“With religion and gender at the heart of moral panics across Britain and Europe, threats Veiled from hijabs to jihadi brides, Rashid’s work could scarcely be more timely, or more necessary.” Claire Alexander, University of Manchester, UK Veiled Threats “This much-needed critical analysis is a major contribution to our understanding of the complex ways that the figure of the Muslim woman is debated, instructed, Representing the Muslim Woman feared, and fetishized.” in Public Policy Discourses Arun Kundnani, author of The Muslims are Coming! Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on Terror “Rashid skilfully challenges simplistic accounts of ‘the Muslim woman’ and reveals the complex and situated interplay of gender, race, religion, class and Naaz Rashid culture in contemporary Britain” Suki Ali, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK Naaz Rashid “A challenging exposition of how Muslim women are represented in policy discourses and in the wider society. It reminds us that there is a need for clear, intelligent and critical analysis of this important social issue.” John Solomos, University of Warwick, UK “Provides an excellent lens to look at future political initiatives that focus on Islam and successfully deconstructs the artificial and biased idealistic construction of ‘the Muslim woman’ in UK policy.” Anna Piela, Leeds Trinity University, UK As Muslim women continue to be a focus of media-led debate, Naaz Rashid uses original scholarship and empirical research to examine how Muslim women are represented in social policy discourse and how the trope of the Muslim woman is situated within national debates about Britishness, the death of multiculturalism and global concerns over international terrorism. Analysing the relevance of class, citizenship status, and regional differences, Veiled threats is a valuable addition to the burgeoning literature on Muslims in the UK post 9/11. It will be of interest to academics and students in public and social policy, race equality, gender, and faith-based policy. Dr Naaz Rashid is currently a Teaching Fellow at the School of Law, Politics and Sociology at the University of Sussex. She has previously worked in central government and has held academic posts at the University of Manchester and the LSE where she obtained her PhD in 2013. RACE AND ETHNICITY / SOCIAL STUDIES ISBN 978-1-4473-2517-8 www.policypress.co.uk @policypress PolicyPress 9 781447 325178 RASHID_Veiled threats_PPC.indd 1 5/9/2016 4:42:21 PM VEILED THREATS Representing ‘the Muslim woman’ in UK public policy discourses Naaz Rashid First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Policy Press North America office: University of Bristol Policy Press 1-9 Old Park Hill c/o The University of Chicago Press Bristol 1427 East 60th Street BS2 8BB Chicago, IL 60637, USA UK t: +1 773 702 7700 +44 (0)117 954 5940 f: +1 773 702 9756 [email protected] [email protected] www.policypress.co.uk www.press.uchicago.edu © Policy Press 2016 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 978-1-4473-2517-8 hardcover ISBN 978-1-4473-2519-2 ePub ISBN 978-1-4473-2520-8 Mobi The right of Naaz Rashid to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of Policy Press. The statements and opinions contained within this publication are solely those of the author and not of the University of Bristol or Policy Press. The University of Bristol and Policy Press disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any material published in this publication. Policy Press works to counter discrimination on grounds of gender, race, disability, age and sexuality. Cover design by Policy Press Front cover image: Ernesto Costanzo Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY Policy Press uses environmentally responsible print partners Contents Acknowledgements v About the author vii Prologue: Veiled threats? viii one ‘Muslim women: your country needs you!’ 1 Gendering the UK’s ‘War on Terror’ two Gendered nationalisms: the ‘true’ clash of civilisations? 19 three Tales of the city: diversity in diversity, working between 43 and within local differences four Giving the silent majority a stronger voice? 