Us vs. Them: The ‘Othering’ boats lead us only to an ‘Identity Wasteland’

There has been a steady rise in hate crimes in Canada. Statistics Canada (2022) reported an 89% increase in hate crimes across the nation between 2016 and 2020. According to the new national data of Statistics Canada (2022), hate crimes against Muslims increased by 71% in 2021 compared to 2020, with 144 incidents. However, the larger socio-political context is not the only domain where anti-Muslim bigotry, and the systemic process of “Us vs. Them” exist. It can be found subtly and explicitly on the campuses of progressive universities in Canada, a country that takes pride in its tolerance and multiculturalism. Given this circumstance, in connection with Islamophobic “Othering”, my study delves into exploring the hyphenated experiences of Muslim student lives, their identity crises and negotiations, their reactions to Islamophobic upheavals, and academic impact.

This image, in connection with my research context, is a symbolic representation of how systemic prejudice through the “Othering” process is triggering identity crises in society and turning it into a wasteland of violence and hatred. Here, two boats metaphorically epitomize the functional system of “Us vs. Them”, while the barren tree in the background alludes to the system’s eventual implications.