Young British Muslims

Abstract

Most popular and academic interest in the subject of British Muslim communities
 in recent years can be located within the context public debates around
 the visible presence of western Muslims and fears of radicalization and religious
 extremism. The 7/7 London bombings of 2005, which increased the attention
 of journalists, researchers, and government policymakers on Muslim
 young people, has resulted in numerous books, reports, and journal articles
 purporting to explain why some young British Muslims seem attracted to terrorism.
 The title under review joins a handful of similar publications that provide
 more nunanced observations in this field, notably, Philip Lewis’ Young,
 British, and Muslim(2007), Anshuman Mondal’s Young British Muslim Voices
 (2008), and Sughra Ahmed’s Seen and Not Heard: Voices of Young British
 Muslims (2009), all of which explore the lives, experiences, and views of
 young Muslims in Britain.
 This important subject area warrants deep research and rigorous analysis.
 Nahid Afrose Kabir’s extensive ethnographic fieldwork draws upon 216 interviews
 with young people aged between fifteen and thirty from five of
 Britain’s main cities with substantial Muslim communities. Structured around
 the themes of identity, religion, and culture, it also includes responses to questions
 of citizenship and loyalty, media bias, recent controversies around the
 niqab (face veil), and reactions to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s comments
 on implementing aspects of the Shari‘ah in the country. Overall, it makes a
 contribution to the nascent field of Muslim youth studies by offering windows
 into the hopes and aspirations of young British Muslims as well as presenting ...