Young British Muslim Voices. By Anshuman A. Mondal. Oxford: Greenwood World Publishing, 2008

Abstract

This chapter presents a review of the book Young British Voices . This book is an opportunity for the author, of part-Muslim heritage but brought up in a middle-class secular family far removed from the social environments of most young British Muslims, to talk to young Muslims like those he encounters as a lecturer in literary theory and post-colonial history at Brunel University. It is divided into seven chapters with broad themes including Identity, Politics, Generational conflict, Being Muslim and Women. This last is important, with some poignant accounts of the struggles faced by young women as they negotiate questions of marriage and particularly the issue of marriage partners chosen for them by their parents. Yet separating Women as a category for a chapter heading also seems somewhat surprising since gender identities and gendered ideas permeate so many of the other chapters. Keywords: generational conflict; politics; women; young British Muslims