The making of a moral British Bangladeshi

Abstract

This article traces changing notions of a moral upbringing among British Bangladesh families in London. It reviews ideas of the making of a moral person (manush corano) in Bangladesh and contrasts those with contemporary practices and ideas about the good child in London. It argues that in London, British Bangladeshis have embraced a form of Islam that for them represents progress on the ‘Bengali culture’ that they have left behind and the ‘Western modernity’ that they live amongst, it is a third way. For British Bangladeshi children this involves socialisation into a global Muslim community (umma) and an Islamist interpretation of Islam. Learning to recite the Qur’an correctly (tajweed) is an important manifestation of the third way.