The ‘metropolis of dissent’: Muslim participation in Leicester and the ‘failure’ of multiculturalism in Britain

Abstract

Focusing on Muslim participation in the governance of Leicester in the East Midlands of England, this article contests prevalent assumptions about the contemporary politics of multiculturalism. Specifically, it questions two narratives on the subject: first, a descriptive narrative about multiculturalism being in retreat; and second, a normative narrative about multiculturalism undermining national culture. Using interview, ethnographic and archival research, the article shows how a programme of multicultural politics has been implemented in Leicester that, while shifting, has remained firmly in place across national political and policy changes. It also demonstrates how this model of multicultural practice has emphasized civic communitarianism and utilized British national traditions. Using the above methods, the article questions the terms of political debate about multiculturalism, and considers how ‘convivial’ and ‘communitarian’ theoretical approaches to multiculturalism can renew and refashion multicultural political practice.

Keywords:

• multiculturalism
• Leicester
• Muslims
• governance
• minority incorporation
• faith participation

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Therese O’Toole, Daniel Nilsson DeHanas, Nasar Meer and Tariq Modood for their support and constructive suggestions throughout the research process, and to the two anonymous referees for their comments on earlier drafts.

Funding

The research for this paper was jointly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant number AH/H016066/1].

Notes

1. According to the 2011 Census, 6,417 Leicester residents were born in Poland.

2. The size of the Somali population is hard to assess. The 2011 Census suggests that 3,209 Leicester residents were born in Somalia, but this ignores that many Somali migrants previously resided in the Netherlands for many years. Between 2001 and 2011, the ‘Black African’ population grew by 9,048.

Additional information

Funding

Funding: The research for this paper was jointly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant number AH/H016066/1].

Notes on contributors

Stephen H. Jones

STEPHEN H. JONES is Research Assistant in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol.