Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- List of abbreviations
- Glossary
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Dedication
- Introduction: my research observations
- 1 The identity debate
- 2 Muslims in Britain: an overview
- 3 The religious and cultural dilemma
- 4 To be or not to be British
- 5 Is the media biased against Muslims?
- 6 The niqab debate
- 7 Indignation about the proposal to include shariah law in Britain
- Conclusion: a humanitarian way forward
- Bibliography
- Index
Conclusion: a humanitarian way forward
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- List of abbreviations
- Glossary
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Dedication
- Introduction: my research observations
- 1 The identity debate
- 2 Muslims in Britain: an overview
- 3 The religious and cultural dilemma
- 4 To be or not to be British
- 5 Is the media biased against Muslims?
- 6 The niqab debate
- 7 Indignation about the proposal to include shariah law in Britain
- Conclusion: a humanitarian way forward
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In my investigation of the identity of young British Muslims (aged 15–30), I found that most of the participants valued their British connections because they were either born in Britain or had lived there for a long time. They were also attached to their ethnic heritage, including languages other than English and their cultural celebrations. They spoke of their religious identity, which was reflected through their Muslim names, Islamic practices and celebrations, and sometimes through their dress. However, many respondents were distressed by the media practice of ‘Othering’ Muslims. Some felt they were the ‘Other’ as a result of the 7/7 London bombings, and/or because of their Islamic attire or appearance, which was not acceptable to some members of the wider society. Some Muslim women felt ‘under attack’ when British Foreign Minister Jack Straw pointed a finger at the niqab, and Muslim men felt alienated when they were ‘stopped and searched’. The extreme right-wing British National Party had capitalised on the Muslim-related issue (for example, Prophet Muhammad's [PBUH] cartoon issue) with their anti-immigration propaganda, whereas other British politicians, such as the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and religious leaders, for example the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, have been sympathetic to mainstream Muslims and their issues. As Fazlul, a British-born male respondent of Bangladeshi background, aged 30 (British-Bangladeshi Muslim) remarked:
I find it strange to see that on one hand the English BNP are trying to smash you up and get rid of you and send you back home, and the others are against your enemy! And they are also English.
(Interview, London, 31 March 2008)- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Young British MuslimsIdentity, Culture, Politics and the Media, pp. 199 - 218Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2010