Everyday Hybridity and Hong Kong's Muslim Youth

Abstract

This article explores hybrid Hong Kong through empirical representation of the territory's cultural mix and fusion. The research applies the concept of everyday hybridity that seeks to engage with the quotidian aspects of intercultural exchange and multiculturalism. Young Muslims in Hong Kong provide the focus for the enquiry and represent everyday scenarios of hybridity connected to themes of identity, urban space and fasting during Ramadan. Importantly the work challenges ideas of Muslims as a problematic component of multicultural societies and questions how Hong Kong's special status facilitates its hybrid culture.

Muslim girl culture and social control in Southeast Asia: Exploring the hijabista and hijabster phenomena

“…Some young women have described how their parents ask them not to wear it for fear of their daughters being labeled or blacklisted. This is similar to O’Connor’s (2011) findings that Muslim parents in Hong Kong want their children to downplay their religious identities and to excel in school and at work so they will become happy through financial success, even though such cultural goals are antithetical to Islam precepts concerning the significance of wealth vis-a-vis happiness. More research is needed to understand the cultural significance of such choices, as well as both their subjective and objective effects.…”

“…Contemporary Islam in Southeast Asia “is being synthesized with some of the lifestyle characteristics of late modernity—urbanization, consumption for consumption’s sake, dependency on technology, extended periods of education and training” (Nilan, 2006: 92), and so on. These changes are occurring more broadly in Asia (O’Connor, 2011) as well as in Europe and the Americas (AlSayyad and Castells, 2002; Mandaville, 2001). The result is a hybrid existence for many Muslim youths.…”

Culturally Relevant Protective and Risk Factors of Youth Risk Behaviors Among Pakistani and Indian Students in Hong Kong: A Focus Group Study

“…Given the great influence of social media (Black, Schmiege, & Bull, 2013) on the development of adolescents’ risk behaviors, nurses may use media outlet to raise the awareness of such behaviors and implement possible online prevention programs (Ahern, Kemppainen, & Thacker, 2016; Creighton, 2010). Moreover, nurses may encourage these students about healthy/positive risk-taking behaviors or sports (Ahern et al, 2016) relevant to their sociocultural settings such as hiking, playing cricket which are widespread in South Asian population (O’Connor, 2010). Nurses may be informed by culturally responsive training (Saftner, Martyn, Momper, Loveland-Cherry, & Low, 2015) about the prevention of risk behaviors in ethnic minority youth.…”

Young people's participation in Fiji: Merits, challenges and the way forward

“…Many young people are becoming ‘self‐actualising citizens’ (Bennet, in Harris et al ., : 13) and everyday makers (Bang, in Harris et al ., : 13). They engage in what O'Connor () calls ‘everyday hybridity’ or the lived experiences derived from life in a diverse society. In Fiji young people, although small in number, currently do this through online activism and corporate and NGO‐sponsored volunteerism rather than in political affairs.…”