Paper short abstract:

This paper traces the challenges young (neo-)Muslim women face in European Societies in the light of Islamophobia and stigmatisation and the practices they employ to (re-)claim agency. Based on fieldwork among young women in Germany, we explore hijab-wearing as a social practice of identity.

Paper long abstract:

Post-migrant young Muslims constitute sizable minorities in many European countries. In recent years a new type of young Muslim woman has emerged: the so-called neo-Muslim (Sigrid Nökel 'Die Töchter der Gastarbeiter', 2002). This describes young women who have 'returned' to religious practices and dress codes while at the same time pursuing high educational aspirations and demanding equal participation in society. They are holders of 'hybrid' 'this as well as that' identities, which transcend dichotomous either-or identity constructions (Naika Foroutan: 'Hybride Identitäten', 2013; Stuart Hall: 'Who needs identity', 1996). Their conscious decision to wear the Muslim headscarf represents an affirmation of the (neo-)Muslim side of their identity.

However, their multiple affiliations are perceived as mutually exclusive identity categories in particular by the so-called 'majority society'. The young women experience multiple discrimination and stigmatization on the basis of their clothing practice and ensuing gendered and racialized ascriptions. Stereotypical assumptions of an essentialised Muslim identity and Islamophobic discourses affect their experiences in schools, on entering the job market and in everyday interactions.

This paper explores the wearing of the headscarf as a social practice of identity of young women. We investigate how the young women react to both experienced and anticipated discrimination and the practices they employ to (re-)claim agency. We draw on ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth qualitative interviews with 15 young devout Muslim women in Germany during a Horizon 2020 project on the social participation of conflicted youth in Europe (PROMISE - Promoting Youth Involvement and Social Engagement, Grant Agreement no. 693221).