Muslims and Political Participation in Britain by Timothy Peace

Author:Timothy Peace [Peace, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Political Science, General
ISBN: 9780415725316
Google: VKL7nQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 18607475
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2014-05-12T00:00:00+00:00

Part III

Exploring the political amongst young people

7 Diversity in political perspectives and engagement among young British Muslims

Asma Mustafa

Introduction

The growing concern about the influence of religious ideology on the political perspectives and practices of British Muslims has focused on the assumption that all Muslims follow and agree on the role of Islam in politics. Among other things, this supposition holds foreign policy as crucial to all Muslims; accuses Muslims of allegiance to their religion over their nation-state; and presumes the majority of Muslims believe in political violence as a means of gaining political goals and consequently it treats as questionable any form of political activism by young Muslims. Notwithstanding that, the previous decade has seen attempts by Muslims to defend their religion and religious identity against radical elements and their extremist political agenda. This chapter analyses the perception of young second generation British Muslims regarding political violence, foreign policy, citizenship and political engagement. The chapter highlights the diversity in religious interpretation of the ‘political’; of variations in attitudes towards political violence and a progressive and varying degree of understanding of the role that Islam plays in politics. This does not undermine research on Muslim political participation, but emphasises the diversity in interpretation, attitudes and action among them.

There has been a constant spotlight on British Muslims and the political sphere. The 2005 7/7 terrorist London bombings and the 2013 murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich have initiated debates surrounding British foreign policy (especially in the Middle East and North Africa) and the ‘reasons’ for violent extremism. The ongoing debate is exclusively focused on the role that Islam plays in the politicisation of British Muslims, rather than in their personal lives. Many young British Muslims use religious teachings, morals and values to inform their political perspectives and activities. Whether termed ‘Islamist’ politics, or political Islam, young Muslims are engaging in legitimate political activity, using a religious moral compass to guide them. This includes being highly critical of British foreign policy for example, and using legitimate political approaches to express their perspectives and views.

Methodology

Qualitative research approaches are chosen for varied reasons. For this research project they were chosen because they support sensitive engagement with respondents. This is especially important when discussing the complexity of identity and potentially insightful political attitudes. A key concern during the fieldwork was how to elicit responses from participants discussing intricate and intimate issues, especially when articulating views relating to identity and discussing methods of (at times violent) political engagement. During these engaging semi-structured interviews, a variety of creative sub-methods were incorporated in order to gather credible material. These innovative methods included auto-photography and word sorts to elicit concepts of identity, and photographic vignettes to capture concepts of political action.

The empirical research on young British Muslims was conducted across Britain. The main method of conducting the research was via semi-structured interviews with 67 second-generation British Muslims aged between 16 and 35. The sample was collected via snowball and then purposive sampling methods. The participants came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

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