Cutting Edge: Culture, Identity, Representation

Postgraduate Conference, Edge Hill University:

22 nd March 2014

Cheryl Mahmoud – Masters by Research (English

Language)

‘From Shahada to Akhirah’ British Female Muslim Reverts’ Journey Through Islam. An Analysis of Language as a Marker of Islamic Identity.Abstract

This study analyses language and discourse in a group of

British female Muslim reverts in the City of Sheffield U.K.

The hypothesis will argue that the level of Islamic discourse

corresponds with the length of time that a revert has been

Muslim. A parallel will be drawn with current theory on

religious conversion to establish a link between religious

identity and discourse.

Although Islam is widely perceived to operate a fiercely

patriarchal, oppressive system of religious beliefs and tenets

(Mernissi, 1991), it is estimated that over 5000 people

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reverted to Islam in 2010 in the U.K., of which 62% were

female (Brice, 2010: ii).

Despite the negative stereotypes surrounding Islam, these

women are making a conscious decision to commit to a religion

that requires them to undertake a complete shift in identity,

values, gender roles and expectations, behaviour and language

(Roald, 2001; Zebiri, 2008; Moosavi, 2012). Of concern in this

study is the interplay of identity, gender and religion, and

how language, or ‘linguistic recognition markers [are] formed

around […] shared beliefs’ (Joseph, 2004: 167).

Introduction

The following paper presents a developmental analysis of the

Masters by Research dissertation, due for completion in August

2014. It outlines the approach and methodologies used to study

language and discourse within the context of culture and

society. In other words, it is an ethnolinguistic study of a

community of practice, using the sociocultural approach to

linguistics. This approach was formulated by Bucholtz and Hall

in 2005 as a way of developing an analytical framework for the

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study of ‘identity as produced in linguistic interaction’

(2005: 585). It is adapted for use in this study to look at

the use of language and discourse in individual and group

settings. It will be argued that British female reverts’

identities are constrained within the contexts of two dominant

cultures – the religion of Islam, or the emergent identity; and

the inherent hegemonic culture of British society. Bucholtz and

Hall maintain that this intersubjectivity demonstrates that

‘identity is the social positioning of self and other’ (ibid:

586), or how speakers position themselves and others through

the use of language and discourse. Furthermore, the

sociocultural approach enables these (often conflicting)

identities to be considered in relation to local practices

(linguistic interaction and language features), and broader,

ideological categories. The main emphasis of this study is

language and discourse correlated with religious conversion

theories, but also ideological and demographic factors, as

illustrated below:

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In this respect, the contexts in which the present study

relate draws upon the study of:

Islam - the religion: the ideological system of

interpreting and constructing a socio-cultural system

based on the codes of practices, rules and conventions of

the faith; the construction of language and gender within

the context of Islam, as defined by the Quran and other

religious texts; feminist approaches to Islam, shaped by

narratives from feminist Muslim scholars and

conversational analysis of a small group of British

female Muslim reverts.

Religious conversion – theoretical approaches, in

particular conversion to Islam from a Western (Pan-

European) perspective; renegotiating gender roles in

Islam; cross-cultural communication and code-switching.

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The community of practice

Applying the sociocultural approach to the study of a group of

speakers necessitates a first-hand empirical investigation of

the speakers within their natural speech settings. This is

known as ethnography (Hammersley and Atkinson, 1995: 1), and

suggests that researchers should view the practices of the

group as a member or observer of the group. This is also known

as participant observation, defined as ‘the practice of

spending […] time with speakers observing how they use

language, react to others’ use of it, and how language

interacts with and is embedded in other social practices and

ideologies’ (Meyerhoff, 2006: 39). The researcher in this

study is a participant observer of the group of speakers and

also shares other mutually defined identities and practices.

Thus, the group is defined as a social network known as

community of practice (Eckert and McConnell-Ginet, 1992).

The participants in the study, the British female reverts, are

arguably a community within two communities. They are British,

insomuch as they live in Britain and abide by the laws and

customs of British society, but they are also Muslims, and

have made a conscious decision to conform to the tenets and

systems of Islam. According to Rousseau (1762, translated

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in1968), society places religion into two contexts: the

‘religion of the man’ (ibid: 160) i.e. an individual’s devotion

to their chosen deity for example, a Muslim, or follower of

Islam; and the ‘religion of the citizen’ (ibid.), i.e., the

established religion in a particular country or society. In

Islam this would be the application of Sharia law, and, in an

Islamic country Sharia law is an application of Islam as a

theocracy – a complete socio-political religious system. This

is not the case in Britain, which of course is an increasingly

secular society, broadly based on Christian traditions.

