Challenging Discourses Of British Muslims In British Society: Article Analysis

The article "Parallel Lives? Challenging discourses of British Muslim self-segregation" by Deborah Phillips provides the perspective of British Muslims attempting to assimilate to British society. The divisions of the two groups were exuberated post-2001. Clearly siding with British Muslims, Phillips places the blame on white individuals and non-immigrant citizens. Across the United Kingdom and the world, increased media coverage and public attention has focused on the perceived cultural gap between members of a society and Muslim immigrants into that society. In 2001 there was riots across multiple cities in the kingdom. These cities, Bradford, Oldham, and Burnley were areas that were devastated by economic transition. The cities feature mixed ethnic population and a difficult competition for employment (25). Following the 2001 riots, an increasing amount of media coverage was spent on the perceived cultural divides of the Muslim populations of these cities and the traditional British citizens. Phillips claims that this increased scrutiny and tensions are the direct result of demonization of Muslims in the United Kingdom, and a looming conflict of Islam and the west in a post-cold war world (26). Are British Muslims self-segregating within the United Kingdom? To Phillips, the blame rests upon the white British who claim that the segregation around
Should they assimilate with the British society once they arrive and to what degree? Phillips claims that British Muslims should not "opt-in" to the British obligation of citizenship (37). However, if they are not to opt-in, how can they ever expect to be treated as equals or be acknowledged as British? It should not be the role of the state to facilitate assimilation, but it should be the responsibility and desire (quite frankly) on the individual(s) to seek assimilation into their new