Link Love: The White Privilege & the Ummah Carnival
Compiled by Latoya Peterson and Fatemeh Fakhraie
Rolling Ruminations has hosted a blog carnival on White Privilege and the Muslim Ummah. As regular readers know, it gets kind of heavy around here when we start discussing the intersection of race and religion. True to form, the carnival featured a range of opinions. Our favorites are below.
Ginny – Hesitant Thoughts On White Privilege
As a blind white Muslim, I just plain give up in trying to understand how I’m supposed to navigate the complex world of race, disability and religion, because no matter what I do or say, it’s always going to be viewed through the fact that I’m white, and thus everything else is seemingly minimized and seen as an attempt by me to gain some kinda street cred with POC, because “hey I’ve been discriminated just like you”, when that wasn’t even my intention, and I wouldn’t even try to say as much! Because the fact that I had to testify in a court of law to being sexually assaulted, or the fact that I had to give a detailed deposition regarding employment discrimination, or the fact that there are certain websites that are not accessible to me has nothing to do with race, and is a completely different type of discrimination altogether. Yes, I experience white privilege, and I’m sure I do so in ways I don’t realize. However, I don’t think other forms of discrimination should be passed off as nothing, though at the same time, I don’t think that they should be held up as ways that whites “understand” people of color. I’d not go so far as to say that. Because I’ll tell you right now that sighted people will never understand what it’s like to be blind. So as a white person, I can’t tell you what it’s like to be black, or anything else for that matter. All I can tell you is what it’s like to be a blind white Muslim who benefits from white privilege but doesn’t always understand how. And I’m struggling with that. This whole race thing is hard for me to understand, I’m white but I don’t know what that means, only what society tells me it means. I’m supposed to have some kinda privilege, I’m supposed to be on the upper echelons of my society but I don’t feel like it most of the time. Most of the time I feel less than, second best, not as good as. I’m made to feel that I have to work twice as hard, go twice as far, do twice as much. But oh, I’m white, so I’m supposed to have some kind of privilege. And maybe I do, it’s just hard for me to realize what or where that privilege lies.
Muslimah Media Watch – Unpacking the “Culture” Argument
I’m also not comfortable with what this says about white/Western cultures. In this dichotomy, the West is imagined as culture-free, a place where people can let go of the constraints of their home countries in favour of an ostensibly “pure” Islam that can only be found through a disavowal of centuries of traditions (many of which have likely served to preserve Islamic beliefs and practices in many parts of the world.) Westerners (particularly white ones) who enter Islam are assumed to come in with no baggage at all. While it is true that people who become Muslim after having been raised in non-Muslim cultures don’t necessarily bring religiously-sanctioned forms of oppression into it with them, it’s a little simplistic to assume that their Islam will remain untainted by their cultural background.
In addition, white Western cultures are, of course, assumed to be somehow free of ingrained patriarchal tendencies. Oppression and violence against women are seen as individual aberrations rather than culturally located, despite the prevalence of domestic violence and other forms of sexism that are found across Western societies. Other forms of oppression that are also endemic in these societies (racism, economic oppression, and so on) are also never taken up, and certainly never addressed as culturally-derived systems. Whiteness and Western identities are reinforced as superior and above the problems that are found in cultures deemed foreign, rigid and violent. In reality, religious dogmatism and religious justifications for gender-based discrimination and oppression can be found in every culture on this planet (or at least, the vast majority. Let me know if you find any exceptions.) None of us should be assuming that our background or our geographic location makes us immune to these forces.
Bin Gregory Productions – Oh man, white muslims again
At the same time, the white male convert doesn’t leave white privilege behind, because as long as somebody else is still giving it to you, you still got it, whether you like it or not. I’m not talking about women here. It is very very different for them and I’ll leave them to discuss it. But guys? the white muslim male continues to be treated white the vast majority of the time, at least in my experience. If you get funny looks, it’s because you look funny with that hat on your head, not because they think you’re not a white male. And if they’re still not sure you just say hello and that’s the end of that. I don’t want to say you can’t ever be sized up as non-white at first glance – it’s happened to me plenty of times over the years. But it doesn’t happen much, doesn’t mean much and it’s really not worth making much of. Contrast the dirty look you may have gotten that one time with the numerous sikhs who have been hurt or killed over the years for resembling muslims and you see the difference color makes.
