Embodied Islamophobia: lived experiences of anti-Muslim discourses and assaults in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

ABSTRACT

This article examines embodied Islamophobia and aims to contribute to the scholarship on geographies of Islamophobia, as well as extend discussions on embodied geopolitics. Drawing on feminist work on emotional geopolitics, and Pain and Staeheli’s ‘intimacy-geopolitics’ (2014), I propose an analytical distinction between embodied and systematic Islamophobia. While systematic Islamophobia refers to the discursive and institutional dimensions, embodied Islamophobia signifies the ultimately lived and emotional experiences of anti-Muslim assaults in the context of the everyday. I argue that these are two related but distinct realms and that ‘intimacy-geopolitics’ implies the psychosocial effects of geopolitical phenomena. The article features from a phenomenological perspective the epistemological and political importance to call attention to how embodied Islamophobia effects young Muslims’ sense of self and belonging. Through person-centered ethnography, the article brings to forefront the very subjectivities and bodies that are the objects of anti-Muslim assault and violence. Focusing on the experiences of two siblings allows for in-depth consideration of the particular personal biographies and emotionally laden memories and experiences of growing up as Muslim in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the gendered dimension of Islamophobia, as well as how these connect to the city and broader geographies of Islamophobia and geopolitical events.

RÉSUMÉ

Cet article examine l’islamophobie incarnée et a pour but de contribuer à la recherche sur les géographies de l’islamophobie ainsi que d’élargir les discussions sur la géopolitique incarnée. En m’appuyant sur le travail féministe sur les géopolitiques émotionnelles et sur ‘intimacy-geopolitics’ (2014) de Pain et Staeheli, je propose une distinction analytique entre l’islamophobie incarnée et systématique. Alors que l’islamophobie systématique renvoie aux dimensions discursives et institutionnelles, l’islamophobie incarnée inclut les expériences émotionnelles et vécues d’agressions antimusulmanes dans le contexte de la vie de tous les jours. Je soutiens que les deux sont des domaines liés mais distincts et que « la géopolitique de l’intime » implique les effets psycho sociaux de phénomènes géopolitiques. L’article présente d’un point de vue phénoménologique l’importance épistémologique et politique d’attirer l’attention sur les effets de l’islamophobie incarnée sur la perception de soi et le sentiment d’appartenance des jeunes musulmans. A travers l’ethnographie basée sur la personne, cet article fait ressortir les subjectivités mêmes ainsi que les corps qui font l’objet d’agression et de violences antimusulmanes. Le fait de s’être concentré sur les expériences de deux frère et sœur permet une considération en profondeur des biographies personnelles particulières, des souvenirs chargés émotionnellement et des expériences vécues de musulmans grandissant à Milwaukee dans le Wisconsin, de la dimension sexuée de l’islamophobie ainsi que de savoir comment cela est relié à la ville, aux géographies de l’islamophobie en général et aux événements géopolitiques.

RESUMEN

Este artículo examina la islamofobia corporal y tiene como objetivo contribuir a la investigación sobre las geografías de la islamofobia, así como ampliar las discusiones sobre la geopolítica corporal. Basándose en el trabajo feminista sobre la geopolítica emocional, y en la ‘geopolítica de intimidad’ de Pain y Staeheli (2014), se propone una distinción analítica entre islamofobia corporal y la sistemática. Mientras que la islamofobia sistemática se refiere a las dimensiones discursivas e institucionales, la corporal se refiere a las experiencias vividas y emocionales de los ataques anti-musulmanes en el contexto cotidiano. Se sostiene que estos son dos ámbitos relacionados pero distintos y que la ‘intimidad-geopolítica’ presupone efectos psicosociales de fenómenos geopolíticos. El artículo presenta desde una perspectiva fenomenológica la importancia epistemológica y política para llamar la atención sobre cómo la islamofobia corporal afecta el sentido de ser uno mismo y el de pertenencia en los jóvenes musulmanes. A través de la etnografía centrada en la persona, el artículo pone en primer plano las mismas subjetividades y cuerpos que son objeto de asalto y violencia anti-musulmanes. El foco en las experiencias de dos hermanos permite una consideración profunda de biografías personales particulares y de recuerdos emocionalmente cargados y de experiencias de crecer como musulmanes en Milwaukee, Wisconsin, de la dimensión de género de la islamofobia, y también de la forma en que estos se conectan a la ciudad y a geografías más amplias de islamofobia y eventos geopolíticos.

KEYWORDS:

• Islamophobia
• Muslim geographies
• Muslim youth
• discrimination
• emotional geopolitics

MOTS CLÉS:

• islamophobie
• géographies musulmanes
• jeunes musulmans
• discrimination
• géopolitique émotionnelle

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• islamofobia
• geografías musulmanas
• juventud musulmana
• discriminación
• geopolítica emocional

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Correction

Acknowledgments

I am grateful for the interest the young people, who I have interviewed, have shown for my project and in particular the two youth whose life experiences I discuss in this article. I could not have written this article without their willingness and commitment to share their experiences and memories. I would also like to thank the Center for International Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for funding my research year as a Global Studies Fellow 2016–2017, and the collegial support from the cohort of Fellows that year. In addition, warm thanks to Kawtar Najib and Carmen Teeple Hopkins for organizing two great sessions on ‘Geographies of Islamophobia’ at the AAG in 2017, and their encouragement and close readings and invaluable comments on the article. The article has also benefitted greatly from the generous feedback from three anonymous reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The Southern Poverty Law Center estimates that in 2016 there were 917 hate groups in the entire country, including hate groups such as anti-immigrant, Holocaust denial, Ku Klux Klan and Black separatists. https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map (accessed 10/5/2017).

2. For a comparison between anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Britain, see Meer and Noorani (2008).

3. These are pseudonyms.

4. Recognizing the value of drawing on a few interviews to highlight the intricacies of subjective worlds and trajectories as they are embedded in particular social and political contexts is not new, but has been recognized across the social sciences regardless of applied theoretical perspectives (see, i.e. Linger, 2005; Lo, 2015; Mansson McGinty, 2006, 2013; Olmsted, 1997).

Additional information

Funding

I would also like to thank the Center for International Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for funding my research year as a Global Studies Fellow 2016–2017, and the collegial support from the cohort of Fellows that year.