Religiosity, Citizenship and Belonging: The Everyday Experiences of Young Australian Muslims

‘I Want Good Children, Also for this Country’: How Dutch Minority Muslim Parents’ Experience and Negotiate Parenting, Parenthood and Citizenship

“…Concerning migration discourses, studies reveal the socio-political implications of dominant narratives that question minorities' belonging and loyalty to Western nations and its 'core values'. On an institutional level, policies and programmes have been implemented to integrate Muslim migrants into Western citizenship, originating in the assumption that their religiosity forms a barrier that needs conscious addressing and redirecting (Patton 2014;Johns et al 2015;Mustafa 2016). On an interpersonal level, exclusion and racism are shown to direct minority families' parenting as well as children's civic engagement (Erel 2011;Elliot and Aseltine 2012;Longman et al 2013).…”

“…In public discourses, minority Muslims are predominantly questioned if and how they are 'compatible' with Western values due to perceived cultural and religious discrepancies or are portrayed as 'precarious' due to marginalisation (Patton 2014). However, studies also highlight people's agentic efforts to counter-hegemonic notions of belonging in face of stigmatisation and exclusion, by enacting engaged citizenship in daily life from an Islamic standpoint (Patton 2014;Johns, Mansouri and Lobo 2015;Mustafa 2016;Eidoo 2018). As Patton (2014) stated, the latter insights emphasise a more nuanced understanding of Muslim life in the West that counters dualist interpretations of minority Muslims as passive subjects in the matter, either demonised or vulnerable.…”

“…However, these studies often lack the inclusion of religiosity in the understanding of parental citizenship. I therefore also draw upon studies on minority Muslim citizenship of young adults that do address the role of faith in issues of social exclusion and civic engagement (Patton 2014;Johns, Mansouri and Lobo 2015;Mustafa 2016;Eidoo 2018). In the following theoretical framework, I first elaborate on parenting and parenthood as respectively a child-rearing practice aimed at initiating new generations into society and an experience defining parents place in that society.…”

“It would be nice if someone took the load off you” Arabic-speaking new-Australian mothers and the challenges of heritage language maintenance

“…Modern Standard Arabic expresses a common ethnic identity among Arabs all over the world (Elkholy, 1966;Rouchdy, 2002) and, while the Australian Arabic-speaking community is religiously diverse, it is the Arabic language that makes them a distinctly identifiable group (Mansouri & Trembath, 2005, p. 517). Classical Arabic unites the Islamic community worldwide because it is the language of the Muslim Holy Book, the Qur'an (Hage, 2002;Johns, Mansouri & Lobo, 2015;Rane, Nathie, Isakhan & Abdalla, 2011) The fact that Muslims attach strong cultural significance to Arabic as a sacred language (Clyne & Kipp 1999, pp. 154-155, 211) and consider it to be the language of Allah as well as that of the Qu'ran (Saeed, 2008) means that they place high value on maintaining Arabic (Abdelhadi, 2016) and want their children to learn it (Hatoss, 2013).…”

“…In an age dominated by fears of terrorism and extremism, recent events in Australia, and in other parts of the world, have added to widespread negative perceptions of Arabs. Recent Australian research highlights growing anxiety about Arabs, and Muslims in particular (Johns et al, 2015;Mansouri, 2012;Mansouri & Wood, 2008). As Mansouri and Trembath (2005, p. 517) observe, in the wake of September 11 and the so-called War on Terror, Arab-Australians have experienced significant social and cultural marginalisation and exclusion (see also Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 2004;Noble, 2006;Noble & Pointing, 2007;White, 2004).…”