Mohammad Usman Zaheer

Thesis title:

Young Muslims’ Experiences of Islamophobia, Education and Social Mobility

Abstract:

Mohammad’s research will examine the grounded experiences and perceptions of a diversified sample of British Muslim students, investigating to what extent and in what ways Islamophobia is experienced as a barrier. A corpus of journalistic texts from a diversified sample of British news sources will also be examined to determine the media representations and framings of British Muslim students and of Islamophobia at school.

The following research questions will be addressed:

1- To what extent and in what ways do young Muslims experience Islamophobia in the school system?

2- How do the variables of gender, ethnicity, level of religiosity, different Islamic sects, socioeconomic background, and region mediate and affect perceptions and experiences of Islamophobia?

3- To what extent and in what ways has Islamophobia at school affected the academic performance of Muslim students and/or their aspirations and plans for higher education?

4- How are British Muslim students and Islamophobia in the school system represented in the media?

5- What are the implications of the findings for policy and practice?

First supervisor:

Anwar Tlili

Pathway:

6-Education, Mind & Society

Cohort:

2021-22

Publications:

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190620-how-muslims-became-the-good-guys-on-tv https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/islamophobia-christchurch-global-british-press-china-uighur https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/29/islamophobia-united-kingdom-anti-racist-definitions/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/24/labours-dangerous-drift-to-the-right/ https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-report-no-evidence-systemic-racism-impartial-hypocrisy-institutional-2021-4 https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/islamophobia-conservative-party-hope-not-hate-report-muslim-boris-johnson-a8784306.html https://www.vice.com/en/article/d3a3pz/cousin-consanguineous-marriage-britain-uk-pakistani-generation-z https://www.dawn.com/news/1486941/diaspora-tolerance-only-on-our-terms

Social Media:

@mzaheer88