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The Struggle for Representation of the Muslim Community of Britain Post-9/11 and 7/7
Abstract
This paper examines public discourses in England about representation of the Muslim community and struggles for power among several “civil society” organizations in light of the events of 9/11 and 7/7 and the resulting increase in community surveillance. I pay particular attention to London’s Shi‘i minority, often ignored in the literature on Islam in Europe. I argue that Islamic institutions are able to use Western democracies to further their work in religious proselytizing and education through also addressing Western concerns and anti-terrorism policies. The Al-Khoei Foundation was established in London in 1989 by Ayatollah Sayyid Abul Qasim Al-Khoei, an influential scholar of Najaf, Iraq. He envisioned a center to serve Shi‘i migrants in the West, in particular the second generation born in the United Kingdom who lacked the religious knowledge of their parents. The center aims to combine secular and religious education, build mosques and schools, and translate key Islamic texts into English. In addition, the foundation has become active in human rights work in Iraq since the 1991 Intifada. The Al-Khoei Foundation uses its headquarters in London to bridge the gap between North and South. Clerics and officers work to educate the British and American governments, the United Nations, and the general public on Shi‘i Islam and the war in Iraq while providing religious counseling to the Shi‘i diaspora on how to live Muslim lives in the West. Recently the foundation has also begun to cater to Western policies on “the War on Terror.” Organizing conferences on radicalism and engaging in interfaith programming demonstrates to the West the moderate stances of such Muslim organizations. These new policies allow new roles for Muslim organizations, such as inclusion into the British Home Office’s planning meetings for improving community relations. When Tony Blair came to power in 1997, the Muslim Council of Britain was established as an umbrella organization to represent the Muslim voice to the government. However, reacting to the bombing of London’s transport system on July 7, 2005, several groups of British Muslims criticized the government for talking only to spokesmen with “extremist” Sunni Muslim perspectives. Alternative “grassroots” organizations launched in 2006 claiming to represent the Sufi “silent majority.” The Al-Khoei Foundation similarly became the governmental representative of Britain’s Shi‘i minority. The politics of transnational governmentality thereby call into question the non-governmental status of Muslim NGOs in Britain.
Discipline
Anthropology
Geographic Area
Europe
Sub Area
Diaspora/Refugee Studies