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When Nowhere Is Safe: Experiences of Anti-blackness in Islamic Institutions
Abstract
This work examines the ways in which anti-Blackness manifests in U.S. Islamic institutions. During this ethnographic project, 22 participants who identified as part of the Islamic community in one city in the southwestern portion of the United States were interviewed; semistructured interviews and snowball sampling were used to obtain data. The findings in this paper are based on 22 attendees of two mosques and one private Islamic school whose interviews brought up the topic of colorism and discrimination as part of their experiences in the community. Research participants were parents of children in the Islamic school or weekend school program, former students, and former or current leaders in the community. Findings demonstrate that anti-blackness in Islamic community spaces often manifests through the targeting of Black children for perceived misbehavior in educational spaces and through practices of exclusion toward Black community members in social spaces.
Discipline
Anthropology
Education
Other
Geographic Area
Islamic World
Sub Area
None