73 five As a mother and a Muslim: maternalism and neoliberal 105 empowerment six A community of communities: privileging religion 131 seven The Muslim woman: victims of oppression or agents 159 of change? Epilogue: Some reflections on Prevent 177 Bibliography 187 Index 211 iii Acknowledgements Many people have been involved in supporting me through the research process and the eventual publication of this book. First and foremost I am grateful to the research participants for their time and generosity. I admire many of them for the work they do with such passion and commitment and hope they will not find this book too critical. Many thanks to Laura Vickers and the staff at Policy Press; and thanks also to Ernesto Costanzo for producing the cover design which was adapted from an original image by Sam McDonald. I would like to thank Suki Ali for her support, enthusiasm and guidance throughout the doctoral process and LSE for providing research studentships which helped fund my studies. I am also grateful to Claire Alexander for her unstinting generosity in supporting early career academics working in the field of ‘race’. Thanks also to my PhD examiners Avtar Brah and John Solomos for their positive feedback and encouragement. I am also deeply grateful to the anonymous reviewer for their enthusiastic comments about this book. I have benefitted greatly from being part of various early career academic networks such as REPS and NYLON with colleagues at LSE and Goldsmiths. Academic comradeship and camaraderie has come from Des Fitzgerald, Ajmal Hussain, Malcolm James, Hannah Jones, Helen Kim, Christy Kulz, Sanjiv Lingayah, Manal Massalha, Nabila Munawar, Victoria Redclift and Christine Scharff. Special thanks go to Malcolm James for sharing the everyday conviviality and angst of PhD student life. At the University of Manchester I would like to thank Wendy Bottero, Vallu Sivamohan, Bethan Harries and Katy Sian for making the commute worthwhile. I am grateful to the Department of Sociology at the University of Sussex for making it possible to finish this book. I would also like to thank the MSc ‘ladies’ (not all of whom were) at Birkbeck College. Discussions with Kalpana Wilson, Joelle Maulguet, Monique Charles and Christine Ru Pert-em-Hru felt like coming home. I would like to extend particular thanks to Yasmeen Narayan for encouraging me to embark on doctoral studies; the thought had genuinely never occurred to me previously. For intellectual sparring beyond the academy, many thanks to Michael Thomas, Hardip Begol and Sergio Palacios who, despite our many disagreements, have helped keep my mind keen and alert through our many protracted but always stimulating debates. I would also like to thank my students, particularly those at LSE, for their interest in my work. v Veiled threats Much love goes to Howard Doble for his unwavering practical, intellectual, and emotional support throughout every stage of the process. Words alone cannot do justice but I am grateful to him (and our feline friends) for keeping our home a place of comfort and calm during otherwise difficult times. Finally, I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of my much loved and deeply missed parents, Anowara Begum and Mohammad Abdur Rashid. I hope you would have been proud. vi About the author Dr Naaz Rashid is currently a Teaching Fellow at the School of Law, Politics and Sociology at the University of Sussex. She previously worked in central government and has held positions as a Research Associate in the Sociology Department at the University of Manchester and as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she completed her PhD in 2013. She has also previously studied at Birkbeck College and SOAS at the University of London and at the University of Cambridge. Her research interests include ‘race’, gender, religion, urban studies, and social policy. She has had her work published in Ethnic and Racial Studies, as well as in Open Democracy and The Guardian. vii Veiled threats PROLOGUE Veiled threats? I was standing in the courtyard garden of the V&A with a group of school girls. They were from a girls’ school in east London and had been taken there as part of a local authority funded project. I had met the organiser, Sophia, through one of my research interviewees. She was a member of the Three Faiths Forum, an organisation set up in 1997 to encourage friendship, goodwill and understanding between people of different faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). The girls had done their morning’s activities, a worksheet that needed to be completed whilst looking at the exhibits, and were outside having their lunch. It was a beautiful sunny day and they were glad to be outside. As we sat on the grass, I chatted to one of the volunteers and around me the girls made the most of a day off school. Boisterous, although not rowdy by any means, they drew attention from other visitors to the museum, principally, I imagined, as all the girls were dressed in their school uniform of black jilbabs.1 Suddenly, someone in the group suggested that they should all have their photo taken.