) adding the concepts of spiritual marginalization, spiritual homelessness, and social status optimization to the analytic vocabulary on integration and articulating their relationship with identity, and (3) making a connection between race and social class and the response to Islamophobia and articulating their relationship with human agency. In chapter one, I provide an in-depth literature review on Islamophobia in the West. In chapter two, I present the results of a discourse analysis study that highlights the structural dimensions of Islamophobia through media representations and framing of incidences involving Muslim vs. non-Muslim perpetrators of violence. In chapter three, I present the results of a study that showcases group level experiences of racism amongst a relatively powerless group of Muslim refugee youth in Hamilton Ontario and St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador. In chapter four, I provide a contrasting response to stigma by reporting on the experiences and mobilization of a socioeconomically privileged group of first, second and third generation Muslims in Edmonton. Finally, I summarize the conceptual findings of each paper, review and discuss the general theoretical and conceptual contributions of the dissertation to existing literature, and provide suggestions on future directions for studying Islamophobia and Muslim integration in The West. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation analyses the varying forms and intensities of Islamophobia that a diverse range of Muslims in Canada face and the powerful ways in which race and socio-economic class factor into their experiences, coping mechanisms, and stigma responses. The thesis explores three themes: 1) how Islamophobia may be structurally maintained and propagated through media discourse and coinciding political legislation, 2) how Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate is experienced differently by different groups of Muslims in Canada, and (3) how there may be a connection between race and social class in individual responses to Islamophobia. By adding the concepts of spiritual marginalization, spiritual homelessness, and social status optimization to the analytic vocabulary, this work is a unique contribution to existing literature, and to our understanding of the differing lived experiences of being Muslim in the West and the varying ways in which Islamophobia informs the day to day lives of Muslim Canadians.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/25150 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Ghaffar-Siddiqui, Sabreena |
| Contributors | Satzewich, Victor, Sociology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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