British Muslim Research Articles

Those Glass Chains that Bind You: How British Muslim Women Professionals Experience Career, Faith and Family

AbstractThis paper contributes to gender and diversity research through proposing a new theoretical construct: glass chains. We develop ‘glass chains’ as a metaphor to illuminate how highly educated British Pakistani Muslim women professionals in the UK negotiate a fine balance between faith, family and personal ambition. Using a qualitative approach, we highlight tensions between religious and familial guidance within Islam, and workplace practices. Drawing upon the construct of ‘glass chains’, we articulate how 37 British Pakistani Muslim career women felt bound, by invisible glass chains, to the tenets of their faith. We show how the pull of glass chains obliged these women to resist certain career‐advancing opportunities. In so doing, we borrow from French philosopher Michel Foucault ideas about self‐oriented moral codes, engaging with his arguments that individuals may prioritize, over other obligations, the ties (or glass chains) which bind them to personal value sets in order that they may become ‘ethical selves’. While previous glass metaphors highlight barriers to female progression from external and structural angles, ‘glass chains’ are, by contrast, concerned with the potential for internal and personal constraints on women's ambitions. The metaphor ‘glass chains’ may be extended to enhance understanding of career constraints among other workers.

In Search of Sylhet—The Fultoli Tradition in Britain

This article presents a case study of the Fultoli tradition, an expression of Islam dominant amongst Bangladeshi migrants to the UK, but which in general terms has failed to communicate itself to British-born Muslims. It is also a denominational identity that has been overlooked in academic literature on British Muslims, and regularly mischaracterized. To correct this, the article presents an overview of Fultolir Sahib, the late founder of the tradition, and the theological distinctiveness of his teachings, before considering its movement to Britain. A varied methodological approach is adopted in order to explore the topic, combining a textual exploration of Fultoli sources with qualitative interviews with members of the Fultoli tradition, and also autoethnography drawing upon the authors’ (who were both raised by Fultoli parents) experience of the tradition. The article argues that Fultolir Sahib’s authority is constructed in an idiom that is inaccessible to British-born Muslims and that Fultoli institutions have failed to create leaders capable of preserving the tradition. It concludes that despite the diminishing numbers of Fultolis in Britain, it is still important for academics to recognize their unique role in the landscape of Muslim denominational diversity.

Research Handbook on Islamic Law and Society

The premise of the adaptability, flexibility, and compatibility of Islamic normative teachings (sharīʿa) to new social contexts is already documented by many scholars, including John Bowen’s On British Islam: Religion, Law, and Everyday Practice in Shari‘a Councils and Michael G. Peletz’s Islamic Modern: Religious Courts and Cultural Politics in Malaysia. Unlike those works, this textbook is organized by theme which provides a unique contribution to our understanding of the overall function of contemporary Islamic law. Such an approach shows that the ‘right’ answer in one country is not necessarily the ‘right’ solution in another Muslim community, which explains the diverse application of Islamic law. The book challenges Wael Hallaq’s observation that the modern codification of Islamic law resulted in the absence of hermeneutical possibilities or led to a single mode of judicial application. Perhaps Hallaq’s proposition is accurate if we examine the function of Islamic law in a specific country. Nevertheless, the book provides concrete examples of the administrative and interpretive techniques of ‘neo-ijtihād’ today.
 To download full review, click on PDF.

Research Handbook on Islamic Law and Society

The premise of the adaptability, flexibility, and compatibility of Islamic normative teachings (sharīʿa) to new social contexts is already documented by many scholars, including John Bowen’s On British Islam: Religion, Law, and Everyday Practice in Shari‘a Councils and Michael G. Peletz’s Islamic Modern: Religious Courts and Cultural Politics in Malaysia. Unlike those works, this textbook is organized by theme which provides a unique contribution to our understanding of the overall function of contemporary Islamic law. Such an approach shows that the ‘right’ answer in one country is not necessarily the ‘right’ solution in another Muslim community, which explains the diverse application of Islamic law. The book challenges Wael Hallaq’s observation that the modern codification of Islamic law resulted in the absence of hermeneutical possibilities or led to a single mode of judicial application. Perhaps Hallaq’s proposition is accurate if we examine the function of Islamic law in a specific country. Nevertheless, the book provides concrete examples of the administrative and interpretive techniques of ‘neo-ijtihād’ today.
 To download full review, click on PDF.

Entangling the British Muslim Woman: Satirizing Whiteness and Punking the State in Afsaneh Gray’s Octopus

Imagine an octopus. Not one that is moving through water, but one traveling across land. The animal slides its way along the terrain before it, its arms pulling an unsuspecting head in their wake. ...

