Being Muslim in Auckland, New Zealand: Young women, media culture and social networks

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the relationship between young Muslim women living in Auckland, New Zealand's perceptions of the way the Western media represents Muslims and Islam, and the construction of identity as Muslim women in the West. Qualitative methodologies were used in this study. Fourteen young Muslim women aged between 18–25 years old participated in semi-structured interviews and two focus groups. Ten of the young women migrated to New Zealand with their families, the majority under the Skilled Migrants Scheme, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The families came from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kurdistan, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, India, and Pakistan. Two were granted, along with their families, entry as refugees from Morocco and Afghanistan, and two were born in New Zealand. The outcome of the semi-structured interviews and focus groups was an account of the experience of migrant women growing up in New Zealand as Muslims. Many of my participants reported their childhood years as a time of conformity in mainstream society and of the retention of culture and religion being confined to the domestic sphere. The events of September 11 occurred when the young women were in school and had a long lasting effect on their lives. For some, the backlash against Islam following September 11 motivated them to seek "the truth" about their religion. During their teenage years a desire to explore their religion grew, and joining Islamic organizations either at university or mosques helped shape an emergent Muslim identity. Wearing the hijab was central to their identity as Muslim women and a public symbol of their devotion to Islam. Of my participants, 13 wore the hijab. The young women were aware of the perception that Muslim women who wore the hijab were oppressed by their religion. However, rather than oppressing the young women, they believed the hijab was liberating because it allowed them not to be judged on their "beauty" and to move freely in the public sphere. The young woman who did not wear the hijab adopted modest dress and expressed her religion by praying five times a day, fasting during the month of Ramadan, adhering to gender segregation and believing in one God. The participants in this study conveyed that they felt the Western mainstream media associated Muslims and Islam with violence, terrorism and the oppression of women. These themes were also identified within academic literature examining the representation of Islam and Muslims in the media. All of the young women accessed Arab produced news media or media sources made by and for Muslims either through the internet or satellite television. This highlighted their participation in transnational media networks that linked them to their homelands and provided an alternative to Western media. The term ummah (the global Muslim network) has been used by academics to describe modern transnational Muslim networks. This thesis argues caution must be used when appropriating religious terms and giving them new meanings. Participation in protests to show their solidarity for the Arab Spring of 2011, by some of the young women from Arab nations, demonstrated how transnational networks are not necessarily drawn along religious lines for Muslims.