Selective Secularity and the Racialisation of Islam

How do we understand secularisation at its intersection with race? This book provides a theoretical lens for examining the racialisation of Islam within the framework of modernity/coloniality. It investigates how Islam and people who are perceived as Muslims are treated in relation to the claimed secular space of Finland, analysed within a broader European context.

Grounded in ethnographic work, it brings different disciplines into dialogue to make an analytical contribution across the sociology of religion, postcolonial thought, and critical race and citizenship studies. The book offers the framework of selective secularity to further understand the mechanism through which the racialisation of Islam operates in contemporary times. It also introduces the concept of labour of explaining as an analytical lens to unpack the epistemic dimension of the racialisation of Islam and what it does to the racialised bodies. The book initiates intersectional debates that are highly relevant to questions of citizenship in relation to race and religion, with particular attention to the Finnish case.

This book will therefore be of interest to students and scholars of sociology, critical race theory, the study of religion, postcolonial studies, and citizenship studies. It will also be a useful resource for those who engage with questions of integration and diversity, including policymakers and practitioners.