British Muslims therefore operate as ‘religions of the man

[and woman!]’ (ibid.).

From this, it is evident that there is an incompatibility for

British Muslim reverts, and it is argued therefore that they

emerge as a subculture, or hybrid of both dominant cultures:

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(cf. Hebdige, 1979)

Culture, subculture and hybridity

‘Culture is the shared assumptions, values, and beliefs of a

group of people which result in characteristic behaviour’

(Storti, 1995:5), and these inherent or ‘invisible’ dimensions

of the group influence behaviour, dress code, body language,

and in many instances, linguistic interaction. Islam is not

just a religion; it is also an ideology, a set of belief

systems and a way of viewing and interpreting the world

according to its teachings. In many ways, Islam could also be7

viewed as a cultural system in which people behave in

characteristic ways and share a similar belief. British

society could also arguably be described as a culture but is

usually defined in the context of Western society as a concept

against which ‘otherness’ is construed (cf. Said, 1994), and

will be examined in more detail during the course of the

research.

In this context, reverts could be described as a subculture of

both dominant groups, and hold a unique but often stigmatised

position in society. Drawing on the work of Hebdige (1979) it

will be argued that Muslims, and in particular, reverts are

perceived negatively by the media (cf. Baker et al. 2013: 254)

and ‘labelled and redefined by [both] dominant groups’

(Hebdige, 1979: 94). This issue is problematic to reverts and

they undergo a fluctuation in self-identity and sincerity (cf.

Moosavi, 2012). This is mirrored by the linguistic resources

adopted by them as they progress on the journey through Islam.

In turn this leads to a process of acculturation, or ‘changes

that cultural groups undergo after being in contact over a

period of time’ (Liu et al., 2011: 247), in which reverts

attempt to reconcile their identity as ‘authentically British

and authentically Islamic’ (Suleiman, 2013: 9).

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Drawing on the work of Pichler (2011), the concept of

hybridity emerges when the ‘essentialist approach to culture

and identity as fixed and static’ (2011: 237) is challenged in

respect to Islam and British society being seen as

‘independent, a priori and, moreover, homogenous categories’

(ibid.). Pichler’s research focused on the hybrid nature of

British Bangladeshi girls negotiating cultural and ethno-

racial discourses regarding arranged marriage, and a parallel

can be drawn with the present study on some of the broader

ideological issues. Muslim reverts have not previously been

researched in the context of hybridity and how this is defined

by linguistic interaction and as such, this is an original

critical debate in the study of language and identity.

Methodology

The methodology used for this research consists of three ways

of eliciting data. This is known as ‘methodological

triangulation’ (Denscombe, 2010: 351), and is a useful tool

for comparing one method of data collection against another,

using different techniques to corroborate findings within

methods. The three methods are outlined below:

1. Stage 1 – Questionnaire

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A questionnaire allows participants to complete

biographical information without the need for face to

face interviews. It also allows time for questions to be

answered relating to self and group identity by means of

an identity strength chart.

2. Stage 2 – Focus Group

This method allows an observation of intersubjective

discourse in the group. The conversation emerges from

specific questions that are posed by the researcher, in

respect to topics relevant to the study - gender,

feminism, identity, heritage, Islam and the West and the

Arabic language. The discussion is recorded and

transcribed.

3. Stage 3 – Observation of spontaneous conversation

The final method is the ethno-linguistic observation of

the group interacting in a natural, informal setting. The

researcher participates in this discussion as a

participant observer. As with the focus group, the

discussion is recorded and transcribed.

It is important to note that any academic research that

involves empirical data needs a full consideration of ethical

and legal aspects. It is the responsibility of the researcher

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to ensure that full ethical consideration has been given to

the particular group of people who are taking part in the

study. In the present study, involving Muslim women, this

takes account of religious requirements as well as the moral

obligation of obtaining consent and maintaining

confidentiality.

