Practices of active citizenship among migrant youth: beyond conventionalities

This paper discusses the empirical manifestations of the notion of active citizenship in the context of the experiences of migrant youth. It focuses on the practices of active citizenship through involvement in social networks and creative civic engagement. In doing so, the article examines the complex and multi-faceted nature of social networking among migrant youth and the extent to which their approach to engagement is dependent on the specificities of the local environment, the type of social issues involved, and the cultural norms of one's own cultural heritage. Key empirical insights are derived from quantitative and qualitative research conducted among migrant youth of African, Arabic-speaking and Pacific Island backgrounds in Australia. These empirical insights are used to examine the changing perceptions of active citizenship among migrant youth, and the possibilities offered through non-traditional networks to engender civic engagement and social participation.     

The Individual and the Ummah: The Use of Social Media by Muslim Minority Communities in Australia and the United States

How are perceptions of self and ummah (community) reflected in social media use by members of Muslim minorities in two Western countries, Australia and the United States? This paper explores the use of social media by members of minority communities for the purposes of self-representation and community-building, and perceptions of social media use among members of Muslim minority communities, as a means for them to challenge the narrative of Islam found in mainstream media associated with homogeneity, violence and militancy. The paper is based on analysis of responses of a targeted sample of members of representative Muslim student organizations at two tertiary institutions in Australia and the United States. Asian countries of origin are strongly represented in the migrant and international student communities of these two countries. The survey respondents were asked about their use of social media in relation to how they engage in public discourse about Islam, and how it is used in the negotiation of their religious and secular identities.     

Muslims’ social inclusion and exclusion in France,Québec,and Canada: does national context matter?*

This article compares the social experiences of Muslim minorities in three contexts – France, Québec, and English Canada – each reflecting a different approach to immigrant integration. France’s republican model emphasises cultural assimilation and the exclusion of religion from the public sphere; Canada’s multicultural model advocates official recognition of minority cultures; Québec shares Canada’s tradition of large-scale permanent immigration but embodies a unique intercultural discourse of integration, in some ways resembling France. We compare the social experiences of Muslim and non-Muslim minorities in these three settings using the French ‘Trajectories and Origins’ survey (2009) and the Canadian ‘Ethnic Diversity Survey’ (2002) data on reports of discrimination, friendship networks, social trust, voluntarism, and national identity. We find the Muslim/non-Muslim gap in social inclusion is significant in all three settings and results from ethnic, cultural, or racial differences, more than religion. In assessing immigrants’ social inclusion, we suggest consideration be given to: (i) the reality of ‘national models’ in the community, (ii) a tendency for minorities to locate in more accepting segments of mainstream society, and (iii) the limited impact of policies based on national models.     

Islamic Religious Organizations Across Borders: The Case of the Pakistani Migrant Muslim Community in Korea (South)

With the formation of small migrant communities in foreign lands, some religious organizations migrate along with the migrants and play a part in shaping and reshaping the socio-religious experiences of respective migrants. This paper looks into how Islamic religious organizations have been established in South Korea; how the socio-religious experience of the Pakistani Muslim minority community in Korea is mediated by these organizations; and what is the impact of this mediation on the daily socio-religious lives of the migrants. Two Islamic religious organizations—Dawat-e-Islami and Minhaj-ul-Quran—have been discussed here which originated in Pakistan and have been working around the world including Korea. Using the conceptual framework of social capital, we elaborate on three stages for establishment and working of these religious institutions: deployment of social capital for initiation; reinforcement of social capital for establishment; and sustenance with social capital over a course of time. This paper proposes that these religious organizations are established by the migrant community because of the social capital created within, as opposed to any master plan from the respective parent organizations in the country of origin. Further, these organizations become connected to mainstream organizations as a result of community efforts.     

Muslim Faith and Work Ethic in the United States Virgin Islands

The objective of the following article is to examine why a small number of Muslims from the Middle East chose to settle in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). Further, the article is interested in how this Muslim community has retained its work ethic and religious identity in a predominantly Christianized USVI. The article also explores the relationship between this Muslim community and the USVI particularly since the events of 11 September 2001 (9/11). The findings are startling. Unlike some Muslim minority communities that have been unable to make significant strides forward, Muslims in the USVI have achieved impressive levels of economic achievement. Muslims have effectively dominated the retail business in the USVI while largely retaining the religious ways of their homeland, despite some assimilation. Local structural issues such as the inefficient entrepreneurial skills and unstable family ties among Virgin Islanders, as well as an upsurge in investment in tourism and industry, have paved the way for Muslims’ success in the USVI. Other Muslim minority societies trying to achieve growth and development in a foreign land might look at the manner in which Muslims in the USVI have achieved success and financial security.     

