This book explores belonging among Muslims in Britain and France, asking whether British and French Muslims are citizens first or Muslims first. Based on in-depth interviews with Muslims in both jurisdictions, it considers three options open to Muslims – assimilation, integration, or conflict – and considers the differences in approach that tend to prevail among Muslims in Britain and France, with British Muslims tending to favour a cohabitationist strategy, while many French Muslims adopt a more conflictual approach.
With attention to issues of Islamophobia, the author examines the crises multiculturalism and secularism are facing, and argues for a more inclusive rhetoric on questions of Islam and citizenship, to counter the essentialist, ‘othering’ approach that characterises media coverage and public discourse.
A call for a new paradigm of articulation between Muslim identity and Western citizenship,
Belonging, Citizenship and Muslim Identity
will be of interest to scholars of sociology, politics, geography and anthropology with interests in inclusion and diasporic communities.