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Understanding Islamophobic Violence in the Greater Toronto Area Through Qualitative Interviews and Arts-Based Inquiry

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Understanding Islamophobic Violence in the Greater Toronto Area Through Qualitative Interviews and Arts-Based Inquiry Invisible Violence Against Hypervisible Women: Understanding Islamophobic Violence in the Greater Toronto Area Through Qualitative Interviews and Arts-Based Inquiry by Sidrah Maysoon Ahmad A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Sidrah Maysoon Ahmad 2018 Invisible Violence Against Hypervisible Women: Understanding Islamophobic Violence in the Greater Toronto Area Through Qualitative Interviews and Arts-Based Inquiry Sidrah Maysoon Ahmad Master of Arts Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education University of Toronto 2018 Abstract Islamophobic violence against Muslim women is an understudied issue in Canada, even as it is increasing. Using an anti-colonial Muslim feminist theoretical framework and praxis, I conducted 21 interviews of Muslim women survivors of Islamophobic violence in the GTA, and analyzed these interviews to characterize the discourses that sanction Islamophobic violence; the different forms of Islamophobic violence and its impacts, including its relation to trauma; challenges for bystander intervention; and Muslim women’s strength and agency. Notably, several participants employed faith-based methods of understanding and responding to Islamophobic violence. Poetry by six Muslim women survivors of Islamophobic violence supplemented these findings by enriching them with emotional depth; this poetry will be included in a community toolkit on Islamophobic violence that will emerge from this study. Future research should continue to centre diverse Muslim women’s voices and focus on anti- colonial methods of challenging Islamophobia that focus on building relationships with Indigenous peoples. ii Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the late Solveiga Meitzis, professor at OISE. I completed my Master’s coursework part-time while I was working, so it has been 5 years in the making. The first Master’s course I took 5 years ago was called “Creativity and Wellness”, and it taught by Solveiga. The course began in September 2012, which was just over about a year after I had faced a significant trauma. Although I was feeling and functioning much better by the time I started at OISE, I was still living with post-traumatic stress. Solveiga’s course was an absolute gift. Not only was it a warm and positive way to re-enter academia, but it exposed me to the transformative power of art in healing. She also appreciated and encouraged my gifts in writing – both creative and academic. In a way, this Master’s thesis is an extension of Solveiga’s course. Indeed, I have incorporated an arts-based component to my research, through the poetry of Muslim women survivors of Islamophobic violence. And I brought my heart and spirit – not just my mind – into the research process, which Solveiga would have encouraged. It is my hope that Solveiga would be proud of this thesis that I have produced. I would also like to acknowledge my thesis supervisor Professor Jamie Magnusson. She took a chance on supervising me last year, when I decided to switch from the M.Ed. program to the M.A. in order to carry out a research project. She has given me tremendous encouragement throughout this process while demonstrating trust in my vision and my passion. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................. iv List of Tables........................................................................................................................................ viii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................ ix List of Appendices ................................................................................................................................. x Forward (Bismillah) ............................................................................................................................... xi PART 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: Locating Myself ......................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Self-Location as an Indigenous Research Method ............................................................... 2 1.2 My Positionality ................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 2: Rationale and Literature Review ............................................................................ 6 2.1 Prior Research on Islamophobic Violence Against Muslim Women ................................... 6 2.2 Central Concepts .................................................................................................................. 7 2.2.1 Islamophobia ................................................................................................................. 7 2.2.2 Gendered Islamophobia .............................................................................................. 14 2.2.3 Colonization of Indigenous Peoples ............................................................................ 19 2.3 Important Terminology ...................................................................................................... 23 2.3.1 Hijab ............................................................................................................................ 23 2.3.2 Niqab ........................................................................................................................... 24 2.3.3 Abaya ........................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 3: Theoretical Frameworks ........................................................................................ 25 3.1 Intersectionality .................................................................................................................. 25 3.2 Anti-colonial Muslim Feminism ........................................................................................ 27 Chapter 4: Methodology and Methods ..................................................................................... 31 4.1 Qualitative Interviews ........................................................................................................ 31 4.2 Arts-Based Inquiry ............................................................................................................. 33 4.3 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 34 PART 2: Surviving Islamophobic Violence in the GTA ................................................................. 38 Chapter 5: Who is Facing Islamophobic Violence in the GTA? ............................................ 39 5.1 Challenging the image of the ‘model Muslimah minority’ ................................................ 39 5.2 Demographic Features of Participants in the Study ........................................................... 43 5.2.1 Age ............................................................................................................................... 44 iv 5.2.2 Motherhood ................................................................................................................. 46 5.2.3 Racialization ............................................................................................................... 47 5.2.4 Immigrant Status ......................................................................................................... 49 5.2.5 Language Barriers ...................................................................................................... 50 5.2.6 Visible Muslims ........................................................................................................... 51 5.2.7 Non-visible Muslims .................................................................................................... 57 5.2.8 Lower Income .............................................................................................................. 59 5.2.9 Trauma History ........................................................................................................... 61 5.2.10 Religious Identity ....................................................................................................... 62 5.3 A Note About Perpetrators ................................................................................................. 62 Chapter 6: The Nature of Islamophobic Violence ................................................................... 66 6.1 Discourses that ‘Permit’ Violence Against Muslimahs ..................................................... 66 6.1.1 Muslims-as-Animals .................................................................................................... 66 6.1.2 Muslims-as-Satanic ..................................................................................................... 68 6.1.3 Muslims-as-Invaders ................................................................................................... 70 6.1.4 Muslims-as-Terrorists ................................................................................................
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