The impact of media representations on Somali youth's experiences in educational spaces
In this article, I examine how the politics of representation following September 11, 2001 attacks on the US impact the experiences of Somali youth in educational spaces in North America. This research draws from a discourse analysis of representations of Somalis and Somalia in North American newspaper articles (n=82) between August and October 2011 and 51 interviews with Somali youth between the ages of 14 and 30. It also draws from ethnographic fieldwork for 16 months ( July 2010−October 2011) in Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto, Canada and Minneapolis-St. Paul, USA. This includes participant-observation at Somali youth events, organizations, centres, homework programs, mosques and after-school and weekend Islamic schools that provide spaces of learning for Somali youth outside of public/private schools. In this article, I argue that the representations of Somalis in the media as either perpetrators or victims of violence are gendered and have variously politicized Somali men and women within the current ‘War on Terror.’ As a result, Somali youth are targets of routine forms of structural violence, expressed in discrimination and marginalization as well as interpersonal forms of violence, including bullying. I examine how these forms of violence are both carried out and resisted in educational spaces and how they variously affect Somali youth’s experiences in school. The article shows how Somali community educational spaces provide spaces of belonging and a space to learn the skills needed to challenge representations of Somalis and Somalia in the media. Somali youths’ experiences of violence and within educational spaces reshape their identities.
Islamophilia: Challenging Prejudice and Promoting Mutual Understanding
Muslims across the United States are experiencing an unprecedented increase in discrimination and violence due to a growing fear and hatred towards Islam and Muslims. Many educators have labeled this anti-Islamic phenomenon as “Islamophobia”. Several studies have addressed the existence of “Islamophobia” and discussed its impact on the Muslim community and society at-large. However, few studies focus on helping Muslims transcend their mindset and believe in their ability to challenge prejudice and promote mutual understanding. This twophase research attempted to fill that gap by first looking at the impact of contact relations and education in reducing Islamophobia and then considering the role of the Imams in that process. The first study surveyed 189 people who visited the Islamic Center of San Diego to evaluate the effectiveness of its educational and outreach program. More than ninety percent of the participants in the first survey indicate that following their visit, their stereotype changed, and that they gained a balanced view about Islam. Ninety-nine percent of the participants find the presentation very interesting and more than ninetythree percent indicate that observing the prayer and touring the Mosque were effective. The first study indicates that contact and education decrease prejudice and shows the effectiveness of the educational program provided at the center. The second study examined the role of the faith leaders, or “Imams,” in raising global awareness and providing accurate information about Islam by building relations based on mutual respect and understanding. The results from the 9 Imams who completed the survey indicate that there is a gap between their espoused and enacted values, between what they say they stand for and what they actually do. While all the surveyed Imams believe that the responsibility of the Mosque and Imams is enormous in dispelling the misconceptions about Islam. Only three of them agree on the need for setting consistent interfaith work as well as having concrete goals. Although limited to one location and based on a small sample of Imams, the information from these two studies can be used to improve educational programs and propose ways to increase contact. It further points to the need of a more active role from the Muslim community in helping to dispel Islamophobia.
Women's Medicine: The Zar-Bori Cult in Africa and Beyond
Despite the large-scale destruction of traditional practices throughout the world, the Zar-Bori spirit-healing cult continues to hold tremendous meaning for some women in West Africa, the Sudan and North Africa, and even in the more progressive countries such as Tunisia, Kuwait, Egypt and the Gulf States. This study uses historical, anthropological and psychiatric methods to explore the social history of this growing cult and its significance for women in different places and times. It asks how and why the cult has persisted to the present day, and throws light on the environments in which it thrives. The largest indigenous African cult concerned primarily with women's matters, the Zar-Bori has survived the fundamentalist challenge and creeping modernization, yet it is in many ways a subversive movement. This aims to be a comprehensive account of its origins, spread and increasing importance in the lives of African women.