Suspicion, Exclusion and Othering since 9/11: The Victimisation of Muslim Youth

For a number of years, but most particularly since the events of 9/11 and the transport bombings in London in 2005 (7/7), Muslim youth in Britain have been subjected to a corrosive stereotyping (Hamid, 2011). Youth, in particular male youth, have been at times portrayed as ripe for radicalisation, while female youth struggle with stereotypes related to misogynist religious traditions. While these constructions do little to enhance our understanding of British Muslim youth, they have become commonplace in media, policy and academic circles (Hamid, 2011). The attention to the Muslim youth potential for radicalisation and terrorism masks not only the reality of life for these youth but also serves to shroud the everyday experiences of youth in a veil of suspicion whereby identity categories become statements of loyalty or disloyalty to the state, where identity ranking is required to demonstrate national allegiance, where expressions of support for victims of war become an ideological position on terrorism and where transnational relationships become potential terrorist networks. These stereotypes also obscure the realities of youth processes, developments that are central to that period and shared across cultural, political and religious boundaries (Hamid, 2011). This chapter will address the notion of victimisation as experienced and expressed by Muslim youth in London and also examine the exclusion and othering experienced by this group.