NCJ Number
229236
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 49 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2009 Pages: 736-754
Date Published
November 2009
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the views and perspectives of a group of young British Pakistani Muslims impacted by the discourse of the terrorist threat.
Abstract
Results show a cluster of findings that coalesce around notions of risk, identity, and the experience of victimization. Participants expressed opinions on how Muslims and Islam are misrepresented in the media, focusing on the ways and means by which victims are turned into villains. The responses showed racially motivated ideological and material victimization amongst the participants. Impacts of potential victimization on the identities of the young people and the ways in which identities are managed, expressed, and concealed are discussed. The ways in which young Muslims see themselves, are seen, and see themselves being seen is critical, not just for criminologists, but also for community leaders, politicians, social workers, legal professionals, and policymakers. The interface between the terrorist risk, identity, and victimization cannot be decoupled from longstanding domestic problems faced by Muslim minority groups, including those around social exclusion, the unequal distribution of resources, religious bias, lack of political representation, and unequal economic power relations. Data were collected from 32 British Muslims of Pakistani heritage aged 18- to 26-years old. References