Using the sociocultural approach with the British female

Muslim reverts

Bucholtz and Hall (2005) proposed five principles for

analysing linguistic interaction within specific ethnographic

and ideological contexts. Each of these principles draw on

existing insights into how identities are constructed through

‘social positioning of the self and other’ (ibid: 586), but

allow for a more structured and organised approach to drawing

together the various literatures and theories that are linked

to individual research projects. In this respect, it also

enables a methodological approach to analysing identity

through linguistic interaction, and this particular

interpretation will be used in the present study. For the

purpose of the conference, and as a way of exemplifying the

above principles in practice, a few examples of linguistic

interaction from the Stage 2 focus group will be analysed in

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accordance with three of the principles outlined in the

sociocultural approach. Within each of the principles, an

application of relevant theory will also be discussed.

The first of these principles is the Emergence Principle in

which,

identity is best viewed as the emergent product ratherthan the pre-existing source of linguistic and othersemiotic practices and therefore as fundamentally asocial and cultural phenomenon (Bucholtz and Hall, 2005:588)

This principle recognises that identity emerges through

performance and draws on several well-known theories,

including that of Speech Act Theory and Performativity.

The concept of performativity has its origins in Austin’s

Speech Act Theory (1962), in particular what he referred to as

performative utterances, which allow a distinction to be made

between the meaning (of an utterance), the intended meaning,

and the effect of the utterance on other people. These

distinctions are known as the ‘illocutionary forces’ (ibid.: 101-

102), and will be discussed in more detail in the final

report. It is sufficient at this time to acknowledge that

‘identity that is socially created and grounded and emergent

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through discourse of some kind’ (Jones, 2012: 28) and these

performative utterances fulfil that definition.

In Islam, the shahada, or declaration of faith is a performative

in that a new identity is created by the words and

intentions. The shahada is one of the Five Pillars of Islam,

and is the declaration of faith required before a person can

become Muslim. This entails ‘To firmly believe in the heart

and declare: “Laa ilaaha illa Allaah, Muhammadur rasoolu

Allah” (There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the

Messenger of Allah)’ (Ibrahim, 1997: 65), and is the most

important aspect of the faith. It involves the acceptance and

commitment to a complete system of life based on Islamic

principles, values and teachings.

Butler (1990) drew inspiration from Austin’s theory of

performativity to develop her own theory that gender is

performative in that a series of ‘stylised acts or

performances’ (Jones, 2012: 22), including linguistic acts,

can accomplish unnaturally constructed gender identities. For

female reverts, the requirement to fulfil specific gendered

roles in Islam could well fit into this definition.

The second principle is the Indexicality Principle, in which

‘identities may be linguistically indexed through linguistic13

structures and symbols’ (Buchlotz and Hall, 2005: 594), and

relies heavily on concepts of ideology and inherent cultural

beliefs and values (ibid.). In other words, these linguistic

structures and symbols, which can also include ‘whole dialects

or languages can index or point to an individual speaker’s or

group of speakers’ social identities’ (Silverstein, 1992;

Mahmoud, 2013).

In the present study, an example is the language of Islam.

Arabic is the language of Islam and is used by Muslims,

regardless of their nationality, to index their Islamic

identity. There are many dialectal varieties of Arabic across

the diaspora but the dialect of Arabic that is used

universally throughout the Arab world is Modern Standard

Arabic or al-lugat al-ʿarabiyyat al-fuṣḥa. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)

is understood by all Arabic speakers and used in written form

in newspapers and official documents (Ager, 2014). Islamic

discourse markers, greetings and duas ‘blessings’ are written

and spoken in Modern Standard Arabic.

Arabic is also the language of the Quran, and Muslims believe

that it is mandatory to learn a certain amount of Arabic as an

act of worship or abadah. The Quran, however, is written and

spoken in Classical Arabic. This style of Arabic differs from

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Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in writing style, vocabulary, and

pronunciation (Ager, 2014). Muslims are required to recite the

Quran, using a specific form of pronunciation known as tajweed.

The word, tajweed, originates from the Arabic root word, jayyid

‘good’ and is used linguistically to denote proficiency. The

importance of correct recitation is mentioned in the Quran,

‘…and recite the Quran in measured recitation’ (73: 4)

Classical Arabic is not spoken on a day to day basis by Arabic

speakers; it is generally considered archaic, so Muslim Arabs

also have to learn the tajweed of Quran.

Muslim reverts are therefore required to adopt Arabic

discourse markers and a variety of other linguistic techniques

‘to frame themselves […] as particular types of people’

(Bucholtz and Hall, 2005: 586), in order to facilitate issues

of self-identity, authenticity and sincerity (cf. Moosavi,

2012).

