Countering Islamophobia: The Role of Muslim Community Organisations as Agents for Positive Change.
Author: Sara Cheikh Husain, scheikh@deakin.edu.au
Department: Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation
University: Deakin University, Australia
Supervisor: Prof. Fethi Mansouri
Year of completion: In progress
Language of dissertation: English
Keywords:
Islamophobia
, Muslim Community Organisations
, Structuration
, racism
Areas of Research:
Social Movements, Collective Action and Social Change
, Community Research
, Racism, Nationalism and Ethnic Relations
Abstract
Today’s reported negative attitudes towards Islam and Muslims are symptoms of a deeply-rooted narrative exploited by Western media and policies to stage Islam and Muslims as a problem and a threat. The discursive power of Islamophobia hegemony influences and impacts our society negatively. The Muslim Communities bear the onset of Islamophobia. This context triggers agentic Muslim countering responses whether individualistic and collective. This study explores the collective agency of the Australian Muslim Communities exemplified in examining the agency of 25 selected Muslim Community Organisations. Through semi-structured interviews, the study explores MCOs agency that is their perceptions around Islamophobia and their countering strategies and actions within a context of power relations. Unlike previous research which dominantly focuses on MCOs citizenship, this is a novel approach to examining the Muslim Communities as it recognizes the impact of the context on shaping or restraining their agency. The study adopts Stones’ ‘Strong Structuration theory’ to conceptualise MCOs agency as agents-in-focus within a specific structural context to recognize the effects of the restraining and enabling structural factors on their agency. The research is significant as it sheds the light on hidden factors embedding MCOs anti-Islamophobia mobility and activism. Identifying these factors and their impact can help set recommendations for socio-political interventions to help subside Islamophobia within the Australian context via devising policies or setting priorities.
