From an islamic school to American college campuses: The challenges of islamophobia for hijabi women

Amina Shareef, Purdue University

Abstract

Living in an Islamophobic context where 49 percent of Americans polled in a 2010 ABC News Poll held an unfavorable view of Islam (Ali, Clifton, Duss, Fang, Keyes, & Shakir, 2011), visible American Muslims, particularly hijabi women and girls, experience a host of challenges. Recognizing the salience of dominant discourses in shaping minority experiences, this study seeks to understand the kinds of challenges faced by hijabi women who attend college and their subsequent responses to these challenges. This study contributes to the body of literature focused on exploring some of the experiences of Muslim American women. This thesis uses semi-structured interviews with seven hijabi women who graduated from the Islamic School, An-Nour, and who currently attend private and public universities in the United States. Using constructivism, I provide a description of an Islamic school the women attended and the subsequent challenges they face as they move from an environment where they are the majority to campuses where they are the minority. I examine the processes the women take to wear the hijab full-time, the meanings they give to the hijab as they face Islamophobia, and the strategies they use to negotiate the resulting conflicts. The results of this research are consistent with literature on Islamic schools, hijabi challenges in public schools, what the hijab represents to those who actually wear it, and hijabi negotiation of Islamophobia. The findings point to implications for identity development in faith-based schools and for the practice of multicultural education in public schools. This study highlights the importance of further research on hijabi experiences and the possibility of Islamic schools as an alternative form of schooling.

Degree

M.S.Ed.

Advisors

Dolby, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Educational sociology|Multicultural Education|Religious education

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