ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES
51
notes were subsequently analysed and coded. All data is anonymized and any
identifiable information has been altered to protect the identity of our
interviewees.
We interviewed seven males and one female. The interviewees were
between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five and all identified as Muslims.
In one of the cases, the participant’s underage son, who we did not interview,
had his passport removed as well – we draw briefly on his case. Apart from
one case, none of the interviewees had their passports returned to them at
the time of the fieldwork. Five participants (Ibrahim, Bilal, Amir, Mohammed
and Mustafa) were married, four of them had children. Two participants
(Shamim and Karim) were younger, both were single men living with their
parents and extended family. One participant (Ayesha) was divorced and
had three children.
The interviewees were employed in various fields including health care,
service industry, the charity sector and food industry. Two participants ran
their own businesses. Most of the individuals we met worked at the time of
the interview although the cancellation of their passport had impacted on
this, particularly in one case where a negative result from a Disclosure and
Barring Service (DBS) check meant alternative employment had to be
found. The measure also impacted one interviewee’s living situation,
forcing them to move. Almost all of the interviewees were born in the
UK, one participant arrived to the UK as a refugee and was settled in the
UK.
Some of the participants were politicized and active in the Muslim civil
society. One engaged actively in Da’wah activities in the UK (preaching
Islam to non-Muslims), four volunteered with Muslim charities, had been on
aid convoys and two took active part in debates regarding Islam. Others,
while identifying with Islam, were not politicized and did not engage publicly
on issues relating to their religious identity.
Most of our interviewees were men, which to some degree reflects the gendered variations in counter-terrorism policing (Bhattacharyya 2008). As use of
passport cancellations has progressed, anecdotal evidence suggests more
women have been targeted but they make up a small proportion of our interview sample. There appear to be clear gendered dimensions to patterns of
criminalization. Women are often criminalized through their association
with Muslim men in terms of their status as wives, mothers or sisters, often
accused of assisting or planning to travel to Syria. Disciplinary measures
have on numerous occasions involved removing their children from them.
This broader trend is reflected in the story of our interviewee, Ayesha.
Ayesha’s story echoes those of other women we spoke to but were unable
to formally interview due to legal proceedings. We do not include their
stories in our data.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents