Islamophobia as a Form of Radicalisation discusses the scope and fragmented boundaries of Islamop... more Islamophobia as a Form of Radicalisation discusses the scope and fragmented boundaries of Islamophobia as a concept and a sociopolitical reality. The fifteen chapters of this collection cover and connect interdisciplinary research, media content analyses, media discourse analysis, ethnographic research, intersectoral advocacy work, and action research conducted in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. Confronted with an Islamophobia that is growing as a symptom of broader societal malaise in the West, a resistance against it is also arising. It is now a question of better understanding the foundations and mechanism of this metasolidarity and resistance. Islamophobia as a Form of Radicalisation offers recommendations for urgent consideration by Muslim citizens of Canada and Europe, media professionals, civil society and academic stakeholders, policymakers at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, and academics.
Building on our critiques of the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities in Canada (see ... more Building on our critiques of the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities in Canada (see Selby et al., 2018a ; Beaman, 2017 ; Barras, 2016), this paper argues for attention to processes as intrinsic to everyday interactions of religiosity (following Tully, 1995, 2000 ; Van Quaquebeke et al., 2007). We contend that frameworks like Maclure and Taylor’s (2010) on ‘open’ and ‘closed’ secularism are useful for nation state comparison, but ineffectively account for the power asymmetries lodged within everyday religiosity. Their model protects the status quo ; it does not call institutional values or procedures into question, erases the navigation that occurs before an ‘accommodation’ is requested, and entrenches conflict as reflective of the experiences of religious minorities. Based on interviews with 90 self-defined Muslims in two cities, we propose a model of navigation and negotiation to better capture how religious practices are contextual and embedded in power relations.
With reference to a qualitative study on everyday religiosity among Muslims in St. John's, Ca... more With reference to a qualitative study on everyday religiosity among Muslims in St. John's, Canada, this paper examines trends in academic sources and public policy on Islam that over-privilege the most committed practitioners, thereby narrowly depicting “Muslimness.” I situate this overemphasis by reflecting on what Mamdani calls “culture talk,” an essentializing discourse heightened in the post-9/11 west (c.f. Shryock on “Islamophilia”). Interview data, along with a trend in social scientific research on Muslims that emphasize the most pious and the outcomes following the Ontario “Boyd Report” and the Quebecois “Bouchard–Taylor Report” show the pervasiveness of culture talk that erases Muslim multiplicity.
This paper examines the 2010 Gerin Report on the prevalence and dangers of donning the voile inté... more This paper examines the 2010 Gerin Report on the prevalence and dangers of donning the voile intégral (full-face veils, namely niqabs and burqas) in the Republic to consider the implications of its configuration of Islam in France. With reference to five other recent reports and commissions in France on the visibility and appropriateness of religious signs in the public sphere, I suggest that the Gerin Report differs in two significant ways. First, the Report does not explicitly promote French secularism. While laïcité is underscored as integral to a vivre-ensemble (living together), the document positions full-face coverings not as religious symbols but as political, Islamist signs. Second, the Report singularly focuses on disputed Islamic head-coverings and, with reference to religious experts, carefully constructs niqabs and burqas as outside of theologically “proper” Republican Islam. Following consideration of these two features, I conclude by pointing to how the Gerin Report's politicization of the voile intégral is reflected in recent citizenship decisions and through the interactions of a large French feminist organization with Muslim women in a Parisian banlieue (suburb).
This article maps the repercussions of the use of reasonable accommodation, a recent framework re... more This article maps the repercussions of the use of reasonable accommodation, a recent framework referenced inside and outside Canadian courtrooms to respond to religiously framed differences. Drawing on three cases from Ontario and Quebec, we trace how the notion of reasonable accommodation—now invoked by the media and in public discourse—has moved beyond its initial legal moorings. After outlining the cases, we critique the framework with attention to its tendency to create theological arbitrators who assess reasonableness, and for how it rigidifies ‘our values’ in hierarchical ways. We propose an alternative model that focuses on navigation and negotiation and that emphasizes belonging, inclusion and lived religion.
Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment ... more Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment par photocopie, n'est autorisée que dans les limites des conditions générales d'utilisation du site ou, le cas échéant, des conditions générales de la licence souscrite par votre établissement. Toute autre reproduction ou représentation, en tout ou partie, sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit, est interdite sauf accord préalable et écrit de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Il est précisé que son stockage dans une base de données est également interdit.
