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Muslim Spaces of Hope

Muslim Spaces of Hope

Tahir Abbas | M. A. Kevin Brice | Raj Brown | Ayona Datta | Professor Kevin Dunn | Claire Dwyer | Fodil Fadli | Peter Hopkins | Professor Reina Lewis | Hilary Lim | Sarah Mills | Jane Pollard | Professor Ziauddin Sardar | Magda Sibley | Selcuk R. Sirin | Varun Uberoi | Selen Imamoglu | Richard Phillips

(2009)

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Book Details

Abstract

Debates about contemporary Islam and Muslims in the West have taken some negative turns in the depressing atmosphere of the war on terror and its aftermath. This book argues that we have been too preoccupied with problems, not enough with solutions. The increased mobilisation and scrutiny of Muslim identities has taken place in the context of a more general recasting of racial ideas and racism: a shift from overtly racial to ostensibly ethnic and cultural including religious categories within discourses of social difference. The targeting of Muslims has been associated with new forms of an older phenomenon: imperialism. New divisions between Muslims and others echo colonial binaries of black and white, colonised and coloniser, within practices of divide and rule. This book speaks to others who have been marginalised and colonised, and to wider debates about social difference, oppression and liberation.
'This is a very important and interesting book. When talking about "Muslims in the West" one understands, through the different authors and approaches, that the main challenges are neither religious nor theological, and that it is time to speak out about issues such as racism, mistrust, unemployment, discrimination and empowerment. The West and Muslims will only be able to create true 'spaces of hope' by addressing the real challenges, and this is why this book is precious and relevant.' Tariq Ramadan, Oxford University 'As the scaremongering and counter-productive thinking that accompanied the "war on terror" makes way, this timely book offers much needed authoritative insights and nuanced ideas to replace the ignorance of fear with the spaces of hope.' Asim Siddiqui, The City Circle 'Timely and hopeful...moving beyond the trope of victim or threat this collection shows Muslims engaging constructively and critically with many aspects of British society whether commerce, finance, charities or anti-war movements. It also points to the willingness of institutions, from scouting to housing associations, to adapt and make space for Muslim needs.' Philip Lewis, University of Bradford 'The essays in this innovative volume variously recast, in convivial terms, the collaborative contexts that produce Muslim and Islamic spatialities in western countries. In transcending the stale vocabularies of "segregation" and "integration", this excellent interdisciplinary book uses the tools of academic critique to not only debunk myths, but inspire hope. A genuine achievement for mobilizing public debate that is both honest and optimistic.' Kay Anderson, University of Western Sydney 'Muslim Spaces of Hope provides a much needed positive contribution to academic discussions about Muslims in Britain. As well as interrogating a range of challenges that Muslims in the UK face on a daily basis the book highlights encouraging circumstances; points of compatibility, communication and cohesion; offers solutions and therefore the "spaces of hope" asserted in the title. An area of considerable deficit in the subject literature, this book recasts the debate within an optimistic and spatial framework.' ELizabeth Poole, Staffordshire University 'The book explores Muslim participation beyond rigid binary discourses of Identity politics, socio-economic depravation and "civilisation clashes" and instead charts positive Muslim engagement and social interaction from the global to the local. The publication is an invaluable resource for students of Islamic, cultural and postcolonial studies, geography, ethnicity and race, politics and sociology. It should also become required reading for anyone interested in the field of Islam and Muslims in the West.' Mohammad Seddon, University of Chester
Richard Phillips teaches postcolonial criticism and cultural geography at the University of Liverpool, where he is Reader in Geography. His publications include Mapping Men and Empire: A Geography of Adventure (1997), Sex, Politics and Empire: A Postcolonial Geography (2006), and the co-edited Decentring Sexualities: Politics and Representations Beyond the Metropolis (2000). He is also the author of a series of articles for journals and magazines ranging from the Annals of the Association of American Geographers and Antipode: a Radical Journal of Geography, to Race & Class, and Red Pepper.

