Creating my own Sister’s Area: Experiencing and Researching Anti-Muslim Racism as a Muslim Woman and Mother

• In Event: Muslim Womens' Doctoral Journeys in Education Research

Abstract

Objectives or purposes
The purpose of this research study was to understand the experiences of Muslim public school educators. I conducted 13 empathy interviews with Muslim public school educators, 12 of whom self-identified as female. I used two tools, the Social Identity Map and analytic memos, to help me explore how my experience as a scholar and researcher has shaped my intersecting identities as a Muslim-American woman and mother.
2. Perspectives or theoretical framework
Liberatory Design is “an approach to addressing equity challenges and chang[ing] efforts in complex systems” that is meant to investigate “deeper causes produced by systemic oppression” (National Equity Project, 2023). MusCrit is “a means to explore the experiences of Muslim Americans with a CRT [Critical Race Theory] lens by sharing six tenets that are unique to the lived reality of this demographic” (Ali, 2022a, p. 343).
3. Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
Narrative discourse is how stories are told and presented and is important to analyzing stories (Alleyne, 2015). The Social Identity Map was a starting place to guide me as a researcher to explicitly identify and reflect on my social identity (Jacobson et al., 2019).
4. Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials
The primary data sources are in-depth narrative interview transcripts and analytic memos. I used a script of six questions. Memos helped me “clarify thinking on a research topic, provide a mechanism for the articulation of assumptions and subjective perspectives about the area of research, and facilitate the development of the study design” (Birks et al., 2008, p. 69).
5. Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/point of view
This research identified a problem of practice: Anti-Muslim leadership practices manifest at different levels of school systems and create experiences for Muslim public school educators in which they (1) face biased school-based policies and practices that alienate them, (2) encounter microaggressions and religious discrimination from colleagues, (3) are forced to debunk misconceptions about Muslims and teach about Islam to the greater community, (4) need to support the Muslim community to help Muslim families navigate the school system, and (5) must convey public Dawah to overcome these challenges.
6. Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work
Memos and narrative coding helped me create counternarratives, focusing on the stories, the lived experiences, and the community of American Muslim public educators. Muslim women opened up to me and saw me as their Muslim sister. I realized it was primarily because they felt safe with me, as they saw me as a fellow sister praying in the women’s area of the mosque. Storytelling and writing helped me process the anti-Muslim racism I experienced after October 7. In researching for my knowledge review, I had an explosion of ideas and so many connections I can see between how anti-Muslim racism has impacted the community, the Muslim community, and how Muslims perceive themselves. As a mother, my son experienced anti-Muslim racism, and helping him process his emotions and experiences.

Author

• Ambereen Khan-Baker, National Education Association