In the twenty years since its landmark report on Islamophobia, the Runnymede Trust noted that Muslims have become “a greater focus of policymakers in the UK and around the world, but framed largely in terms of terrorism or as a civilisation threat. The framing of Muslims is, of course, centuries old, but has re-emerged in new and toxic ways”.

The securitisation of Muslims is a pressing issue nationally in the UK and globally. Nation-states use the language and practices of counterterrorism in the Global North and South to justify their continued repression of marginalised groups. This is a crucial point that demonstrates how widespread counterterrorism practices are and how they change how Muslims are conceptualised.

In the UK, exceptionalism has become the norm, as the flagship counter-extremism programme known as the Prevent Duty is now a statutory requirement in public sectors. From schools to GP surgeries to the intimate space of the therapy session, frontline workers are now trained to report individuals they deem vulnerable to extremism. Trust erodes in these spaces, and fear of what you may say or how you present yourself overshadows experiences.

In this project, we consider how the fear of Prevent and counterterrorism measures, in general, is shaping Muslim identity. We focus on schools, healthcare sectors, prisons and homes and locate how Islamophobia penetrates these spaces primarily due to counterterrorism measures and the fear of the Muslim ‘Other’.