Racialisation, securitisation, and professionalisation of Muslim teachers: Life stories from Muslim teachers

This chapter uses life stories to explore salient episodes from the lives of three Muslim primary school teachers serving education in Birmingham. It draws on qualitative research conducted with teachers in different schools across the city. It illuminates their historic origins, experiences of schooling, influences on identity and their conceptualising of professional identity of teachers. Conclusions, from individual and collective narratives, confirm their orientations to teaching being similar in several types of schools. The participants shared positive and enjoyable experiences alongside some experiences of racism, verbal abuse, and microaggressions. Within their complex web of identities, these first-hand accounts provide an understanding of what it means to be a Muslim teacher in contemporary Britain. All were proud of expressing their identity as Muslims while also acknowledging their professionalism.