Islam as Rebellion and Conformity: How Young British Pakistani Muslims in the UK Negotiate Space for and against Radical Ideologies

Abstract

The public performance of various and sometimes conflicting identities constitutes a recognisable part of the late adolescent and early adult period. Often such identities are transitional and interchangeable. For young Muslims in Britain, however, the performance of a recognisable ‘Muslim’ identity through religious practices and affiliations to named Muslim groups has frequently been read as the adoption of an oppositional identity in reaction to the increased stigmatisation and racialisation of the Muslim population. Exploring a range of spaces in which these Muslim identities are learned and adapted by young adults, this paper seeks to understand how Islam can be used as a vehicle through which to practise both rebellion and conformity. By interrogating the nuances in decision-making related to conformity and the management of deviant identities, it further attempts to understand the importance of the local context in the place of violent extremism and radical ideologies and their relation to ‘seditious spaces’.