Islamophobia: Towards an Empirical Understanding

Abstract

Compelled by rising Islamophobia in the U.S. and the dearth of extant research examining Islamophobia as understood by Muslims, this research centers the following questions: How do Muslim adults conceive of Islamophobia and their experiences with it? How do they perceive and make sense of these experiences? How does Islamophobia impact their daily lives? A total of 51 interviews were conducted with self-identified Muslim adults (i.e. 18 years or older) living in the U.S. exploring these questions through a mix of verbal survey questions and free-response interview questions. While the broader study also examines the potential health effects of Islamophobia, this thesis focuses on how the study participants understand and experience Islamophobia empirically and centers their interview responses in this analysis. Developing an empirical understanding of Islamophobia represents a crucial first step before exploring the relationship between Islamophobia and health that will be examined in my future work.