Failure of Muslim Leadership in America From the Perspective of First-Generation Muslim Americans: A Phenomenological Study

While leadership is a foundational component of guidance in most societies, Muslim children born in America to immigrant parents lack such guidance. A qualitative case study was recently conducted with six first-generation Muslim American college students and professionals. The purpose of this study was six-fold: to examine the concept of leadership in Muslim communities in America, to observe perceptions of Muslim leadership in mosques and community centers, to examine the practice and beliefs of Muslims in America, to view the social interaction of Muslim Americans within their community, to view the mentorship and leadership aspects of Muslim Americans in their community and to inspect marital and cultural aspects within those societies. Findings reveal four themes that show that Muslim Americans are subject to role confusion as they go through adolescence and need a leadership role model to assist them through this stage.     

Devout Muslims or tough highlanders? Exploring attitudes toward ethnic nationalism and racism in Europe’s ethnic-Chechen Salafi communities

This is the first article that systematically deconstructs the idealised, widely shared view and formal self-representation of Salafis as a de-culturalised group of Muslim believers who are solely devoted to the idea of a uniform Muslim identity and are indifferent to the notions of ethnic nationalism and racism. Drawing on unique interviews with EU-based ethnic-Chechen émigré Salafis, the article illuminates the ways they draw boundaries and consequently construe their ethnic and racial identities as superior and opposed to Muslims stemming from the Middle East and Central Asia. Below the surface of coherent ideologically shaped self-representations, the diaspora Salafis’ identities reflect the idea of Chechnya’s mountainous topography being conducive to a superior ‘national mentality’, racial purity, and cultural uniqueness. Intriguingly, the diaspora-Chechen Salafis’ attitudes toward Middle Easterners and Central Asians employ a rhetoric which entails similarities with the notion of imagined geographies and to some extent resembles Western Orientalist discourse. In stark contrast to leading Salafi scholars’ statements emphasising a united Muslim identity, which are routinely echoed by outsiders, this article points out the maintenance of strong ethnic-nationalist and racist resentments amongst individual members of this religious community.     

Perceptions of the processes of radicalisation and de-radicalisation among British South Asian Muslims in a post-industrial city

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study exploring the perceptions of British South Asian Muslims in relation to the pathways towards radicalisation and the challenges of community leadership in relation to de-radicalisation. The study is based on in-depth interviews, using an ethnographic methodological framework, with a purposive sample of 30 Muslim men and women, including senior political figures, community leaders, religious figures and young Muslims (aged 18–25) from across the city of Birmingham, UK. The fieldwork was carried out between September 2005 and May 2007. Respondents reflected a general perspective that regards social exclusion, Islamophobia, lack of effective theological and political leadership, regressive anti-terror law and geo-political events as principal factors in the radicalisation and the de-radicalisation of British Muslims. These findings provide important insights into Muslims in Britain in relation to questions of ‘radicalism’ and politics, and they have specific implications for research, policy and practice in this area.     

How Australian Female Muslim Students Interpret Challenges in High School Sports

Abstract

The present study focuses on the experiences of female Muslim students in school sporting activities in Australian public high schools. Specifically, the study examines how the students interpret their engagement in relation to their Islamic background. The study aims to provide deeper understanding and greater awareness of female Muslim students’ participation in sporting activities within the public high school environment and the challenges they may face. The study employed critical race and social identity theories as an analytical framework. In addition, the study utilized qualitative research methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 female Muslim students and 4 teachers responsible for sporting activities in school. The findings of the study reveal that despite a variety of sporting activities provided by Australian public high schools, some of these activities were challenging for Muslim girls to participate in. The study also found that there is a strong relationship between students’ Islamic background and their participation in schools sporting activities. The study recommends that educators and teachers who work with youth from different background are provided training on equity issues arising from ethnicity, race, culture, religion and other identity categories.     

