Negotiating British Muslim identity: Everyday concerns of practicing Muslims in London

Abstract

In situations of cultural change and dislocation, and driven by both a desire to integrate and to preserve cultural identity, Muslims in Britain draw on several sources of cultural knowledge when making sense of their worlds and negotiating their identities. In this article, we present findings from an ethnographic study that demonstrate negotiations of Islamic identities in Britain as they resort to imams for religious advice to resolve everyday challenges. Drawing on social representations and dialogical-self theories, we observe how first-generation British Muslims attempt to negotiate meanings invested in objectifications implicated in everyday situations by drawing on the different sources of social knowledge that they identify with. We argue that the interobjective negotiation of different sources of cultural knowledge also entails identity negotiations resulting from the different positions taken with regards to the objectifications implicated. These identity negotiations also reflect the interplay between identity processes that maintain collective identifications and others that are individuating. The findings show that the experience of cultural change and the tensions that may arise between aspects of different cultures are also reflected and experienced within the self. These may sometimes be difficult to cope with and resolve.