Safiya Outlines – Being Muslim While White Privileged
When a white Muslim communicates with a Muslim of colour, this may be the first communication they have had with any person of colour, where the white person is not communicating as a member of the numerically dominant group, for while white people may be the majority in Western countries, in Islam, they are very much the minority.
Such demographics may lead the white Muslim to feel at a disadvantage, one they have not been socialised with and this leads to many white converts furiously attacking the born Muslims, usually for their lack of “Good Muslimness”, when the real issue is the white convert’s lack of power, compared to that they enjoy being part of a majority in mainstream society.
(Image Credit: Visage Islam)
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Abu Sinan wrote:
This is an issue that is often covered in the American Muslim community.
Umar Lee, a well known white convert to Islam and blogger has stated that a white converting to Islam is tantamount to “apostating from the white race”.
I am very mixed on that statement, as bin Gregory said, when a white person converts to Islam they dont loose their white skin and the perks that come with that.
But then it gets murky from there. Because I convert to Islam does that mean I must give up my white/European culture? No more Goethe, Heine or Schiller? I cannot drink a non alcoholic beer during October Fest?
And, unless one has a long beard, wears a kuffiyah (skullcap) and changes their name, a white Muslim isnt even easily identifiable anyways. Again, as bin Gregory says, more often than not the white guy with a long beard will be seen as weird, or here in Northern Virigina, just someone who has driven in from the rural areas outside of the Metro DC area.
There is also the issue of white privledge in the Muslim community itself. I have been put out as the “token white guy” so many times it makes me sick. They dont want to put forward the guy with the beard, the lady with hijab or the PoC convert because of all of the stereotypes that go with that. They want to put out the white convert because it says “hey, we’re normal, we even get regular Americans (as Archy Bunker would say) to convert”.
However dont let this tokenism, proof of white privledge and stereotype fool you, but to the public the white convert ( or any American convert) is a nice image, but heaven forbid if you come knocking on their door to want to marry their daughter.
Heaven forbid, if as a white guy, you marry one of “their” country’s women, because all bets are off.
This is a VERY complicated issue and diverts in many different directions on many different issues.
I also think, in this case, there is a big difference in the amount of privledge being white gets you depending on whether or not you are male or female.
White females will often have “born” Muslims fighting over them for marriage, whereas white Muslim men might find it MUCH harder to find a “born” Muslim mate. Even then it is complicated because some born Muslim women from certain groups are known to target white men for marriage.
But in all of these cases the targeting or refusal are all often based on racial stereotypes of the white man or white female.
Ie, white men are easy to control. Umar Less, again, has talked about how many North African women, and Arab women in general, look for white converts because they can make them “hen pecked”. Of course gaining immigration status is an issue for both white men and women.
White women are often seen as gulible, easy (a factor that can work for or against the woman) and less demanding than “born Muslim” women.
You cold do 30,000 words on this subject and still not cover everything.
Posted 29 May 2009 at 10:34 am ¶
atlasien wrote:
I can’t argue one side or the other, as a non-Muslim. But I’ve thought about this issue before from the outside.
My family has connections with the neighboring refugee community… many of these are “white” Bosnian Muslims. They face many of the same issues — finding ESL in schools, effects of PTSD, safe housing — as, say, Somalian Muslim refugees. But because of race, their relationship to established white Southerners and African-American Southerners is going to be very different.
If a Bosnian Muslim drops off a job application, with their first name of “Yusuf” or “Mohammed”, their white privilege is not going to be much of a factor at all. But in other cases I am sure it does apply…
Posted 29 May 2009 at 11:00 am ¶
Persia wrote:
These links are wonderful.
Posted 29 May 2009 at 12:03 pm ¶
Abu Sinan wrote:
For a great article about this very subject take a look at the article below. It is written by a white American lady, convert to Islam who wears hijab. She is married to a black Saudi and is moving back to the US with her children.
It is a VERY interesting read and covers a lot of what I talked about.
http://nzinghas.blogspot.com/2009/05/im-white-american-girl.html
Posted 29 May 2009 at 3:27 pm ¶
Br00ke wrote:
Nearly everything I learned about race related issues, I learned from Racialicious. And the best thing I learned was to shut up and listen, after I made a complete fool of myself of course
Thanks!
