Navigating Secular Norms, Islamophobia, and Racialised Religious Identities: Muslim Students' Orientation and Struggle for Recognition in Swedish High Schools

This paper examines the experiences of Muslim high school students in a superdiverse Swedish suburb. The population predominantly has a migration history, and the area is characterised by low incomes, high unemployment, and poor academic performance. Despite extensive research on inequalities in Swedish schools and youth studies related to class, race, and gender, the analysis rarely explores how these disparities affect individuals from religious minoritized groups. Similarly, studies on Muslims in Sweden often overlook these inequalities.

The theoretical notions of orientation and (mis)recognition are employed to analyse racialisation among Muslim students in relation to education, migration, Islamophobia, and territorial stigmatisation. The analysis reveals that students' vulnerability is shaped by intersecting and simultaneous processes of power.

This study adopts a qualitative, abductive approach, drawing from ethnographic traditions to gather detailed and varied accounts from the students. The analysis is guided by grounded theory principles for coding the data.

The findings indicate that the prevailing secular norms within Swedish schools contribute to a situation where seemingly neutral attitudes toward religion are perceived as discriminatory, resulting in the invisibilisation of religious minorities. Paradoxically, Muslim students also experience hypervisibility when they face unwanted comments or strong reactions to their religious practices. Consequently, they feel constrained in fully expressing their Muslim identity or participating in the school community on their own terms.

Muslim students are often compelled to shoulder the burden of negative perceptions of Islam, either by conforming as "exemplary" Muslims or by downplaying their Muslim identity. To navigate these challenges, students develop strategies to avoid vulnerability, such as choosing schools where the majority of pupils identify as Muslims, allowing them to feel more comfortable and focus on their studies. They see themselves as part of both the superdiverse suburb and a broader imagined Muslim community, crossing both ethnic and religious boundaries.