穆斯林社会的非穆斯林少数族群——他们的贡献、地位、权利与义务

穆斯林社会中的非穆斯林主要包括犹太教徒、基督教徒、祆教徒、印度教徒和佛教徒等。他们尽管属于少数族群,但却是整个穆斯林社会的重要组成部分。历史上,他们为穆斯林社会的发展做出了不可磨灭的贡献,近现代以来穆斯林社会的非穆斯林与穆斯林也大多能够和睦相处。非穆斯林享有信仰自由和宗教独立、不受外敌侵略和内部黑暗势力的侵害、自由择业等方面的权利。同时,非穆斯林必须遵守伊斯兰教法,缴纳人丁税、土地税和商税。穆斯林与非穆斯林关系和睦的深层原因在于伊斯兰教的宽容性。     

Ideal liberal subjects and Muslim “Others”: liberal nationalism and the racialization of Muslim youth in a progressive Danish school

Drawing on an ethnographic case study of Muslim youth in a Danish lower secondary school, this article explores teacher talk about Muslim immigrant students and how teachers engaged liberal ideals of respect, individualism, and equality in ways that racialized immigrant students. I consider moments of vacillation in teacher talk to explore tensions between teacher’s desires to assimilate immigrant students to national norms of belonging and their desires to be perceived as inclusive and ‘open.’ In doing so, I ask how visions of liberal schooling impose ideas of what a ‘normal’ citizen should be and how teachers produce ‘ideal’ liberal subjects in their talk and in the everyday practices of schools. I argue that teachers engage the ideals of abstract liberalism to establish a colorblind discourse of non-racism. While educators described the school as an idealized space where students are encouraged to freely express themselves, to develop unique individual outlooks, it was clear that this vision of ‘openness’ did not include Muslim students’ attachments to religious and cultural identities.     

The Diffusion and Innovation of Muslim Organizations in Denmark

Since 1965, the latest immigration to Denmark has not only brought new groups to the country but also resulted in new organizations, associations and movements established by people with Muslim background. In order to understand this extension and renewal of Danish civil society I distinguish between forms of organizations and forms of diffusion. The outcome of the analysis reveals four distinct clusters of Muslim organizations in Denmark: The first generation of Muslim associations was characterized by centralized state sponsored organizations, governed and financed by Arab countries and Turkey. The second generation of Muslim organizations took the form of transnational social movements and were often set up as a counterpart to the state sponsored organizations. The third wave of organization building, the so-called homegrown organizations, tried to unite Muslims in Denmark and worked for a dialog with the Danish majority. Most of the Muslim youth organizations belong to this category. However, some political Islamic youth organizations and networks have chosen an alternative strategy that challenges mainstream Danish institutions and values. The reaction of the government has been to tone down cooperation with representatives from the immigrant population and especially representatives from the Muslim minority.     

Islamic Law,Secular Law,and Societal Norms: The Recognition of Islamic Legal Practices in the Netherlands and the Protection of Muslim Women’s Human Rights

This article examines the extent to which Islamic law is accommodated in the Netherlands, by analysing legislation, case law, and the political discourse in the field of Islamic divorce, and focuses on the tension and proposed balance between gender equality and freedom of religion. It finds that, as the priority lies with protecting Muslim women’s rights, Muslim law in the Netherlands remains in the unofficial sphere, potentially alienating Muslim communities. This article explores whether and how Dutch law could continue to ensure respect for gender equality while working towards greater respect for a minority group’s cultural and religious freedom. Two options are presented in this regard: more responsibilities for Civil and Criminal courts, or the establishment of Sharia Councils. Lessons are drawn from the United Kingdom’s experiences.     

Supporting the democratic political organisation of Muslim immigrants: the perspective of Muslims in the Netherlands and Germany

Using data from three survey studies, this paper examines the support for the democratic political organisation of Muslims among Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands (Studies 1, 2, and 3) and Germany (Study 3). Using a social psychological perspective, support is examined in relation to religious group identification, Muslim linked fate, perceived discrimination, fundamentalist religious belief, and host national identification. The findings in all three studies show support for the political organisation of Muslims. Furthermore, higher religious group identification and higher linked fate were associated with stronger support. More discrimination and more fundamentalist beliefs were also associated with stronger support, and part of these associations was mediated by linked fate. National identification was not associated with support for the political organisation of Muslims.     

Religious Education at Crossroads in the United Kingdom: Muslim Responses to Registration,Regulation and Inspection

Madrasah education is the bedrock of Muslim communities the world over. They are established, in essence, for the religious, spiritual, moral and social development of Muslim children. Recently, the Department for Education in the UK issued a call for evidence for requiring certain out-of-school settings to be registered, regulated and inspected. Responses to this proposal have been varied, some welcoming it whilst others expressed serious concerns. This paper explores the trends in the responses made to these proposals by three Muslim organisations. It begins by providing a nuanced understanding of the terms maktab and madrasah and shows that the call is not a new one at all. Thereafter, the worry of many politicians, educators and faith groups are considered. The findings reveal that Muslim organisations support and welcome measures to strengthen the safeguarding and well-being of children. However, a summative analysis of their responses reveals that they have serious concerns about many aspects of the proposal and the context within which it has been conceived.     

