Social Work Education for Social Change: Exploring the Impacts of the Post-9/11 Sociopolitical Context

• In Event: Security, Democracy, and Learning: Exploring the Dialectics of In/Security in Educational Space

Abstract

A decade has passed since the initiation of the “war on terror” post 9/11. The Canadian government has instituted a series of anti-terrorism policies which have had multiple negative consequences for Arab and Muslim communities in Canada. Using a theoretical framework that integrates a number of critical perspectives including postcolonial, critical race, spatial, and structural violence theories, this paper provides an overview of Canada’s anti-terrorism policies (Anti-terrorism Act, security certificates, and Canada’s no-fly list) and critically examines the impact of the “war on terror” on Arabs and Muslims through a review of relevant Canadian literature. Findings from the literature illustrate that historical Orientalist discourses continue to operate in the public sphere. Studies have documented historical and contemporary negative portrayals of Arabs/Muslims in Canadian media constructing them as the enemy-other who are dehumanized, de-individualized, and are ultimately expendable.

Arab and Muslim community members have had variable reactions to these negative media representations including internalization, exploration of alternative media, active resistance and challenging dominant discourses. The politics of fear and insecurity inherent in the “war on terror” have justified multiple forms of violence enacted against Arabs/Muslims in Canada and abroad. Arabs and Muslims’ citizenship rights and civic engagement have been severely impacted. They have been the targets of increased levels of discrimination, various forms of racial profiling, human rights abuses, detentions without charge, and deportations. The “war on terror” impacts on the daily lives of Arabs/Muslims on several levels resulting in multiple complex responses among community members. Studies have shown the existence of pervasive feelings of fear and an internalized negative self-image associated with negative representations. High levels of suspicion, distrust, avoidance of the topic of 9/11, increased multi-ethnic tensions, as well as reactive cohesion and identity affirmation have been demonstrated among Muslims in Canada. More research is needed to better understand the meanings and experiences associated with the “war on terror” for Arab/Muslim diasporic communities in Canada to effectively engage the community and develop a range of interventions aimed at advocacy, social change, health promotion, prevention, and enhance community resilience.

The paper also explores social work’s role within this context offering alternatives for social work research, education, and practice. Social workers work across many sectors and encounter Arab and Muslim communities in their interactions with various systems such as education, health and mental health, child and family, corrections, and other community services. Despite the significant contributions of many disciplines, the profession of social work has maintained a curious scholarly silence about the issues affecting Arab/Muslim communities in the context of the “war on terror”. Social work educators have an ethical responsibility to engage with these issues and can play a key role in educating future social workers on their ethical, moral, and political obligations to social change, social justice, and contributing to community resilience and resistance. Social work education and practice needs to incorporate a more complex understanding of transnational identities, as well as global and local realities in working with Arab/Muslim communities within the post 9/11 Canadian context.

Author

• Sajedeh Zahraei, University of Toronto