"People Are Enemies to What They Don't Know" Managing Stigma and Anti-Muslim Stereotypes in a Turkish Community Center. (April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Paul, Crystal; Becker, Sarah
• Is Part Of: Journal of contemporary ethnography. Volume 46:Number 2(2017:Apr.)
• Page Start: 135
• Page End: 172
• Publication Date: 2017-04
• Subjects: stigma management -- Islam -- cultural education -- dialogue -- critical race theory; Sociology, Urban -- Periodicals; Urban anthropology -- Periodicals; 305.8
• DOI: 10.1177/0891241615570053
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0891-2416

Abstract

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, anti-Muslim discourse and sentiment has become pervasive in the West. Using a collaborative ethnographic approach, we observe how participants at a Turkish Community Center (TCC) cultivate stigma management strategies against the cultural backdrop of post-9/11 anti-Muslim stereotypes. In our analysis, we use Goffman's work on stigma and critical race theory to explore the socially embedded nature of stigmatization processes for Turkish Muslims in a local community center. Our findings reveal how aspects of Turkish culture and Islam, together with a structural context that facilitates collective stigma management, allow TCC participants to effectively manage stigma and combat anti-Muslim stereotypes. Turkish participants use the practice of "dialogue" to prioritize secular identity(ies) through cultural education, normalize the Muslim self in conversation about religion, and embody a gendered presentation of Islam and Turkish culture. While facilitating individual and collective resilience for TCC participants in the face of stigmatization and pervasive anti-Muslim sentiment, these practices also contribute to the reproduction of broader patterns of racial, cultural, and gender inequality.