Speakers: Professor Tariq Modood

City Circle is delighted to welcome you to a talk by Professor Tariq Modood on what has been the hot-button political debate of the last few years, "British Muslims and the Future of Multiculturalism", at 6.45pm on Friday, 18th May 2007 at 45 Crawford Place, off Edgware Road, London W1H 4LP. 

In the last few years, multiculturalism has been blamed for weakening a sense of Britishness, creating parallel communities or ghettos, weakening integration, undermining support for the welfare state, even playing a role in creating terrorism. Most of the problems of multiculturalism have been blamed upon British Muslim communities. Tonight we will discuss whether any of this is actually justifeid or even true. 

Professor Modood will argue that ideological and violent extremism is undermining the conditions and hopes for multiculturalism in Britain, but, contrary to the multiculturalism-blamers, this extremism has nothing to do with the promotion of multiculturalism but is coming into the domestic arena from the international. Many British Muslims are responding to the crisis with a concern to stand up for their 

community through civic engagement and a refusal to give up on their Muslim 

identity or being part of democratic citizenship. This rising to the challenge 

of dual loyalties and not giving up on either set of commitments is impressive. Professor Modood argues that we should continue to insist that inclusion is not possible within some narrow forms of liberalism and secularism. 

Some champions of multiculturalism have, however, underemphasized the fact that 'difference' has to be related to things we have in common. And what we have in common is our citizenship. We need to emphasise that ideally this citizenship should reflect Britain's diversity, come from the ground-up, and always be open to new influences through debate and discussion. Professor Modood argues that a good basis for or accompaniment to a multicultural citizenship is a national identity. Moreover, a pragmatic look at what secularism means in practice shows that it is capable of developing institutional compromises -- recognising and incorporating new faith communities like British Muslims -- exactly the opposite of how it is characterised by radical secularists and anti-secularists. So, the way forward is a multiculturalism that supports civic, national and secular institutions, practices and identitites. 

Tariq Modood is Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy (1997- ) and the founding Director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship (1999- ) at the University of Bristol and one of the leading authorities on ethnic minorities in Britain. He has published over 30 (co-) authored and (co-) edited books and over eighty articles or chapters in political philosophy, sociology and public policy. He is a regular contributor to the media and policy debates, was awarded a MBE for services to social sciences and ethnic relations in 2001 and elected a member of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2004. He has served on the DfES Race, Education and Employment Forum, was part of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain (1997-2000), and has been Adviser to the Muslim Council of Britain. 

His most recent publications include Multicultural Politics: Racism, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain (2005); and as co-editor, Ethnicity, Social Mobility and Public Policy in the US and UK (2005) and Multiculturalism, Muslims and Citizenship: A European Approach (2006). His latest book is due out in the Spring of 2007. Entitled, Multiculturalism: A Civic Idea, it is a defence of multiculturalism against its political and theoretical critics. 

Professor Modood's latest book, Multiculturalism, will be available on the night. Cash only. 

Free entrance. All welcome.