Segregated Britain. Farhaan Wali
SEGREGATED BRITAIN
Everyday Life in Muslim Enclaves
Farhaan Wali
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Cover design by Peter Lang.
Cover image by Farhaan Wali
ISBN 978-1-78997-628-1 (print) • eISBN 978-1-78997-685-4 (ePDF)
ISBN 978-1-78997-686-1 (ePub) • ISBN 978-1-78997-687-8 (mobi)
© Peter Lang AG 2020
Published by Peter Lang Ltd, International Academic Publishers,
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Farhaan Wali has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this Work.
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This publication has been peer reviewed.
To my loving parents and wife. This book would not be possible without their support and love.
About the author
Farhaan Wali is a religious studies expert with specialisation in the study of Islam and Muslims in Britain. He has spent several years engaging in field research, and case study analysis, working intimately with religious communities in the UK and the Muslim world. Currently, he is a Senior Lecturer in the School of History, Philosophy and Social Science at Bangor University.
About the book
This important book represents a distillation of years of extensive fieldwork carried out by Dr Wali into the phenomenon of Muslim enclaves, large and small, in different parts of the UK, including England (the east end of London), Scotland (Dundee), and Wales (Bangor). As such, it represents a major contribution to our perception of the struggles and confl icts experienced by British Muslims in a variety of geographical locations, and it contributes in a lucid and informed manner to our understanding of the way in which they perceive their identity as individuals and as communities living in the UK. Since the author himself was brought up as a member of the Muslim community, he has been able to gain the trust and confidence of those whom he has interviewed, and the results are sometimes surprising, but always illuminating and informative. This is a ground-breaking and richly satisfying study which succeeds in challenging accepted stereotypes and will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, politicians, and all who are interested in the issues of class, race, ethnicity, and religion in modern Britain.
– Professor (Emeritus) Eryl W Davies, Bangor University
There has been growing concern about the gradual segregation of Muslims living within the United Kingdom. Since the 2001 riots in the north of England, several government reports identified the lack of social integration as a critical factor. Segregated Britain explores how and why some Muslim individuals and communities seek to live apart in isolated enclaves, providing a compelling new perspective from which to understand the lives of contemporary British Muslims. Farhaan Wali examines everyday life in Muslim enclaves. By framing Muslim experiences around different generational perspectives, Wali is able to illustrate the cultural gaps between first- and second-generation Muslims, adding to the complexity of everyday Muslim life. The social reality of Muslim segregation appears to evolve in accordance with the needs of each historical period. In essence, each generation has its own distinct set of conflicts that influence the development of Muslim identity, belonging and segregation.
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Contents
INTRODUCTION Is Britain a Balkanised Dystopia of Segregated Enclaves?
CHAPTER 1 The East End Muslim Enclave I: Early Immigrant Experiences
CHAPTER 2 The East End Muslim Enclave II: Born into Enclaves
CHAPTER 3 Patchwork Segregation in Dundee
CHAPTER 4 Small-town Segregation in Bangor
CONCLUSION Muslim Segregation in Modern Britain
Table 1: Enclave Identity-Type
Table 2: Belongingness (Dundee)
Table 3: Occupational Activities of Muslims in Bangor
←ix | x→←0 | 1→
Is Britain a Balkanised Dystopia of Segregated Enclaves?
The headline for this introduction was taken from a Vice News article written by Matt Broomfield in 2016. He visited parts of Birmingham to assess ‘if it’s really an Islamist Ghetto’ (Vice, 7 December 2016). The news report sought to find out if Islamism was driving alleged Muslim segregation. After interviewing a small section of the Muslim community in Birmingham, the link to Islamism seemed redundant, as locals expressed their aversion to Islamist ideology. Beyond the somewhat alarmist focus on Islamism, I was struck by the article’s somewhat blasé analogy between Britain and the Balkans. I found this link extremely difficult to accept, as several years earlier I had visited the city of Mostar, the fifth largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. My encounters with the residents revealed a distinctly