The Everyday Experiences of Muslim Women in Auckland

Abstract

This thesis examines the everyday experiences of Muslim women in Auckland. The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of the position that Muslim women hold in society, through the consideration of their everyday experiences. The context of this research is the growing Muslim community in New Zealand, particularly its growth in Auckland. The growth of the Muslim community has increased the visibility of Islam in Auckland’s ‘secular’ society and has influenced socially constructed lines of difference that exist around Islam in Auckland. Islam in the ‘West’ is commonly recognised as a cause of contention in international scholarly literature, where it is represented as being in opposition to ‘Western’ values and practices (Choo & Ferree, 2010; Jensen, 2008; Silverstein, 2005). As such, Muslims are subject to othering in ‘Western’ society. In particular, Muslim women are common targets of Islamophobic discrimination due to the visible representation of their faith (Aziz, 2012; EUMC, 2006; Perry, 2014, Poynting & Mason, 2007). This study draws on semi-structured interviews with 15 Muslim women that focusses on their everyday experiences in Auckland. The interviews were transcribed and then analysed using a mixed inductive and deductive thematic analysis approach. The findings reveal that discourses of Islamophobia are socially situated and constructed within society. The negative experiences that ensue from these constructions are then often normalised by the women who experience them as a way of coping with their position within society. I have also identified that women craft their own identity in various spaces, and it is not simply prescribed by religion nor is it a result of their othered position in ‘Western' society. Their negotiated identity acts as a tactical practice to further cope with and negotiate their position in society. As such, this thesis moves beyond the hypervisible constructions of Islam in the ‘West’ in order to explore the tactical religious practices and identity negotiations that form a critical part of these women’s lives in Auckland.