More Than “Multiple Jeopardy”: Navigating the Legal System as a British-Muslim-Woman-Litigant-in-Person

Abstract Against the backdrop of rising Islamophobia and a deficit in the literature of Muslim experiences of resistance to discrimination through the legal action, in this article, I employ an auto-ethnographic methodological approach to critically reflect on my journey from classroom to courtroom, as a British Muslim woman of colour and litigant-in-person. While threading in excerpts of legal documents from the case, I highlight that: (a) as Muslims we must resist in ways acceptable to gate-keepers of the law, who are largely white and middle-class and unaware of the embodied realities of the inequality that minorities in Britain experience; (b) the law fails to take account of the “context” in which discrimination(s) takes place, as a result of which legal logic(s) and methodologies in cases of religious discrimination are flawed; (c) a religio-social capital operates against Muslims, negating positive social capital(s) such as education, and which, in the social penalties Muslims experience, accumulates greater weight than other intersecting subjectivity markers such as race, class, ethnicity, and gender. I contrast King’s theory of “multiple jeopardy” with my embodied experience of discrimination and inequality, which I demonstrate using the model of the glass Rubik’s cube.

Are Madrassa and Mainstream School Teachers Mutually Exclusive? British Muslims discuss the influence of teachers on their emerging identities

Are Madrassa and Mainstream School Teachers Mutually Exclusive? British Muslims discuss the influence of teachers on their emerging identities

G. K. Chesterton and Islam

G. K. Chesterton's anti-Semitism has attracted much scholarly attention, but his views on Islam have largely passed without comment. This article situates Chesterton's writings in relation to historical views of Islam in Britain and the political, cultural and religious context of the early twentieth century. Chesterton's complex and contradictory opinions fail to support easy conclusions about the immutability of prejudice across time. His views of Islam are at times orientalist and at other times critical of imperialism and elitism. As well as drawing on medieval Catholic ideas about the “heresy” of Islam, Chesterton also links Islam with Protestant Christianity. From another perspective, his views of Islam draw on liberal traditions of humanitarian interventionism and democratic patriotism. Finally, he also used Islam as a symbol of a corroding modernity. This study suggests the need for a historically sensitive genealogy of the evolution of anti-Muslim prejudice which is not predetermined by the politics of the early twenty-first century.

Alienation or Cooperation? British Muslims’ Attitudes to and Engagement in Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Extremism

ABSTRACT The dominant academic narrative portrays British Muslim communities as alienated by counter-terrorism policies and consequently reluctant to cooperate with authorities by taking action against Islamist extremism. This article reassesses and nuances the “alienation narrative” with the use of unique data from three robust surveys of British Muslims. It finds that although a minority shows signs of alienation, most British Muslims are satisfied with and trust counter-terrorism policies as well as the government and the police. The level of willingness to take action against Islamist extremism is also high. The study confirms that aspects of alienation correlate with reduced willingness to take action against Islamist extremism, although they do not necessarily lead to disengagement.

Threat, Anti-Western Hostility and Violence among European Muslims: The Mediating Role of Acculturation

In many Western countries, the public has extensively debated factors potentially leading Muslim minority-group members to support violence by foreign extremist states or to commit violence themselves. Here, one central question has been whether their acculturation orientations may play a role. Combining perspectives from intergroup threat theory and acculturation psychology, the present study investigated whether one reason for why threat perceptions lead to higher violent behavioral intentions among Muslims, as evidence by previous research, may be that they are related to distinct acculturation orientations. It tested this proposition in two samples comprising of Norwegian (N = 253) and British Muslims (N = 194). The more Norwegian Muslims perceived realistic threat, the more violent behavioral intentions they showed, but this relation was not mediated by acculturation. Among British Muslims, mainstream acculturation orientation was related to more violent intentions, while threat was not. In both samples, symbolic threat was associated with more support for Muslim military violence and this relationship was mediated by religious acculturation in the U.K. In contrast to previous research, symbolic threat was linked with less personal intentions to commit violence in the U.K., mediated by religious acculturation. Complementary analyses calculating acculturation strategies indicated that assimilated, and to some extend integrated, Muslims in both countries tended to show the highest violent behavioral intentions. By contrast, separated individuals showed the highest level of support for Muslim military violence. Ways in which these findings can be used to counter violence and improve intergroup relations in Western ethnically diverse societies are discussed.

Deception Toward British Muslims in Novel Home Fire (207) by Kamila Shamsie

This thesis is an analysis of a novel written by Kamila Shamsie, entitled Home Fire (2017). It explored the issue about strategies carried out by the British Government and ISIS (Islamic States of Iraq and Syria) in an effort to deceive British Muslims and to what extent the implied author contributed to identify the issue. This novel analysis related to the concept of Orientalism and Islamophobia by Edward Said. The uses of the theory is based on the interpretation of the text and context of the novel. The result of this analysis showed deceptions have done by two groups with different strategies. First, deception by British Government by manipulation and limited rights. Meanwhile, ISIS create propaganda.

