The political assertiveness of Muslims in Britain is creating difficulties for secular multiculturalism. While black and related ethno-racial identities are intrinsic to the rainbow coalition of identity politics, this coalition is deeply unhappy with Muslim consciousness. While for some this rejection is specific to Islam, for many the ostensible reason is that it is a religious identity, and therefore has no place in the public sphere. Yet in this the advocates of difference politics are reverting to a public/private distinction that they have spent two or three decades demolishing. The emergence of Muslim politcal agency has, then, thrown British multiculturalism into theoretical and practical disarray. This is worrying because on any objective reading there cannot be a race relations settlement in Britain without the Muslims, as nearly half of all non-whites are Muslims.
References
1.
Anwar, M. (1993) Muslims in Britain: 1991 Census and other Statistical Sources, CSIC Europe Papers no. 9. Birmingham: Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations.
2.
Arendt, H. (1963) On Revolution. New York: Viking Press.
3.
Arendt, H. (1968) Human Condition. London: The University of Chicago Press.
4.
Benhabib, S. (1992) Situating the Self. New York: Routledge.
5.
CCCS (Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies ) (1982) The Empire Strikes Back. London: Hutchinson.
6.
Fraser, N. (1992) “Rethinking the Public Sphere”, in G. Calhoun (ed.) Habermas and the Public Sphere. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
7.
Fuss, D. (1989) Essentially Speaking. New York: Routledge.
8.
Gilroy, P. (1987) There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack. London: Routledge.
9.
Goulbourne, H. (1991a) “Varieties of Pluralism: the Notion of a Pluralist, Postimperial Britain”, New Community17(2), January.
10.
Goulbourne, H. (1991b) Ethnicity and Nationalism in Post-imperial Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
11.
Habermas, J. (1983) The Theory of Communicative Action, Vol. 1: Reason and the Rationalisation of Society. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
12.
Habermas, J. (1987) The Theory of Communicative Action, Vol. 2: Lifeworld and System. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
13.
Hall, S. (1992) “New Ethnicities”, in J. Donald and A. Rattansi (eds) “Race”, Culture and Difference. London: Sage.
14.
Luthra, M. (1997) Britain's Black Population: Social Change, Public Policy and Agenda. Aldershot: Ashgate.
15.
Modood, T. (1990a) “British Asian Muslims and the Rushdie Affair”, Political Quarterly61(2): 143-160;
16.
reproduced in J. Donald and A. Rattansi (eds) (1992) “Race”, Culture and Difference. London: Sage.
17.
Modood, T. (1990b) “Catching up with Jesse Jackson: Being Oppressed and Being Somebody”, New Community17(1), October;
18.
reproduced in T. Modood (1992) Not Easy Being British: Colour, Culture and Citizenship. London: Runnymede Trust.
19.
Modood, T. (1993) “Muslims, Incitement to Hatred and the Law”, in J. Horton (ed.) Liberalism, Multiculturalism and Toleration. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
20.
Modood, T. (1994) “Political Blackness and British Asians”, Sociology28(3): 859-876.
21.
Modood, T. (ed.) (1997) Church, State and Religious Minorities. London: Policy Studies Institute.
22.
Modood, T. (1998) “Anti-Essentialism, Multiculturalism and the `Recognition' of Religious Minorities”, Journal of Political Philosophy6(4), December: 378-399.
23.
Modood, T. and Werbner, P. (eds) (1997) The Politics of Multiculturalism in the New Europe: Racism, Identity and Community. London: Zed Books.
24.
Modood, T.et al. (1997) Britain's Ethnic Minorities: Diversity and Disadvantage. London: Policy Studies Institute.
25.
Muslim Parliament of Great Britain (1992) Race Relations and Muslims in Great Britain: A Discussion Paper. London: The Muslim Parliament.
26.
Pateman, C. (1988) The Sexual Contract. Stanford, CA: University of Stanford Press.
27.
Peach, C. (1990) “The Muslim Population of Great Britain”, Ethnic and Racial Studies13(3), July.
28.
Rex, J. (1996) “National Identity in the Democratic Multi-Cultural State”, Sociological Research Online1(2), http://www.socresonline.org.uk/socresonline/1/2/1.html
29.
Rex, J. and Moore, R. (1967) Race, Community and Conflict. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
30.
Runnymede Trust Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia (1997) Islamophobia: A Challenge To Us All. London: The Runnymede Trust.
31.
Rushdie, S. (1982) “The New Empire Within Britain”, New Society, 9December.
32.
Saghal, G. and Yuval-Davis, N. (1992) Refusing Holy Orders: Women and Fundamentalism in Britain. London: Virago Press.
33.
Sivanandan, A. (1985) “RAT and the Degradation of the Black Struggle”, Race and ClassXXXVI(4).
34.
UKACIA (1993) Muslims and the Law in Multi-faith Britain: Need for Reform. London: UK Action Committee on Islamic Affairs.
35.
Young, I. (1990) Justice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