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
About the editor i
Illustrations vii
Tables vii
Acknowledgements viii
Introduction: Muslim geographies – spaces of hope? 1
Muslim geographies 3
Spaces of hope? 6
References 9
Part One | Spaces of Hope? 11
1 | Spaces of hope: interventions 13
Segregation 13
Integration 19
Britishness 20
Multiculturalism 23
Reference 26
2 | Muslims in the West: deconstructing geographical binaries 27
‘The West’ versus ‘the Muslim Rest’ 28
Table 2.1 Closed and open views of Islam 29
Segregation versus integration 31
Absent or demonized images versus positive representations 34
Opening up spaces of hope 36
Conclusion 38
References 39
3 | The hopeful and exclusionary politics of Islam in Australia: looking for alternative geographies of ‘Western Islam’ 41
Muslims in Australia: settlement, issues and international trends in attitudes 43
The politics of anti-Islamic sentiment 45
Australian Muslims’ everyday experiences of racism 48
Australian Muslims’ hopes and expectations 50
Figure 3.1 Posters developed by Australians Against Racism Inc. 54
Figure 3.2 Anti-Islamophobia poster developed by the Islamic Women’s Welfare Council of Victoria 55
Sources and spaces of hope 57
Figure 3.3 The Gallipoli Mosque 61
Conclusions 63
References 64
Part Two | Convivial Cities 67
4 | Veils and sales: Muslims and the spaces of post-colonial fashion retail 69
Dress as a spatialized practice 72
Veiling as a spatial system 74
Dress as a temporal practice: veiling, shopping and non-Western modernities 75
Regulating bodies in space: shop dress codes 77
Conclusion: selling spaces 79
Notes 81
References 82
5 | Citizenship and faith: Muslim scout groups 85
Geographies of Muslim youth 86
The space of youth (citizenship) movements 87
Creating Muslim Scouting spaces: the Muslim Scout Fellowship 88
‘Duty to Allah’: 1st Cathays (Al-Huda) Scout Group 90
Ceremonial and sartorial Scouts 92
Figure 5.1 Sartorial scouting 95
Landscape and camping 95
Figure 5.2 Pitching a tent 97
Conclusion 98
Notes 100
References 100
6 | The utopian space of the Islamic bathhouse or hammam 104
The hammam or Islamic bathhouse 105
Figure 6.1 Hammam al-Silsila, Damascus 107
Figure 6.2 Hammam Tayrouzi, Damascus, the roofscape 107
Figure 6.3 Entrance of Hammam Sahib al-Tabaa’, Tunis 107
Figure 6.4 Hammam Malikal-Thaher, Damascus 109
Figure 6.5 Hammam Sahib al-Tabaa’, Tunis, al-wastani 110
Figure 6.6 A Cairo hammam, the hot room 110
Figure 6.7 Hammam Bashtak, Cairo 115
The hammam and the West 111
Figure 6.7 Hammam Bashtak, Cairo 114
Decline, revival and hope 115
Figure 6.8 Hammam Sahib al-Tabaa’, Tunis, the dome 117
Notes 117
References 118
7 | Making space for Muslims: housing Bangladeshi families in East London 120
Bangladeshi/Bengali Muslim identities in Britain and the West 122
Housing Bangladeshis in East London 124
Figure 7.1 Adoption of Georgian layout to new social housing 126
Figure 7.2 Terraced house on Pritchard’s Road 128
‘Respectable’ citizens 128
Spaces of hope? 134
Notes 135
References 135
Part Three | Economic and Political Empowerment 137
8 | Muslim economic initiatives: global finance and local projects 139
Part I: Islamic economic philanthropy and awqaf 140
Part II: The empirical context 144
Table 8.1 Proportions of Muslims by ethnic group, England and Wales and London 145
Table 8.2 Economic activity of men and women aged 16–24, London 146
Table 8.3 Economic activity of people aged 16–24, London 147
Table 8.4 Economic activity of people aged 25 and older, London 147
Part III: Awqaf and economic regeneration in London? 148
Conclusion 156
Notes 157
References 159
9 | Muslims and the anti-war movements 163
Islamophobia and resistance: bridging East and West 163
Stop the War Coalition and the Muslim Association of Britain 166
What kind of partnership? 168
Critics of the coalition 169
The end of the partnership 172
Legacies and prospects 174
Notes 176
References 178
10 | Liberalizing Islam: creating Brits of the Islamic persuasion 179
Islam and Islamism 180
States of secularism 181
Muslim Britons 183
Multiculturalism, faith organizations and neoliberal governance\r 184
Searching for the right partner 187
‘Proper’ Islam 191
Hopes and fears 192
Notes 195
References 197
Part Four | Integration and Resistance 199
11 | British Muslims and ‘community cohesion’ debates 201
Community cohesion: a new approach to multicultural policy? 202
Community cohesion 202
The emergence of community cohesion policy 205
Community cohesion and Muslims 210
Conclusion 217
Notes 218
References 219
12 | Residential integration: evidence from the UK census 222
Statistical analysis of integration and segregation 224
Table 12.1 Breakdown of Muslim ethnic groups 225
Table 12.2 Distribution of Muslim ethnic groups (by local authority) 225
Table 12.3 Reasons for choosing current area of residence 228
Residential clustering 229
Rethinking the relationship between segregation and integration 230
Conclusion 232
Table 12.4 Frequency of social mixing with people from different ethnic groups 233
Figures vii
References 234
13 | Muslim-American hyphenated identity: negotiating a positive path 236
Muslim-Americans: a demographic portrait 237
How young people in the United States construct apositive identity as Muslim-Americans 241
Figure 13.1 ‘Identity map’ drawn by young Muslim-Americans 242
Figure 13.2 ‘Identity map’ drawn by young Muslim-Americans 243
Comparison and conclusion 247
References 249
14 | ‘After 7/7’: challenging the dominant hegemony 252
Islamophobia and its shifting contours 253
Lobbying government and establishing political space 255
The way ahead 260
Note 261
References 261
Notes on contributors 263
Index 266