Consequences of religious and secular boundaries among the majority population for perceived discrimination among Muslim minorities in Western Europe

While the concept of symbolic boundaries and ethnic boundary-making is well established in social research, the direct consequences of these boundaries for the integration of migrants have not received much attention. This paper thus analyses whether religious and secular boundaries of national belonging among the majority population have an impact on perceived discrimination among Muslim minorities in Western Europe. To analyse this linkage, data from the International Social Survey Programme measuring the importance of religion as a symbolic boundary of national belonging among the majority have been aggregated as a regional context condition and combined with a Muslim minority subsample from the European Social Survey. The results of the multilevel models reveal that the salience of religious boundaries is associated with less perceived discrimination among Muslim minorities, while secular orientations among the majority seem to be more decisive for subjective perceptions of feeling discriminated against. Overall, the results thus challenge the role of religion as an ethno-religious demarcation and point to the relevance of secular boundaries of belonging for immigrant integration.     

Tradition and transformation: Pakistani-heritage young people explore the influences upon their educational progress

This article explores the perspectives of Pakistani-heritage Muslim young people on their educational progress, against a background where Muslim students are monitored for their vulnerability to radicalisation. The literature offers competing explanations for the persistent inequalities in attainment among different minority-ethnic groups, but the voices of pupils themselves are seldom heard. In this study, young people offer their own explanations of distinctive aspects within the local attainment data, which run counter to national trends. The principal sources of data are extended discussions with 36 Pakistani-heritage young people, and a survey conducted by some of the young people among 165 of their peers. Analysed through a Bourdieuian lens, the findings indicate that these Muslim young people are motivated by a strong sense of habitus and religious identity that transcends the divisions of social class. Further, they are actively engaged in habitus transformation, which drives their educational aspirations but involves personal cost, dilemmas and constraints.     

Institutional Governance of Minority Religious Practices: Insights from a Study of Muslim Practices in Danish Schools

An increasing number of studies are concerned with the ways in which the religious practices of Europe's minority populations are accommodated on the political, national and local levels. In this article, I present a case study of Muslim practices in Danish schools. The study is an investigation of how and why six selected practices are governed in Danish schools: halal food, fasting, prayer, head scarves, holidays and mosques. The results underline the importance of the specific practice in question for the way in which it is governed: some practices are easily accommodated, while others are rejected outright by the schools. Furthermore, the study demonstrates how governance of Muslim practices is developed in the absence of national regulation and against the prevailing ideals in the Danish public debate. In fact, the governance developed seems to be a direct response to the number of Muslim children in school and in line with general school ideals of inclusion. However, the results also indicate that more direct involvement by local or national authorities might push schools to be more exclusive with regard to Muslim practices.     

To be or not to be an Australian: Focus on Muslim youth

In 2001, 67% of Australians identified themselves as Christians and only 1.5% as Muslims, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Other Australians are Jews, Buddhists and Hindus – to name just a few of the religious minorities. Since 1975 until recently when the Anti-Discrimination Act was legislated, multiculturalism has been the official policy of the Federal Government. Yet in these terror-ridden times, the policy – however interpreted – has well and truly fallen into disfavour. This article discusses both the historical and contemporary dimensions of Muslim Australians’ national identity, focusing particularly on Muslim youth. It examines how one group of Australian-born Muslims exhibited their national identity during the Second World War and how the newly arrived Muslims feel about their identity during the ‘War on Terror’. The article is based on both primary and secondary sources – particularly on oral testimonies.     

Imagining mobility: the prospective cognition question in migration research

Most migration research is focused on migrant experiences after mobility and settlement. We argue that empirical researchers would benefit from studying how cognitive migration, the narrative imagining of oneself inhabiting a foreign destination prior to the actual physical move, influences migration behaviour. This article notes a gap in our current understanding of the process by which individuals decide to cross international borders and offers an agenda for remedying this. The interdisciplinarity of migration research has not fully extended to social psychology or cognitive social sciences, where a dynamic research agenda has examined human decision-making processes, including prospection and the connections between culture and cognition. The study of socio-cognitive processes in migration decision-making has been largely overlooked because of the after-the-fact nature of data collection and analysis rather than an aversion to these approaches per se. We highlight a number of strategic findings from this diverse field, provide examples of migration scholarship that has benefited from these insights, and raise questions about the sides of migration process that have received insufficient attention. A more nuanced understanding of prospective thinking—imagining potential futures—can shed light on the classic puzzle of why some people move while others in comparable situations do not.