Islamic Radicalism and Multicultural Politics

'Much of the commentary on Islam today is shrill and one-dimensional which further widens the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims. Because Tahir Abbas' Islamic Radicalism and Multicultural Politics is reasoned, scholarly and aims to provide historical context it is a powerful corrective. Being both British and Muslim allows him to present us with a truly insider's account.' - Professor Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University 'In the face of so many superficial denunciations of radical Islam in Britain, Tahir Abbas provides an account that is both broad in its historical coverage and profound in its social analysis. In his sweep of several centuries of South Asian Islamic thinking, Abbas includes the conflicts engendered by British colonialism, and the complex processes of immigration and settlement in Britain. He is especially good in his own speciality, the patterns of inequality in education and in the labour market, through which he shows how the global growth in radical thinking can articulate with domestic social disparities. Here is a distinctive voice entering the debate.' - John R. Bowen, Washington University in St. Louis. 'Terrorist incidents have created controversy about Islam and Muslims, and British Muslims have been part of this debate. Media and lay people take a very superficial view and blame Islam and Muslims for radicalisation. This book is an in-depth study of the causes of radicalisation of a section of British Muslims. It is a very useful study indeed and all those who want to understand this complex phenomenon should read the book: Dr Abbas has done a good job!' - Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, India 'A remarkable book, well researched, comprehensive in its coverage and highly relevant to contemporary British political concerns.' - John Rex, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology, Warwick University '[T]his book provides a valuable resource for all who are interested in the future of urban multiculturalism in Britain, in the pathways that British Islam may take in the next generation, and in the ways in which these two questions intertwine and affect us all.' - Chris Shannahan (2011): Islamic radicalism and multicultural politics: the British experience, Islam and Christian--Muslim Relations, 22:4, 491-492