ABSTRACT
In Western social work, white ways of knowing precede those of any other type of knowing. This is limiting of what may be accepted as knowledge. Thus, this chapter has two aims. The first is to privilege Muslim ways of knowing and practising, and to interrupt white privilege and undermine white epistemologies. This is achieved by drawing on some themes that I and others have applied in the space of working with young people. The second aim of this chapter is an attempt at ‘pinning down’ how racism functions to maintain white epistemic authority. Drawing on an example, I hope to bring attention to how white race privilege operates, how it works to silence and devalue other knowledges, and what happens when white people are positioned as experts and knowers, and as gate-keepers to what are considered legitimate and illegitimate forms of knowledge. In using a direct personal example involving the Australian Association of Social Workers, this chapter attempts to make power as tangible as possible and to demonstrate how white domination is affirmed.