Building on our critiques of the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities in Canada (see ... more Building on our critiques of the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities in Canada (see Selby et al., 2018a ; Beaman, 2017 ; Barras, 2016), this paper argues for attention to processes as intrinsic to everyday interactions of religiosity (following Tully, 1995, 2000 ; Van Quaquebeke et al., 2007). We contend that frameworks like Maclure and Taylor’s (2010) on ‘open’ and ‘closed’ secularism are useful for nation state comparison, but ineffectively account for the power asymmetries lodged within everyday religiosity. Their model protects the status quo ; it does not call institutional values or procedures into question, erases the navigation that occurs before an ‘accommodation’ is requested, and entrenches conflict as reflective of the experiences of religious minorities. Based on interviews with 90 self-defined Muslims in two cities, we propose a model of navigation and negotiation to better capture how religious practices are contextual and embedded in power relations.
Aaron W. Hughes’s monograph, From Seminary to University: An Institutional History of the Study o... more Aaron W. Hughes’s monograph, From Seminary to University: An Institutional History of the Study of Religion in Canada, argues that, unlike other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, the study of religion in Canada is imbricated with nation-state politics. The creation of Canada’s initial seminaries post-Confederation served to establish Christianity as normative. By the 1960s, these seminaries were largely replaced with departments that aimed to promote national values of multiculturalism and diversity. In her critique, Selby commends the book’s convincing argument and impressive historical archival work, and critiques the book’s limited engagement with the politics of settler colonialism and scholarly contributions in the province of Québec.
Les personnes de confession musulmane en général et les femmes musulmanes en particulier – plus e... more Les personnes de confession musulmane en général et les femmes musulmanes en particulier – plus encore celles d’entre elles installées en Occident –, se trouvent face à une situation délicate : elles sont quotidiennement confrontées à des figures hégémoniques. Dans cet article, nous examinons comment ces figures affectent la vie de nos participantes musulmanes canadiennes, et comment ces mêmes figures délimitent, dans une certaine mesure, les discours et actions de nos participantes. Notre réflexion s’ancre dans l’étude de trois archétypes masculins qui ont émergé inductivement lors de nos analyses, à savoir : le Terroriste, l’Homme éclairé et le Patriarche. Ceux-ci apparaissent régulièrement dans les interactions quotidiennes de nos participantes. Nous nous intéressons en particulier à leurs manières de réagir à ces figures : dans certains cas, elles les (re)produisent ou activent des figures féminines qui répondent à ces figures masculines ; dans d’autres, elles se les (ré)appropr...
This paper maps the repercussions of the use of reasonable accommodation, a recent framework refe... more This paper maps the repercussions of the use of reasonable accommodation, a recent framework referenced inside and outside Canadian courtrooms to respond to religiously framed differences. Drawing on three cases from Ontario and Que-bec, we trace how the notion of reasonable accommodation—now invoked by the media and in public discourse—has moved beyond its initial legal moorings. After outlining the cases, we critique the framework with attention to its tendency to create theological arbitrators who assess reasonableness, and for how it rigidifies 'our values' in hierarchical ways. We propose an alternative model that focuses on navigation and negotiation and that emphasizes belonging, inclusion and lived religion.
Heated discussion in the media, costly and laborious government commissions , and restrictive leg... more Heated discussion in the media, costly and laborious government commissions , and restrictive legal recommendations in France and Québec, Canada, have recently focused on the undesirability of face-covering veils (burqas and niqabs) in the public sphere. This article charts how these sites have, at the same time, concretized a contrasting idealized presentation of a desirable secular female body.
is article examines the prevalence of transnational cousin marriage in a Parisian suburb to consi... more is article examines the prevalence of transnational cousin marriage in a Parisian suburb to consider its implications in reproducing "traditional" Muslim cultural identities among new immigrant women in France. In charting these marriages and tracing the migratory experiences of several rst-generation women from North Africa to a Parisian banlieue (suburb) where I undertook extensive eldwork, I consider why "traditional" Muslim women remain the ideal marriage partners for second and third generation French Muslim men of Maghrebian origin and their families. ese brides have become emblematic of perceptions of cultural and religious purity in the diaspora in the face of dominant laïque discourses, o en centralized on the hijab and Muslim women's "oppression. " I conclude that these women's bodies become symbolic armatures amidst ercely debated gender politics and Maghrebian Muslim cultural values.
