Reflections on the contribution of Muhammad Anwar to the study of sociology and racial politics

Abstract

Muhammad Anwar passed away on 11 June 2019, at the age of 75 after 50 years of research and policy development in the area of race and ethnic studies. In this article, I explore his numerous contributions, including his important work, The Myth of Return: Pakistanis in Britain, published in 1979. His interest in politics and, in particular, participation, and representation within it, led to Race and Elections, published in 1994. His subsequent works on identifying the intergenerational differences among British Pakistanis, who also happen to represent a significant proportion of British Muslims, developed into his final major book, Between Cultures, published in 1998. I explore the nature of his contribution, the impact that it had in the field of race and ethnic studies, and the research openings generated for other scholars to expand on his social anthropological and sociological emphasis on better understanding the experiences of racial and ethnic minorities and the need to better develop policies to alleviate ethnic and racial disadvantage.