DIY citizenship amongst young Muslims: experiences of the ‘ordinary’

Abstract

Debates abound about low levels of engagement in mainstream civic life on the part of young Muslims from immigrant backgrounds living in non-Muslim majority countries. This paper investigates the emergent types of civic practice enacted by first or second generation Australian youth of major Muslim migrant communities, and suggests that in order to better understand the commonly identified problem of low levels of civic participation amongst this group it is necessary to situate the debate in broader conceptual frameworks regarding the shift towards ‘do-it-yourself’ citizenship on the part of the current generation. The paper argues for a focus on practices of youth cultural production and consumption, civic networks in everyday spaces, and work on the self as new forms of civic engagement, drawing on qualitative research with 80 young Muslims, who are outside both radical and mainstream formal associational practice.

Keywords:

• civic engagement
• young Muslims
• participation
• citizenship
• minority youth

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the research team: Anna Makrenoglou, Ameera Karimshah, Youssef Youssef, Sajida Tilley, Arif Hussein, Kawthar Girach and Zahra Al Sayoud.