Islamophobia as a Form of Radicalisation discusses the scope and fragmented boundaries of Islamop... more Islamophobia as a Form of Radicalisation discusses the scope and fragmented boundaries of Islamophobia as a concept and a sociopolitical reality. The fifteen chapters of this collection cover and connect interdisciplinary research, media content analyses, media discourse analysis, ethnographic research, intersectoral advocacy work, and action research conducted in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. Confronted with an Islamophobia that is growing as a symptom of broader societal malaise in the West, a resistance against it is also arising. It is now a question of better understanding the foundations and mechanism of this metasolidarity and resistance. Islamophobia as a Form of Radicalisation offers recommendations for urgent consideration by Muslim citizens of Canada and Europe, media professionals, civil society and academic stakeholders, policymakers at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, and academics.
Building on our critiques of the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities in Canada (see ... more Building on our critiques of the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities in Canada (see Selby et al., 2018a ; Beaman, 2017 ; Barras, 2016), this paper argues for attention to processes as intrinsic to everyday interactions of religiosity (following Tully, 1995, 2000 ; Van Quaquebeke et al., 2007). We contend that frameworks like Maclure and Taylor’s (2010) on ‘open’ and ‘closed’ secularism are useful for nation state comparison, but ineffectively account for the power asymmetries lodged within everyday religiosity. Their model protects the status quo ; it does not call institutional values or procedures into question, erases the navigation that occurs before an ‘accommodation’ is requested, and entrenches conflict as reflective of the experiences of religious minorities. Based on interviews with 90 self-defined Muslims in two cities, we propose a model of navigation and negotiation to better capture how religious practices are contextual and embedded in power relations.
With reference to a qualitative study on everyday religiosity among Muslims in St. John's, Ca... more With reference to a qualitative study on everyday religiosity among Muslims in St. John's, Canada, this paper examines trends in academic sources and public policy on Islam that over-privilege the most committed practitioners, thereby narrowly depicting “Muslimness.” I situate this overemphasis by reflecting on what Mamdani calls “culture talk,” an essentializing discourse heightened in the post-9/11 west (c.f. Shryock on “Islamophilia”). Interview data, along with a trend in social scientific research on Muslims that emphasize the most pious and the outcomes following the Ontario “Boyd Report” and the Quebecois “Bouchard–Taylor Report” show the pervasiveness of culture talk that erases Muslim multiplicity.
This paper examines the 2010 Gerin Report on the prevalence and dangers of donning the voile inté... more This paper examines the 2010 Gerin Report on the prevalence and dangers of donning the voile intégral (full-face veils, namely niqabs and burqas) in the Republic to consider the implications of its configuration of Islam in France. With reference to five other recent reports and commissions in France on the visibility and appropriateness of religious signs in the public sphere, I suggest that the Gerin Report differs in two significant ways. First, the Report does not explicitly promote French secularism. While laïcité is underscored as integral to a vivre-ensemble (living together), the document positions full-face coverings not as religious symbols but as political, Islamist signs. Second, the Report singularly focuses on disputed Islamic head-coverings and, with reference to religious experts, carefully constructs niqabs and burqas as outside of theologically “proper” Republican Islam. Following consideration of these two features, I conclude by pointing to how the Gerin Report's politicization of the voile intégral is reflected in recent citizenship decisions and through the interactions of a large French feminist organization with Muslim women in a Parisian banlieue (suburb).
This article maps the repercussions of the use of reasonable accommodation, a recent framework re... more This article maps the repercussions of the use of reasonable accommodation, a recent framework referenced inside and outside Canadian courtrooms to respond to religiously framed differences. Drawing on three cases from Ontario and Quebec, we trace how the notion of reasonable accommodation—now invoked by the media and in public discourse—has moved beyond its initial legal moorings. After outlining the cases, we critique the framework with attention to its tendency to create theological arbitrators who assess reasonableness, and for how it rigidifies ‘our values’ in hierarchical ways. We propose an alternative model that focuses on navigation and negotiation and that emphasizes belonging, inclusion and lived religion.
Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment ... more Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment par photocopie, n'est autorisée que dans les limites des conditions générales d'utilisation du site ou, le cas échéant, des conditions générales de la licence souscrite par votre établissement. Toute autre reproduction ou représentation, en tout ou partie, sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit, est interdite sauf accord préalable et écrit de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Il est précisé que son stockage dans une base de données est également interdit.