The third principle that will be discussed in this paper is

the Relationality Principle, where ‘identities are

intersubjectively constructed through several, often

overlapping, complementary relations, including similarity/

difference, genuineness/ artifice, and authority/

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delegitimacy’ (Bucholtz and Hall, 2005: 598). These paired

relations are also known as ‘tactics of intersubjectivity […]

analytic tools to call attention to salient aspects of the

discourse situation’ (Bucholtz and Hall, 2004: 493), and

describe the ways in which identities are constructed through

discourse, rather than being an inherent factor in individuals

or groups of speakers.

Given the constraint of this paper only two of these

relations, or tactics, will be discussed, and for each of

these an example from the data will be used to illustrate

their application.

The first of the two relations under discussion are

‘adequation and difference [which] are processes by which

subjects construct and are constructed within social sameness

and difference’ (ibid: 494). These relate to how discourse can

be manipulated to establish ‘sufficient similarity’ (ibid: 495)

within homogenous groups; distinction, on the other hand,

applies when tactics are deployed to suppress similarities

with a particular group (cf. Jones, 2012: 29).

The example text below comes from an interaction from the

Stage 2 focus group, in response to a question relating to

negative representations of Islam:16

14 C The next question / why do you think society and the media have such negative perceptions of Islam?

15 K The media tend not to use the word Muslim and Islam without using the word terrorist or extremist ((pause)) and that we’vebeen demonised as the bad guy …

16 M I think, after what happened in Iraq, they see us as a threat17 T Ultimately fear breeds prejudice [ -18 F [yeah / I think 9/11 had a

lot to do with it19 T Fear of Islam taking over the world / fear of terrorism / It

was Ronald Reagan that actually said the biggest fear for the West / today is Islam …

20 B I read something that said to keep a society together you haveto create an enemy and that’s what keeps people together

21 A … 9/11 happened and that was the turning point for me / that’swhen I noticed people starting to become hostile towards Muslims … and suddenly we became the enemy …

Through tactics of intersubjectivity, the group identify

themselves as Muslim through the use of personal pronouns

(highlighted in red), but the emphasis on these pronouns also

signify a group identity as distinct from the main, homogenous

Muslim group, and its stereotypical associations with

terrorism and violence. This relies on a conversational tactic

known as ‘conversational inference […] the situated or

context-bound process of interpretation’ (Gumperz, 2006: 78),

and relates to how the speakers understand conversational

meaning by inference and implicature. The inference in this

interaction, interpreted and understood by the group and the

researcher as participant observer, is that a clear boundary

is created between the two ideological groups.

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The final example of complementary relations is that of

authorisation and illegitimation. These tactics focus

primarily on power relations where ‘authorisation is the use

of power to legitimate certain social identities as culturally

intelligible, while illegitimation is the revoking or

withholding of such validation from particular identities’

(Bucholtz and Hall, 2004: 503). An example of these relations

is found in Jones’s study of lesbian discourse (2012) in which

her group of speakers use tactics of intersubjectivity to

align themselves with hegemonic structures, especially

feminism. Similarly, tactics were also used to illegitimate

other non-normative identities within the group (ibid: 30). An

example from the present study occurs when asked about Muslims

and feminism:

42 C Can you be a Muslim and a feminist at the same time?43 K Definitely yes / I am44 T … look at Khadijah commanding an army …45 K … she proposed to the Prophet sallallayhu salaam / she

employed the Prophet peace be upon him / before they were married / and then she proposed marriage to him …

46 A … I think if you look at Islam in its purest form / which is what reverts tend to do … then yes it’s very feminist-friendly religion … it is the cultural Muslims who put their culture over their faith … they are the ones who make Islam seem patriarchal

The first speaker answers the question by aligning herself to

Khadijah, the first wife of the prophet Mohammed, who was

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considered the first female revert to Islam. Khadijah

commanded an army, was an employer, and proposed to Mohammed.

These are endeavours not usually associated within patriarchal

societies and highlights the inaccuracy of this assumption.

The second speaker seeks to dismiss patriarchy within Islam as

the practice of heritage Muslims who align more with culture

rather than faith. Her role as a Muslim entitles her to make

this observation.

Conclusion

This is very much a work in progress but already there is

evidence that Islamic identity, especially gender and feminism

is renegotiated through intersubjective discourse and aligned

to the identity of reverts as a hybrid of both inherent and

emergent cultures.

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