Living apart together
nationalist and politically radical groups with Wahabi ideologies, as mentioned previously. It has been noted by numerous commentators that London (or ‘Londonistan’; a term originally coined by the French secret service) became a centre of refuge for Islamist groups in the 1990s, as various governments squeezed their operations out abroad. Three prominent Islamist clerics – Abu Qatada, Abu Hamza and Omar Bakri Muhammed, operated out of London until recently.
sider questions of personal identity. Many are doing so in a context in which they feel they are seen as Muslims, and little else. This is emphasised by the way the media and politicians, as well as Muslim groups, talk about the ‘Muslim community’. “If I’m honest, the stuff in the news after 9/11 but especially 7/7 made me think about my community more in terms of the Islamic community. I started looking at things in a different way because people started looking at me, at us, in a different way. ” (emphasis added), Male, Muslim, 22, Rochdale
43. YOUNGE, G. (2001) We are all victims now. The Guardian. London. 15th October 2001
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Since 2001 – Muslim self consciousness Most decisively, the terrorist attacks on the US in 2001 have given new significance to being a Muslim. Al-Qaeda’s strike significantly raised the profile of both the organisation itself and its cause worldwide. On 9/11 violent jihad entered a new phase of spectacle and attention, and turned the eyes of younger Muslims towards the Middle East. The attack on the twin towers increased concerns about whether Muslims can live at peace with the West – and in the West. A series of episodes in Europe have further ignited passions and exacerbated the feeling of division – the murder of Dutch film-maker Theo Van Gogh in Amsterdam in 2004 by a Dutch-Moroccan; the controversy over the Danish cartoons that caused deep offence to many European Muslims in spring 2006; the provocative remarks made by Pope Benedict XIV in September 2006 about Islam and violence; and, in Britain, the comments made by Jack Straw MP expressing his concern about the choice of Muslim women in his constituency to wear the veil. These incidents have all brought Muslims into the spotlight and provoked anxiety about their relationship to the West. This increased attention has occurred at a time when the next generation of British Muslims is maturing and starting to con-
Even less religious Muslims are conscious of belonging to a group: “I didn’t really feel like I belonged to any community apart from the London community, but as soon as the events like 9/11 and 7/7 threw the spotlight on Muslims, I thought ‘oh yeah, I have a Muslim background, what’s it all about?’” Female, Muslim, 22, London
The events of 2001 marked a major turning point in Muslim identity in another way. For the first time, non-Muslims echoed Muslim feeling about foreign policy issues. The grievance of Muslims was given wider legitimacy by sympathetic commentators in the media. In the weeks following 9/11, numerous commentators interpreted 9/11 as an outcome of legitimate Muslim anger. In the Guardian on 15th October 2001, the columnist, Gary Younge wrote: “Three weeks ago it was considered a mixture of heresy, naivety and plain bad taste to raise the issue of American foreign policy; now it is widely accepted that without a just settlement in the Middle East, networks like Al-Qaeda will always be able to prey on disaffection in the Arab world”.43
Although such commentators condemned the methods of the terrorists, they accepted that Al-Qaeda’s attack was a response to