Islam and Britain: Muslim Mission in an Age of Empire. By Ron Geaves

The history of British Islam before the Second World War has been an abiding concern of the religious studies scholar Ron Geaves. In this follow-up to his biography of the British Muslim convert Abdullah Quilliam, Geaves offers a focused exploration of the origins and activities of the Muslim Ahmadiyya movement in Punjab and Britain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The early chapters of the book trace the founding of the movement by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1889, emphasizing how British control of India and the widespread narrative of ‘Islam in danger’ shaped a range of Islamic reform movements in South Asia. In some respects, Ahmad’s teaching aligned with orthodox Hanafi doctrine and practice, emphasizing the superiority of the Quran over other religious scriptures and the reasonableness of Islam. But Ahmad also stood out among Indian Muslim reformers of the period. At the same time that he rejected violent jihad and embraced British rule as a part of a divine plan, he adopted a combative approach towards Christianity, challenging British missionaries to debates and prayer duels. Ahmad went beyond defending Islam against Christianity in India, also calling for a programme of missionary work around the world. The most distinctive characteristic of the Ahmadiyya movement was its teaching on Ahmad himself. In 1891, Ahmad declared himself a prophet and the promised messiah, a proclamation that many other Muslims deemed heretical to the idea of Muhammad as the seal of the prophets. To this day, Ahmadi Muslims are viewed as outside the fold of Islam by many other Muslims.

Tweeting Grenfell: Discourse and networks in critical constructions of British Muslim social boundaries on social media

The Grenfell fire has yet to be analysed to understand the event’s implications in relation to construction of social boundaries for British Muslims. In this current research, two methodological approaches are applied to gain understandings of social boundary construction on twitter: thematic analysis of the content of tweets and social network analysis (SNA) of how messages are diffused and contested. Twitter is shown to be an important platform in spreading positive narratives about Muslims during the fire, enabling individuals to spontaneously contest fake news and hate narratives. Social media acts counter to established knowledge, demonstrating that it is not, per se, a conduit for fake news and hate speech. Furthermore, it demonstrates how twitter offers Muslims an international space to voice and articulate themselves where they can be influential in debates that effect Muslim diasporas in other national contexts.

Desperately Seeking Understanding: A New Perspective on Multiculturalism

Abstract This paper proposes a discussion of the Muslim presence in modern Western Europe and the trends that accompany it. The author argues that such debates could not be conducted in the absence of Muslims themselves and introduces Ziauddin Sardar (a modern British Muslim intellectual) and his thinking on “multiculturalism”. Sardar’s vision on the matter radically differs from the traditional interpretations, which usually involve European Union policies regarding ethnic minorities. Sardar’s theory is built on a broader context and develops such concepts as “diversity”, “identity”, and “power”. His approach transcends the boundaries of a limited geographic area and could be applied to non-Western regions. The author attempts to apply it to Kazakhstan, in an attempt to see how it could work in the Kazakh sociocultural context. The main focus is on the ethnic and religious characteristics of the Republic. Finally, the paper contains some suggestions for the further development of Sardar’s theory of multiculturalism. The conclusions offer a justification of the possibility and necessity to transform the idea of “multiculturalism” into “interculturalism”.

Memorising and Reciting a Text without Understanding Its Meaning: A Multi-Faceted Consideration of This Practice with Particular Reference to the Qur’an

The joint activities of memorising and reciting the Arabic Qur’an are deeply embedded within Islamic tradition, culture and educational practice. Despite this, for many western non-Muslims, particularly those engaged in educational activity themselves, to learn that memorisation of the Arabic text of the Qur’an does not always—or, indeed, often—go hand-in-hand with understanding the meaning of the words can come as both a surprise and a shock. It is not uncommon to hear a response from such people to the effect that to memorise texts without understanding their meaning is pointless. There is also sometimes the implication that such practice in anachronistic: ‘behind the times’, as it were, and thus not worthy of serious consideration. This article is framed as a ‘general’ riposte to such a dismissive response in that its motivation lies not in straightforward apologetics (that is, defending the practice of memorisation without qualification and at all costs), but, rather, in bringing together a number of key elements (or factors) that cumulatively carry sufficient weight to challenge such a raw response, or at least to give pause for thought and promote a more informed consideration. Following a brief introduction that locates Qur’an memorisation and recitation within Islamic faith and practice, five facets will be explored: first, the growing recognition that there is not just one legitimate form of literacy but, rather, a plurality of literacies; second, the ambiguity within the concept of ‘meaning’ itself; third, an acknowledgement that memorisation has not only held an esteemed place in western history, but remains valued in some aspects of contemporary life and culture; fourth, a recognition of the emotional power of high-quality recitation, irrespective of a literal comprehension of the words being recited; and, finally, the growing body of research evidence that suggests that the involvement of Muslim children and young people in Qur’anic memorisation and recitation might very well equip them with valuable social and educational capital. The article will end with a brief personal account showing the complex position that a contemporary British Muslim ‘insider’—as individual, teacher and parent—has adopted towards his own and others’ practice of memorising the Qur’an. This account has been included to show that, within the Muslim community itself, different opinions are held about the weight and meaning to be placed on memorisation in general and on Qur’anic memorisation and recitation in particular.

