Sabah Firoz Uddin

This project draws parallels between Black joy, as a mechanism of resistance and what this study terms, Muslim joy. It investigates how Muslim creatives in post-Brexit Britain resist Islamophobia and affirm Muslimness through art and design. Drawing on ethnographic research and analyzing cultural expressions—such as art, spoken word, fashion and design, particularly on social media platforms—this work reframes joy as a site of power and contestation, challenging dominant narratives that often reduce Muslims to trauma-based identities. Grounded in a decolonial framework, this study highlights how expressions of joy and beauty offer new spaces for Muslim self-presentation, reshaping narratives of trauma, belonging and self-identity within the British Muslim context.