Imagining leadership possibilities Pakistani and Kashmiri teachers

The lens through which Muslim communities in the UK have been understood in government policy has emphasised religion as a modus operandi of recognising, working and dealing with minorities. This has shifted from the category of ‘race’ and progressed to ethnicity and culture, and then arrived at faith (Grillo, 2010). The intersections between the race and religion are discussed as the ‘racialization of religion’ and Nye (2019) suggests that the category of religion is in itself a form of racialization. It is challenging for Muslim teachers to aspire to school leadership when they are not viewed as potential leaders because social structures and political discourses depict some Muslims, women in particular, through the perspective of the ‘other’. In the landscape of education, identity construction is pivotal in being and becoming a teacher. Thus, faith should also be considered in understanding teachers better. This means that to gain a nuanced appreciation of the lived experiences of Muslim teachers, it is pertinent to speak with them so that their mutterings and rhythms of everyday life are captured.