Social cohesion and the notion of ‘suspect communities’: a study of the experiences and impacts of being ‘suspect’ for Irish communities and Muslim communities in Britain

‘Can You Spot a Terrorist in Your Classroom?’ Problematising the Recruitment of Schools to the ‘War on Terror’ in the United Kingdom

“…However, 'professional judgement', exercised in the absence of full and accurate information, may be highly speculative in nature and involve a very open interpretation of behaviours that may constitute engagement with 'extremism'. Furthermore, in making such judgements, teachers are not immune from the influence of popular media discourses surrounding Muslims, such as suspicion that extended family trips to Pakistan and Afghanistan may indicate involvement in terrorist training camps (Hickman et al, 2011). In this sense, Learning Together to Be Safe appears to reinforce rather than challenge Islamophobic discourse, with potentially serious consequences for Muslim children and young people who may be exposed to intensified surveillance practices simply because they are Muslim.…”

“…The popular media, government-sponsored publications and much professional literature in the United Kingdom (UK), whether intentionally or not, promotes and reinforces the stereotype that the 'terrorism' and 'extremism' 'problem' is primarily located within Muslim communities and is rooted in Islamic cultural and religious practices (Hickman et al, 2011). Such coverage constructs a distorted lens through which both the public and professionals access and filter knowledge and information about who poses a threat to national security and what ought to be done about, or rather 'to', them.…”

Editorial

“…While some articles in this special issue touch upon the contemporary political situation in Syria and the Turkish government's approach to it (see Karakaya-Stump), the analyses of the Alevi communities in Turkey that follow demonstrate the historical continuities in the treatment of Alevis as a 'suspect community' (Cetin, 2014;Hickman, Thomas, Silvestri, & Nickels, 2011) and their persecution by the Turkish state that goes back to at least the fifteenth century. But by moving beyond Turkey to also include the diasporic Alevi communities, this special issue draws together articles from different disciplines and perspectives to highlight the complex dimensions of national and transnational identities.…”

The unbearable anxiety of being: Ideological fantasies of British Muslims beyond the politics of security

“…There is an extant literature in the fields of politics and international relations that addresses social policy and media constructions of Muslims in the West through the conceptual 5 lenses of 'securitisation' (Cesari, 2009;Brown, 2010;Hussain and Bagguley, 2012;Bosco, 2014;Fox and Akababa, 2015), 'suspect communities' (Pantazis and Pemberton, 2009;Choudhary and Fenwick, 2011;Hickman et al, 2011;Awan, 2012;HC Nikels et al, 2012;Kundnani, 2014), and'governmentality' (Aradau andvan Munster, 2007;Birt, 2011;de Goede, 2008;de Goede and Simons, 2012;Heath-Kelly, 2013;O'Toole, 2016). Each of these lenses offers something useful, but each also remains tied to the paradigm of security as its key reference point.…”