This book explores the ways in which dynamics of Islamophobia and neoliberalism shape the schooling experiences of minority Muslim students in Sydney primary, public and independent schools. The author examines the issues at macro, meso and micro level.
At the global systemic level, the book discusses the politics of naming Muslims and racialised governmentality within a capitalist neoliberal context. At the institutional level, it provides an insight into the Living Safe Together policy and explains how it can potentially provide space for teachers to abuse their authority or power in schools over minority Muslim students, within a wider discursive context shrouded by national security discourses, 'homegrown' terrorism and deradicalisation. Finally, at the individual level, drawing on the voices of teachers and Muslim students, the book highlights how Islamophobic discourse was reinforced through pedagogical practices, and how Muslim students resisted these discoursesby speaking back to power.
Chapter 1 Introduction.- Chapter 2 Neoliberalism and Islamophobia: The politics of Naming Muslims.- Chapter 3 Australian Multiculturalism and Muslims.- Chapter 4 Power & Pedagogy: Reproducing and resisting the dominant discourse in schools.- Chapter 5 Speaking back to power: Minority Muslim youth challenging Islamophobia in schools.- Chapter 6 Conclusion.
Zainab Mourad is an Academic in the Sociology of Education. Her research and teaching area of specialization is neoliberalism, Islamophobia, cosmopolitanism, social justice education and schooling of Muslim and minority youth.
"The chapters of the book act as building blocks for the readers' understanding of issues of Islamophobia. ... Mourad's book presents a foundational, thorough and nuanced examination of the complicated interplay between neoliberalism, Islamophobia, and the educational experiences of minority Muslim youth. It also provides foundations for researchers interested in the aforementioned concepts, as it offers a significant contribution to the understanding of these issues in contemporary society." (Maryam Tarik Ismail Khalel, The Muslim World Book Review, Vol. 44 (3), 2024)
