Black Muslims in Canada: The Intersectional Trauma of Racism and Islamophobia

Anti-Black racism and anti-Muslim discrimination in the Canadian context have been pervasive at the individual and systemic levels. Black Muslims face a unique set of challenges that stem from the intersection of anti-Black racism and Islamophobia. We analyzed data collected from the Black Community Mental Health (BCoMHeal) project in Canada to better understand the traumatizing impact of discrimination on Black Muslims. Participants (N = 860) completed measures of discrimination, anti-Black microaggressions, and trauma symptoms. Bivariate analyses compared trauma symptoms between religious groups and assessed the relationship between experiences of discrimination and traumatization. Two multiple regression models were conducted for trauma symptoms in Muslim and non-Muslim groups. The predictors included sociodemographic factors and racial discrimination variables. Our findings revealed that compared to Black Christians, Black Muslims exhibited the highest levels of trauma and encountered significantly more everyday discrimination and major discrimination. However, Muslims did not report significantly higher levels of anti-Black microaggressions, and these encounters appeared to be somewhat less traumatic for them. The study also found that Black Muslim women experienced significantly higher rates of major and everyday discrimination than Black Muslim men or Black Christians. Furthermore, after controlling for demographic differences, both major discrimination and anti-Black microaggressions robustly predicted trauma symptoms in Black Muslims. Religious participation was found to be a protective factor against trauma. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the complex interplay between race and religion and enhances our understanding of the mental health impact of having multiple marginalizing identities in Canadian society.