As a young Muslim woman on campus, I’ve become accustomed to having to defend my identity. In a world where terms such as ‘Muslim’ and ‘hijab’ are thrown around by anyone with a voice, it often feels as though my identity has been reduced to nothing more than a political tool – a litmus test for a person’s stance on everything from foreign policy to the economy. Everybody has an answer to the Muslim Question, and nobody is afraid to inform us of it.
But what about Muslim voices? Don’t we get a say on whether or not we’re actually oppressed, or ‘uncultured’ or ‘reluctant to integrate’? It’s becoming more and more evident that young Muslims will no longer be silenced, and the Who is Muslim X? campaign is paving the way for Muslims to reclaim their narrative.
Run by a mix of university students and graduates, Who is Muslim X? is a grassroots campaign that aims to provide young Muslim women with a platform to explore and voice their views. Following the establishment of the government’s Prevent strategy, a climate of fear on campuses was stopping Muslims – particularly those who were visibly Muslim – from feeling comfortable enough to speak up about their own identity. There was no space for them to discuss Islam without fear of reprisal, whether that be from institutions or their peers. One of Who Is Muslim X?’s immediate goals was to create a space for Muslim women to be able to speak about politics, religion and other controversial social issues without the worry of judgement and stereotyping. The founders understood that the establishment of such a space, particularly in its early days, necessitated a certain degree of separation from the institutions that had left many feeling so uncomfortable. As such, rather than associate themselves with any particular university, they decided to fund and organise the project themselves. What resulted was a launch event packed with young people from in and around London, each with their own stories and experiences but all brought together by their desire to start discussions about issues that really mattered to them.
Upon walking into their launch event, held in the heart of a predominantly Muslim East London, I was immediately met with smiles and welcoming words. The room was already full of young women, and there was a buzz in the air as we introduced ourselves to our neighbours and spoke about why we were there. Despite our differences, many of us had similar stories to tell – feelings of isolation and stigmatisation and a constant pressure to compromise our identity to satisfy society. For many of us, we had long since felt abandoned by our institutions, but there was universal acknowledgment amongst the group that this had recently escalated to outright targeting.
Later, we were given the opportunity to discuss the presentation of Muslims in various media headlines and it suddenly became clear what kind of support many of us were looking for in coming to the event. We weren’t looking for an echo chamber to validate our views – in fact, we disagreed on many things and quite happily engaged in debate. What we were there for was the recognition and respect granted to our experiences, two things that are sorely lacking in mainstream conversations about Islam. We were there to speak for ourselves, to speak on behalf of us and only us.
It is an often overlooked fact that the Muslim community is made up of individuals. No individual speaks for us and we do not profess to speak for the whole community.
This is why campaigns such as Who is Muslim X? are so vital: they allow young Muslims to grapple with important questions themselves, particularly the one at the heart of many of our struggles -why? Why are Muslims expected to alter themselves when the burden should fall on society to be inclusive for all? Why are Muslims always the scapegoats for failed political manoeuvres? And the question that underlays it all: why are conversations about Muslims excluding the voices of actual Muslims?
Who is Muslim X? provides young Muslim women with the power and skills to articulate their own unique answers to these questions, informed by their own experiences, providing some much-needed nuance to conversations surrounding our identity.