Islamophobia is operating in ways that many of us do not know about. By limiting our understandings of Islamophobia to the perpetuation of physical/ verbal violence, the characterisation of Muslims as a ‘suspect community’ and the systematic targeting and disciplining of Muslim populations through state legislation, a more surreptitious manifestation has masqueraded in the background and has demonstrated the ability of inflicting an equal (if not greater) amount of damage. This is not through visible and archetypal ‘extreme’ occurrences that can be readily identified, but rather, under the camouflage of ‘everyday’ routine and mundane practices that can occur across any space, place or institution. If Islamophobia cannot be recognised, then it cannot be problematised, let alone challenged.

Everyday manifestations of Islamophobia entail the communicating of hostile messages and denigrating insults, either consciously or unconsciously, through an array of methods including hurling peculiar or offensive remarks, giving ‘funny’ stares, being patronising,  talking someone down, contact avoidance and/ or uninvited touching. In other words, they are the everyday cuts, snubs and put-downs. They may seem ‘normal’. They may seem innocuous. However, they are cumulative and can have debilitating implications for the wellbeing and life prospects of those on the receiving end (Pierce, 1988; Solórzano et al., 2000; Sue, 2010).

Synonymous to racism, Islamophobia has proven to be resilient, dynamic and able to (re)adapt in order to withstand the prevailing social and political landscape. This is, as Goldberg (2015) argued, related to the hegemony of ‘post-racial’ thought in how the perpetuation of racism has not disappeared, but rather, evolved from explicit to implicit expression. It is paramount, however, that the “changing face of racism” (Sue et al., 2007: 272) is not downplayed or erroneously considered as more ‘tolerable’. This severity is appreciated by Gilmore (2007) who argued how the humiliations, degradations, indignities and modes of exclusion that constitute racism are capable of, directly or indirectly, foreshortening life and life’s possibilities.

This special issue invites submissions from both emerging and established scholars to contribute critical and innovative perspectives to the significant topic of ‘Everyday Islamophobia’.  By focusing on the ‘everyday-ness’ of Islamophobia, we are able to comprehend when, where and how it operates and how ordinary situations may become Islamophobic situations. Submissions can be theoretical, conceptual and/ or substantive and either historical or contemporary. Contributions are welcome from any geographical region. However, we especially encourage articles with a focus beyond the SAMENA (South Asia, Middle East and North Africa) regions.

Prospective themes that can be examined include:

• • Racial Microaggressions

  • Institutional Racism

  • Stereotyping

  • (Un)Belonging

  • Discrimination

Please email your abstract (approximately 300 words) to the guest editor, Izram Chaudry [I.Chaudry@bradford.ac.uk].

Authors of accepted abstracts will initially be invited to present a working paper, of approximately 2000-3000 words at an online workshop event (details to follow). This will provide an opportunity to facilitate the discussion of ideas and arguments whilst concomitantly advertising the work featuring in the special issue to prospective audiences. Authors shall then be invited to submit a full manuscript. This must comply with the ReOrient Journal Submission Guidelines. ReOrient will publish all articles in English of between 6,000 and 10,000 words (including bibliography). Submissions must not be  published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

All articles will be subject to blind peer reviewing by at least two referees. Authors may request that specific reviewers be excluded. Final decisions on the publication of articles remains with the Editorial Board. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (once accepted) and will be collated together when every submission is received to form the special issue.

Abstract Submission Deadline:  March 3^rd 2023

Notification of Acceptance:  March 17^th 2023

Working Paper Submission Deadline: 2^nd June 2023

Online Workshop Event: 19^th June 2023

Manuscript Submission Deadline:  27^th October 2023