Sufis, Salafis, and Islamists

In Sufis, Salafis, and Islamists: The Contested Ground of British Islamic Activism, Sadek Hamid provides a rich history of nearly four decades of Muslim organizing in Britain. Replete with careful typologies and periodizations, the work reflects the author’s intimate grounding in the world of British Islam, and provides a unique insight into the challenges and successes of four trends he describes as the “reformist Islamist Young Muslims UK (YM), the Salafi-oriented JIMAS (Jamiyyah Ihya’ Minhaj as Sunnah)...the radical pan-Islamist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir, and the neo-Sufi Traditional Islam Network”.

Sufis, Salafis, and Islamists

In Sufis, Salafis, and Islamists: The Contested Ground of British Islamic Activism, Sadek Hamid provides a rich history of nearly four decades of Muslim organizing in Britain. Replete with careful typologies and periodizations, the work reflects the author’s intimate grounding in the world of British Islam, and provides a unique insight into the challenges and successes of four trends he describes as the “reformist Islamist Young Muslims UK (YM), the Salafi-oriented JIMAS (Jamiyyah Ihya’ Minhaj as Sunnah)...the radical pan-Islamist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir, and the neo-Sufi Traditional Islam Network”.

“I Feel as Though I’m Doing the Job of the Imam for Them”: Considering ‘Tactical’ Muslim Leadership Through the Case of ‘Muslim RE Teachers’

Although Muslim leadership in Britain has long been the focus of scholarly attention, discussion has tended to prioritise “official” Muslim leaders (Birt 2006; Geaves 2008; Ahmad and Evergeti 2010). However, what constitutes a “Muslim leader” is increasingly contested, revealing instead a diversity of authoritative ‘claim makers’ and representative positions (Jones et al. 2015). These contestations were a recurring theme throughout the Leadership, Authority and Representation in British Muslim Communities conference (Gilliat-Ray and Timol 2019). Building upon these debates, this article considers how Muslim teachers can be considered Muslim leaders within their local contexts. This paper draws on qualitative research with 21 ‘Muslim RE teachers’ across England to consider how their experience and positioning as ‘role models’ for Muslim and non-Muslim pupils brought considerable influence to represent Muslims, affect school policy and practice, and shape “official” Islamic discourses in their local communities. I argue that their experience reflects what can be considered as ‘Muslim leadership’ on the broader scholarly terrain, but as a form of ‘tactical’ Muslim leadership by virtue of existing within the confines of “secular” institutions. As such, this article concludes by calling for the recognition of Muslim leadership beyond national, ‘strategic’ forms to more ‘tactical’, contextually bounded cases.

Loci of Leadership: The Quasi-Judicial Authority of Shariah Tribunals in the British Muslim Community

Leadership and authority were two central themes in the mission statement of the first ever Shariah tribunal to emerge in the UK. When the Islamic Shariah Council was established in 1982, it noted that its founding meeting had been attended by Muslim scholars from a number of mosques in the UK who represented the major schools of Islamic law. This ensured in its own words that it was widely accepted as an authoritative body with regards to Islamic law and that it was therefore able to cater to the basic religious needs of the Muslim community. Since their emergence in the 1980s, Shariah tribunals have played an important role in guiding the Muslim community through the provision of religious services. This paper seeks to enrich the literature on Shariah tribunals by critically assessing how such tribunals have used their expertise in Islamic law to wield quasi-judicial authority in the British Muslim community, within a legal system which does not directly grant legal jurisdiction to religious tribunals. The paper highlights the distinctive characteristics of the authority which Shariah tribunals exercise as religious institutions, which distinguish them from the secular courts of the state despite the judicial functions which both share in common.

Critical collaborative storying: making an animated film about halal dating

This article works at the intersection of creative, participatory and critical research. It explores an emergent qualitative methodology that is creative and participatory but not is always as critical as it might be: collaborative storytelling or storying. Understandings of critical collaborative storytelling and (more generically and inclusively) storying are developed through an account of a series of storying workshops. In these workshops, a group of young British Muslims made a short animated film titled ‘Halal Dating’. In their animated film, the participants explored an otherwise hard-to-name part of their lives: sexual relationships. Thus, in addition to its methodological interest, this article may appeal to readers with more substantive interests in religion, young people, gender and sexuality.