Posted 29 May 2009 at 5:33 pm ¶
lechatnoir wrote:
Abu ,
which one ist worst, a white woman who is assumed ( stereotyped) gullible or a white man who is an “easy” catch ( a code word, for white men are treating women better) in the muslim world ?.
White converts have more options , unless you are being “specific” , a good 3rd of muslim women are black or Asians, they would marry a white convert without dowry.I am trying to see what you think is more relevant kinship , spiritual connection ? indifference ?
Posted 29 May 2009 at 8:05 pm ¶
Abu Sinan wrote:
@Lechatnoir,
It isnt as easy as that. Some white men are seen as a good catch by some women in some ethnic groups, and in other ethnic groups it would be considered a shame to marry them.
White converts do have more options, it would be far easier for a white convert to marry a “born” Muslim than their African American, Asian or Hispanic brother. That, again, is where race becomes an issue.
Race isnt supposed to matter in Islam, but the reality is that it does, big time. Many traditional Muslim countries still have cultures that openly accept racism. It isnt something that has to be kept undercover, it is taken for granted. This certainly doesnt stop when they move to the USA.
I remember a big issue at my work when a Bengali brother refused to shake the hand of a Senegalese brother. It was clearly a racial issue and gladly most people sided with the Senegalese brother.
I am not sure I understand your question. For me religion is the most important thing, race means very little. For me I wanted someone who spoke fluent Arabic and fit into my preferences, olive/dark skin, dark hair and eyes. It could have been someone from the Indian subcontinent raised in the Middle East, North African, East African.
The issue here is white converts, but if we want to spread that to the wider American covert community I would quickly agree that whites have it easier than their PoC convert brothers and sisters due to the racist nature of the immigrant Muslim home countries.
Example, a Pakistani friend of my wife’s fron Uni. used to come over to our place all of the time to eat, we’d go over there. Her parents loved us. They had no issue with my wife being an Arab and me being white. That wasnt the case when their daughter met an African American convert. It became an issue very quickly.
My wife and I knew it would have been different if the man had been white, but due to the racist background that the Pakistani parents came from, it was a big deal.
Long after the wedding the parents finally accepted the guy, but it was a good example of what PoC converts face when dealing with “born” Muslims.
Posted 29 May 2009 at 10:59 pm ¶
Charles J wrote:
Wow! Ginny – Hesitant Thoughts On White Privilege…
Ginny you are at the perfect intersection of racism, ableism and religious oppression. I applaud you for looking into your own dominant groups and oppressed group identities. I am a believer you don’t know what you don’t know so as a Black, male, Christian, able bodied person, I like you have some privelege and some disadvantages. If you want to know honestly how you receive privelege start asking people of color how Whites as a group have shown their power of people of color and you may be shocked at the answers. Also start reading more on the subject.
Good Luck
Posted 30 May 2009 at 1:54 am ¶
more cowbell wrote:
No real commentary, I just wanted to say I appreciate all the people who shared their writings, and Brooke for hosting it all. I “dropped in” for a while last weekend over there, and ended up staying and reading all the posted pieces. Just appreciate the opportunity to learn and read about others’ experiences.
Posted 30 May 2009 at 1:22 pm ¶
Sobia wrote:
@Abu Sinan:
Agreed. There is an immense amount of racism within the global Muslim community not all of which can be blamed on post-colonial realities. There appears to be a blend of racism and religious bigotry.
I’ve heard comments such as “Pakistanis don’t know Islam” or “those Black Muslims aren’t really Muslim.”
Skin colour/ethnicity/nationality gets tied in with piety.
Posted 30 May 2009 at 1:32 pm ¶
carm_b wrote:
“White-looking” “born Muslims” face no shortage of privilege and in some ways have it easier than white converts because they might have greater cultural/linguistic access and can “pass” in multiple cultural contexts. Basically, i’m referring to the very fluid racial boundaries among countries in the Arab world/North Africa. You can easily have two Muslim Arabs from the same country and even the same family, but one looks “whiter” than another. I’m a female Muslim Arab-American who is very light-skinned/hair/eyed, while my mother is olive-skinned and has dark kinky-curly hair. The differences in how we are treated and regarded, even (especially) in the Arab world, are startling and quite sad.
