Creating Space for Muslim Women Stories in Higher Education: An Autoethnography

• In Event: Loud and Clear: Female Muslim Scholarship on the Muslim American Educational Experience

Abstract

Introduction and Purpose
In this paper, I engage in an autoethnographic inquiry to understand my experiences as a Muslim woman, a graduate student and a graduate teaching assistant of pre-service teachers in a predominantly white institution in the US. The purpose of this work is to examine my pedagogical practices as the only Muslim woman among a team of faculty teaching in the program. I argue that understanding and representing my experiences within this social and cultural context will allow me to claim space for my story (Ali, 2022) in a way that will help center Muslim experiences in my institution and beyond. Additionally, I believe that the transformative impact this work will have on my teaching will help my students better understand Muslim experiences in the U.S as they embark on teaching Muslim children in their future classrooms.
Theoretical Framework
This work is informed by Muscrit (Ali, 2022) and postcolonial theory, particularly the concept of the ‘Orient’ (Said, 1979). Ali (2022) explains the how identifiability plays a crucial role in making Muslim experiences unique. I draw on this tenet in analyzing my own experiences as one of very few hijabi graduate students in my PhD program, and the only one among the team of faculty in the program where I teach.
Said (1979) describes how the West had long ago created the mythical notion of the ‘Orient’ by subordinating and exoticizing ‘the East’ (including all the is Islamic) in its textual and artistic representations. As I analyze my practices in utilizing classroom materials that ‘represent’ Muslims, I examine how orientalist narratives are still impacting dominant views of Muslims as the ‘exotic, barbaric other’. Doing this will help me claim space for retelling Muslim stories (Ali, 2021) in my class.
Mode of Inquiry
I employ autoethnography as my mode of inquiry by engaging in a journey of self-exploration and interrogation, in an attempt to understand myself in relation to ‘others’ (Starr, 2010). Autoethnography gives me a space to draw on my experiences within a context where Muslim identities are politicized, racialized, and othered. My goal is to transform my pedagogical practices (Belbase et al., 2008) as I prepare teachers who are mostly white to teach a diverse body of students (potentially including Muslim students) in their future classrooms.
Conclusion and Significance
This paper contributes to the main theme of the conference, dismantling racial injustice. Through investigating my experiences as a ‘visibly’ Muslim woman in a predominantly white space, I attempt to highlight the ways in which my Muslim identity is continuously racialized (Ali, 2021) and othered in that space. In pursuing this inquiry, I am hoping to invite allies for a collective retelling of our stories as Muslims in a system where they are either overlooked or demonized. This retelling of our stories will help us imagine new spaces for ourselves and other groups whose identities and experiences are marginalized by the same system and would like to join the conversation.

Author

• Alia Shalaby, Pennsylvania State University