Islamic Radicalism and Multicultural Politics: The British Experience by Tahir Abbas

Author:Tahir Abbas [Abbas, Tahir]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Radicalism, Religion, European, Politics, Islam, Great Britain, Europe, Fundamentalism, Political Ideologies, Social Science, Political Science, World, Islamic Studies, History, Sociology, Regional Studies, General, Race & Ethnic Relations
ISBN: 9781136959608
Google: JdC90uc8PfQC
Goodreads: 17584950
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2010-05-01T00:00:00+00:00

6 The political philosophy of multiculturalism and the ‘modern Muslim’

The ideas of unity within diversity and diversity within unity are broadly typified by the notion of multiculturalism – where ethnic minority and majority groups maintain a set of cultural and social norms and values but, crucially, commit to their roles and responsibilities as citizens of the state. In recent periods, many have argued that developments in British ethnic and cultural relations have seen a return to assimilationist thinking, with observable shifts in policy in relation to ethnic and religious minorities.1 To explore this issue further, political and philosophical debates that impact on Muslim individuals and groups in society are explored from a socio-historical perspective. It is argued that economic, political and social forces restrict Muslims in structurally disadvantaged positions, providing the context for the current debate, but there is also an interest in the ways in which individual and group norms relate to a wider rationalisation of how ‘Britishness’ can be considered and developed, locally, nationally and globally. The future of multiculturalism, nevertheless, remains uncertain in England, throughout Britain and elsewhere in Western Europe. The reason for this stems from widening socio-economic divisions coupled with issues in the management of culturally plural societies in an atmosphere of global uncertainty and conflict between people on the basis of their faith, culture and identity, perceived or actual. There are also issues of how it is rationalised and operationalised in local, national and international contexts and the nature of inter-relationships between these different spheres of influence.

Utilising a synthesis of primary research findings in the areas of education, entrepreneurship, media, race equality and identity politics in relation to British South Asian Muslims,2 it is important to explore the historical and political origins of multiculturalism, which includes a critique of liberal and communitarian philosophical debates. This discussion provides a closer examination of the British multiculturalism case, taking into consideration the transition from Empire to post-colonial society, and the historical move from assimilationism to anti-racist legislation. In particular, the recent case of New Labour (1997–2010), and the ways in which it developed its pre- and post-9/11 and 7/7 policies and practices in relation to British ethnic minorities (more specifically, Muslims) is examined. The aim is to provide a wider analysis of (‘the rise and fall of’) multiculturalism and what it suggests for British Muslim ethno-religious identities and the nature of the lived experience. It is carried out in the context of an ever-evolving political framing of the importance of civil society, local governance, international security and the ever-increasing impact of globalisation.

In its present form, the idea of a return to assimilationism is a viable representation of the situation. It is an inherently unstable one, however, as it requires considerable reconceptualisation in order to satisfy the demands placed upon advanced liberal democracies because of their diverse ethnic, religious and cultural minorities. In the British case, government reaction and the general approach to the ‘multicultural question’ is fraught with counter-competing tensions, conflating a paradigm of paternalism with the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.