Stuck in Representation

This article aims to discuss how Muslims participating in the Norwegian public debate experience what we refer to as representation work activism. Building on Conner’s and Rosen’s understanding of activism ‘as acts that challenge the status quo and seek to reconfigure asymmetrical power relations’ (Conner 2016, 2), we discuss activism as a particular form of engagement from the position of minoritised public figures. Such activism implies engaging in social change with one’s own social identity as a working tool and a profoundly personal and embodied engagement. Our analysis is based on interviews with journalists, authors, artists, politicians, and leaders of religious- and interest-based organisations who either self-identify as Muslims or have experiences of being categorised as Muslims. By linking discussions on social engagement with discussions on the work of representation (Muftee and Rosales 2002) and identity work (Hage 2010), we identify four positions for Muslim representation work in our material. Activists entering the public sphere get responses according to what positions they choose to operate from / are assigned to by others, and the reactions to their performances can become extreme, both in a positive and a negative sense. Choosing/being chosen for this kind of representation work can very well be dangerous and even potentially life-threatening in terms of both health and security. The participants often end up feeling stuck and denied the possibility of vacillating between different drivers of engagement (universalistic/particularistic aspirations) and modes of engagement (rebellious/reformist aspirations) in their representation work.