Young British Muslims Identity, Culture, Politics, and the Media By Nahid Afrose Kabir (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010. 220 pages.)

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Sadek Hamid

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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 ...

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