The racialization of Muslim men

: Research question: How do Muslim men, between 18 and 30 years old, experience feelings of racialization in Flanders?

Abstract

What is racialization and how does it affect ethnic minorities within Western societies? The Muslim
population has been the target of racializing discourses since the turn of the century and this has only
grown over time. Muslim men, who are an underresearched group, are often portrayed as oppressive
towards women and are depicted as the enemies of the democratic West. This master thesis examined
how young Muslim men experience feelings of racialization in Flanders. The results of the in-depth
interviews showed that the participants mainly experienced feelings of frustration and sadness when
encountering racialization. They mainly felt racialised by news media and felt that this influenced the
opinion of the broader society, but did claim that Muslim women experienced more racializing
discourses. Lastly, both time and context played a role in experienced racialization.

Date of Award	8 Aug 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Vrije Universiteit Brussel Universiteit Gent
Supervisor	Iman Lechkar (Promotor)