Stigma Consciousness and Muslim American Identity

• In Event: Stigma and Constrained Political Agency

Abstract

There are many distinct social cleavages amongst Muslims in the U.S., particularly the range of countries Muslims from immigrant backgrounds come from. Yet, given the growing body evidence suggesting that Muslims are a racialized minority group, there are conditions that suggest they will attach to a collective group identity. What factors influence the likelihood of Muslims, particularly from diverse backgrounds, to attach to a Muslim group identity? This analysis takes into consideration the effects of a racialization on an individual’s propensity to attach to an identity that is stigmatized. Related to discrimination, stigma consciousness refers to the process whereby people are aware that they’re being targeted because of a social identity that is devalued (via experiences with discrimination) in specific contexts, in this case, recognizing they are being discriminated due to their Muslim identity. This paper discusses its relationship and distinction from related constructs, such as group consciousness. Drawing on survey work, the findings suggest that discrimination is an important predictor for increasing one’s propensity to identify as Muslim. Furthermore, stigma consciousness provides to be an important connection in understanding group identity, whereby not only is there attachment to Muslim identity, but respondents distance their attachment to dominant-group identity, when they hold a higher sense of stigma consciousness.

Author

• Nura Sediqe, Princeton University