The ‘metropolis of dissent’: Muslim participation in Leicester and the ‘failure’ of multiculturalism in Britain

Abstract

Focusing on Muslim participation in the governance of Leicester in the East Midlands of England, this article contests prevalent assumptions about the contemporary politics of multiculturalism. Specifically, it questions two narratives on the subject: first, a descriptive narrative about multiculturalism being in retreat; and second, a normative narrative about multiculturalism undermining national culture. Using interview, ethnographic and archival research, the article shows how a programme of multicultural politics has been implemented in Leicester that, while shifting, has remained firmly in place across national political and policy changes. It also demonstrates how this model of multicultural practice has emphasized civic communitarianism and utilized British national traditions. Using the above methods, the article questions the terms of political debate about multiculturalism, and considers how ‘convivial’ and ‘communitarian’ theoretical approaches to multiculturalism can renew and refashion multicultural political practice.