Reflections on racialisation’s impact on research: Insights from a study of Muslim radicalisation in Norway

Abstract

Sociologists have studied the causes and consequences of collectively blaming and negatively portraying Muslims, but less attention has been paid to how collective blaming and negative descriptions affect researchers’ categorisations of such vilified groups. Drawing on 22 months of fieldwork with Muslim men in Norway, I elucidate how racialisation can influence interactions in field research when studying a controversial subject with a racialised group. I identify three patterns in which racialisation affects field interactions: accepting a racialising view, defending the racialised group and developing a shared story between a researcher and participants. I argue that, in this case, desires to present positive views of Islam and Muslims, attempts to distance oneself from religious extremism and attempts to categorise radicalised Muslims as neither Norwegians nor Muslims illustrate racialisation’s influence. My findings suggest that racialised understandings enter field interactions but remain opaque unless the researcher reflects upon their own and participants’ positionality and membership in a racialised group. I conclude that shared experiences of racialisation between a researcher and the participants deepen the researcher’s understanding while limiting enquiry.