Muslim Minorities in Britain: Integration, Multiculturalism and Radicalism in the Post-7/7 Period

Abstract

This paper is a discussion of the experiences of British Muslim communities in the light of the events of 7/7. The social, economic and political positions of British Muslims have been important public policy and academic and popular discourse considerations since the focus on the Rushdie Affair of 1989 and the general rise of Islamophobia ever since. However, the events of 9/11, the impact of anti-terror legislation upon Muslim communities, and the subsequent discussion of questions in relation to multiculturalism and the experience of Islamic political radicalisation since 7/7 have led to the current research. The paper begins with an overview of the demographics of British Muslim communities and a focus on multiculturalism and Islamophobia in Britain. A discussion of the problem of the radicalisation of young Muslims is then followed by a concentration on anti-terrorism legislation and its impact on civil liberties. The example of the “foiled terror plot” of 10 August 2006 provides an analysis of the intersection of the current interest in radicalisation and its impact on multiculturalism in a climate of severe Islamophobia. In conclusion, it is argued that the many different parameters of Islamophobia are increasingly converging; further problematising already disadvantaged and disaffected religious minority groups. Solutions to problems remain in building inter-faith and inter-ethnic relations, ensuring equality of opportunity and outcome, but also recognising the important balance between integration and diversity.

Keywords:

• British Muslims
• Islamophobia
• Post-7/7 Period
• Radicalism

Notes

1. This paper was originally presented to the Association of Muslim Social Scientists International Conference, “Citizenship, Security and Democracy”, as “British Islamic Culture after 7/7: Ethnicity, Politics and Radicalisation”, Istanbul, Turkey, 1–3 September 2006.

2. The event of 7/7 refers to the coordinated attacks on London's public transport system in 2005 in which over 50 commuters died and several hundred were injured.

3. The August 2006 “foiled terrorist plot” was an attempt by a group of terrorists to detonate explosives on transatlantic flights. Several suspects have been subsequently detained and arrested in association with this plot.

4. Although defined as Pakistanis, the Pakistanis in Birmingham predominantly originate from the Mirpur district of Azad Kashmir. The term “Mirpuri” is also interchanged for Pakistani or Azad Kashmiri. It is difficult to estimate the proportion of Pakistanis in the UK who are actually from the Azad Kashmir district. Many of the Pakistanis in the West Midlands and in the North of England are Azad Kashmiris although the category itself is not recognised in official statistics. Furthermore, the term Azad Kashmiri has not quite become accepted parlance in academic or practitioner discourse. It is also important to state that some people would not consider Azad Kashmir to be part of Pakistan and would not want to be identified as Pakistanis.

5. Jean Charles de Menezes was a Brazilian who was killed on the London Tube on suspicion of carrying explosives. All allegations were later proven false.