Building on our critiques of the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities in Canada (see ... more Building on our critiques of the reasonable accommodation of religious minorities in Canada (see Selby et al., 2018a ; Beaman, 2017 ; Barras, 2016), this paper argues for attention to processes as intrinsic to everyday interactions of religiosity (following Tully, 1995, 2000 ; Van Quaquebeke et al., 2007). We contend that frameworks like Maclure and Taylor’s (2010) on ‘open’ and ‘closed’ secularism are useful for nation state comparison, but ineffectively account for the power asymmetries lodged within everyday religiosity. Their model protects the status quo ; it does not call institutional values or procedures into question, erases the navigation that occurs before an ‘accommodation’ is requested, and entrenches conflict as reflective of the experiences of religious minorities. Based on interviews with 90 self-defined Muslims in two cities, we propose a model of navigation and negotiation to better capture how religious practices are contextual and embedded in power relations.
Aaron W. Hughes’s monograph, From Seminary to University: An Institutional History of the Study o... more Aaron W. Hughes’s monograph, From Seminary to University: An Institutional History of the Study of Religion in Canada, argues that, unlike other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, the study of religion in Canada is imbricated with nation-state politics. The creation of Canada’s initial seminaries post-Confederation served to establish Christianity as normative. By the 1960s, these seminaries were largely replaced with departments that aimed to promote national values of multiculturalism and diversity. In her critique, Selby commends the book’s convincing argument and impressive historical archival work, and critiques the book’s limited engagement with the politics of settler colonialism and scholarly contributions in the province of Québec.
Les personnes de confession musulmane en général et les femmes musulmanes en particulier – plus e... more Les personnes de confession musulmane en général et les femmes musulmanes en particulier – plus encore celles d’entre elles installées en Occident –, se trouvent face à une situation délicate : elles sont quotidiennement confrontées à des figures hégémoniques. Dans cet article, nous examinons comment ces figures affectent la vie de nos participantes musulmanes canadiennes, et comment ces mêmes figures délimitent, dans une certaine mesure, les discours et actions de nos participantes. Notre réflexion s’ancre dans l’étude de trois archétypes masculins qui ont émergé inductivement lors de nos analyses, à savoir : le Terroriste, l’Homme éclairé et le Patriarche. Ceux-ci apparaissent régulièrement dans les interactions quotidiennes de nos participantes. Nous nous intéressons en particulier à leurs manières de réagir à ces figures : dans certains cas, elles les (re)produisent ou activent des figures féminines qui répondent à ces figures masculines ; dans d’autres, elles se les (ré)appropr...
This paper maps the repercussions of the use of reasonable accommodation, a recent framework refe... more This paper maps the repercussions of the use of reasonable accommodation, a recent framework referenced inside and outside Canadian courtrooms to respond to religiously framed differences. Drawing on three cases from Ontario and Que-bec, we trace how the notion of reasonable accommodation—now invoked by the media and in public discourse—has moved beyond its initial legal moorings. After outlining the cases, we critique the framework with attention to its tendency to create theological arbitrators who assess reasonableness, and for how it rigidifies 'our values' in hierarchical ways. We propose an alternative model that focuses on navigation and negotiation and that emphasizes belonging, inclusion and lived religion.
Heated discussion in the media, costly and laborious government commissions , and restrictive leg... more Heated discussion in the media, costly and laborious government commissions , and restrictive legal recommendations in France and Québec, Canada, have recently focused on the undesirability of face-covering veils (burqas and niqabs) in the public sphere. This article charts how these sites have, at the same time, concretized a contrasting idealized presentation of a desirable secular female body.
is article examines the prevalence of transnational cousin marriage in a Parisian suburb to consi... more is article examines the prevalence of transnational cousin marriage in a Parisian suburb to consider its implications in reproducing "traditional" Muslim cultural identities among new immigrant women in France. In charting these marriages and tracing the migratory experiences of several rst-generation women from North Africa to a Parisian banlieue (suburb) where I undertook extensive eldwork, I consider why "traditional" Muslim women remain the ideal marriage partners for second and third generation French Muslim men of Maghrebian origin and their families. ese brides have become emblematic of perceptions of cultural and religious purity in the diaspora in the face of dominant laïque discourses, o en centralized on the hijab and Muslim women's "oppression. " I conclude that these women's bodies become symbolic armatures amidst ercely debated gender politics and Maghrebian Muslim cultural values.
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