Islamaphobia in Scotland: A rearticulation with race and racism

Abstract

Through a qualitative analysis of interviews with Muslim women living in two Scottish cities, this research attempts to problematise a number of assumptions relating to Islamophobia, race and racism in Scotland today. It draws on both empirical data and a number of theoretical strands to critique liberalism’s simultaneous reliance on and dismissal of race, upon which I argue the contemporary defence of Islamophobia relies. I discuss the framing of Islamophobia as hate crime, and the limitations this places on our understanding of racism more widely. I then explore the role that visibility plays in the racialisation of Muslim women, and how this may explain particular patterns in Islamophobic attacks. The final chapter engages with place to look at how perceptions of Scotland underpin the ways in which Islamophobia can and cannot be talked about. My conclusion makes the case for a reconceptualisation of Islamophobia which is able to contribute to anti-racist work already being done by Muslim women in Scotland, and points to the need for further research into the gendering of Islamophobia as a form of cultural racism.