Belonging Citizenship And Muslim Identity A British-French Comparison

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. |Belonging Citizenship and Muslim Identity A British-French Comparison