What makes a British Muslim Identity? Book Review & Article by Yusuf Tai, Forward Thinking's Community Empowerment Officer

Title: British Muslims between Assimilation and Segregation
Authors: Muhammad Siddique Seddon, Nadeem Malik, Dilwar Hussain

This book is a collection of essays, which has been driven out of a topical debate surrounding and involving British Muslims. As mentioned in its introduction the collection of work came out of engagement with British Muslims in a seminar convened in June 2002 by the Islamic foundation called ‘Loyalty and Belonging’. The authors pick up on some of the most important debates taking place in both academia and the wider society.

The last few years have resulted in a long and overdue discussion and discourse of ‘Britishness’ and how it plays-out within the Muslim communities, some of whom have now been established for over 60 years. Exploring the debates especially from a social and academic viewpoint is both useful for me as a young Muslim and as a student of social science.

The Historical setting provide by Seddon et al is as comprehensive as possible given the lack of documenting and research that has gone in this area. Seddon uses his 60% sample of the British Muslim population (born in the UK) to present his argument that the term ‘British Muslim’ is a social reality rather than a “politically engineered tag”. Interestingly until September 11th, it was commonplace for myself and most of my peers to be described as ‘British Asians’ and not the widely used ‘British Muslim’. However Seddon does acknowledge how second /third generation Muslims have a more “ broader feeling of being British” and as a result cannot be squeezed into a one-dimensional definition.

“The Treatment of Muslims under the English Legal System” by Nadeem Malik looks at both laws pre and post September 11 and how they have affected Muslim communities in the UK. Malik notes that the discrimination suffered by Muslims is currently unclear and interpreted with indifference by the Legal system. Malik argues how both the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights act are limited in their scope to be fully able to treat Muslims fairly and equally. In relation to more recent events like July 7th 2005 and the laws that have been passed through as result, there is now a further need to look at the issue of Religious discrimination of Muslims.

Dilawar Hussain explores the plethora of Identities one can have and breaks down Muslim Identity in to three areas, namely ‘self’, ‘territory’ and ‘community’.

“Traditional Muslim societies were not based on a Nation-State and it is a largely European influence that led to the creation of the many Muslim nations that exist today”.

It is interesting to look at what some of the perceived barriers are to accepting Britain as the homeland. Of the barriers highlighted by Hussain, one of the most significant are the social and political barriers such as the experience of ‘never being accepted as British’. This contribution of essays will stand as one of the first few contributions that really started the debates and discussions around British Muslims.

An interesting change currently taking place is the change in ethnic make-up of British Muslims that is becoming more and more diverse particularly with recent immigration from Africa and the Middle East. How this diversity contributes to the ever-evolving debate, which asks ‘what makes a British Muslim Identity’, will be very interesting.

Further, recent years have confirmed that Britain has a sizable young British Muslim population; at least 50% of British Muslims are under the age of 25. It will be interesting to see how the social impact of the British Muslims will change once the second and third generation take over the lead positions for their community.

I would recommend the reading of this publication for young Muslims to help them appreciate and discuss their own identity.

British Muslims between Assimilation and Segregation
By Muhammad Siddique Seddon, Nadeem Malik, Dilwar Hussain
ISBN PB: 0 86037 354 1
Publisher: The Islamic Foundation
Publishing Year: 2004