Posted 30 May 2009 at 7:42 pm ¶
Katie wrote:
So interesting, and valuable. Thanks to all who contributed to the Carnival for sharing their stories.
Posted 31 May 2009 at 11:28 am ¶
Quixotess wrote:
my jaw is totally dropped @ginny’s post. that’s the best, most honest thing I’ve read all week. that she would come right out and say, I’m insecure, I don’t get what you are saying, I don’t understand, I’m not sure, I don’t know. that she’s not just going to agree with POC to get “points” (like poc can hand out points, but I swear I think some whites read things like “you have white privilege” and repeat that about themselves as a talisman against being called racist, that if they just repeat little bits of what POC told them enough, without really getting it, but without *questioning* the parts they don’t get, without *thinking,* without being brave enough to reach their *own conclusions*–that if they do that, that will help POC, that they can counteract their privilege just by being sorry–which is maybe actually an idea they get from other whites who all vigorously engage in this–that by chanting “I DO believe in spooks,” that will count as having done the thinking and having been responsible and anti-racist.)
It’s no good if you don’t believe and understand what you’re saying. It’s no good unless it’s a conclusion you understand because you reached it yourself.
And for that reason, I salute Ginny’s honesty, and I am grateful that, despite her doubts, she posted. Insightful, brave, and an actual contribution to the discussion.
Posted 01 Jun 2009 at 9:54 am ¶
RCHOUDH wrote:
Thanks for posting on this issue. The carnival and related essays look great I’ll try to check them out soon in entirety. Re: the issue of White privilege within the Ummah I agree with Abu Sinan that it’s quite complicated. Within the American Muslim community, on the one hand they’re proud to have white converts within their midst. On the other hand some Muslims, especially from the subcontinent, are wary of allowing said whites to marry their daughters (and even sons sometimes). I think white privilege is more readily on display within the greater American society. Like if you’re white, have an unrecognizable name (meaning a name that’s not recognizably Muslim) and don’t exhibit outward acts of piety (hijab for women, beard and kufi for men, offering prayers at work and school, etc) then you’ll be mistaken for being a white Christian/Jewish American and receive the perks that come with that. This privilege can be exercised by both white converts and white “born” Muslims together.
Posted 02 Jun 2009 at 2:40 am ¶
Alston wrote:
This is an extremely interesting intersection: blindness + whiteness. I think that a lot of racism is visual. It is easy to identify with your eyes where a person lies in a social hierarchy. I wonder how the white privilege feels when you have never actually seen white skin, black skin, or any skin. Ginny says that it is extremely difficult for her to understand given her blindness. Seems to me that it is something that the rest of us experience more directly than she does.
How does the perception of a black person differ when you cannot see the physical blackness? Obviously there are non-skin clues as to the different kinds of blackness, but I still wonder how it is experienced in the blind white person, or blind person of whatever “race”. (As an aside, I would like to find a better word for “race”.)
Posted 03 Jun 2009 at 2:59 pm ¶
Jennifer wrote:
Timely subject for me. Dh and I are thinking about buying a new car. I’m a white female “convert” (I don’t feel that label fits me well for reasons I won’t get into) and I wear hijab. Dh is a medium-dark Syrian immigrant. When we want to call a place to inquire, I do it because my name is Jennifer and I don’t have an accent. Now we are debating how to go about actually going to a dealership. Do we send dh first even though he is an obvious Arab foreigner with an accent? Or will they freak out more when they see my headscarf? (We live in the Bible Belt.) I was so happy when I went to a dealership by myself, felt treated like a human being by the salesperson and I was even happier when I saw that the finance guy was openly gay. That means he’s not a white evangelical “Muslims are future followers of the anti-Christ” type! I’m sure hearing my American accent and my name being Jennifer helped me, thus the “white privilege”. But next I’m wondering what will happen when I show up at a dealership with my husband. People tend to treat him like a Great Oppressor (of me and our hijab-wearing daughters) and me as the stupid woman who “gave up” her “freedom” or “doesn’t know what she’s getting into”. Oh, the choices we face….
Posted 05 Jun 2009 at 11:28 pm ¶