Muslims,Racism and Violence after the Paris Attacks

Abstract

The aim of this short article is to consider ways in which violence, and the threat of it, is integral to the lived experience of Muslims. The article reflects on how violence is intrinsic to forms of racism and explores how it features in the study of racism as it relates to Muslims. In doing so, it briefly examines similarities between forms of racialisation experienced by Muslims and Jews and draws attention to how, in the wake of the Paris attacks, resulting fear and insecurity shape the routine, day-to-day lives of both Jewish and Muslim people. The article focuses on the multi-faceted ways in which experiencing violence is a key component of Muslims’ everyday lives, in contrast to dominant narratives characterising Muslims as perpetrators of violence. It argues that exploring the threat and experience of violence, and its effects, is an important part of sociological endeavour to understand and explain the position of Muslims in European societies.