Abstract
This chapter begins to more specifically locate converts in multicultural Britain in relation to majority society as well as born Muslim minorities in Britain. To do so it discusses British converts emerging during the mid-nineteenth century to early twentieth century in order to highlight both points of similarity as well as of contrast relevant to contemporary converts and their patterns of identity and belonging. In turn, it points to significant structural features in order to begin to position contemporary converts as part of the social and political landscape. To do this it also draws on interviews with leaders of New Muslim organisations and groups to reflect on the changing circumstances and challenges in recent years that converts face and attempt to navigate.
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Notes
- 1.
According to official statistics from the Annual Population Survey https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/muslimpopulationintheuk/. An MCB report gives a detailed breakdown and commentary on the Muslim data from the 2011 census: http://www.mcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/MCBCensusReport_2015.pdf. Both last accessed 8 September 2019.
- 2.
See https://mcb.org.uk/.
- 3.
Cara is a pseudonym.
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Sealy, T. (2021). Converts in Multicultural Context. In: Religiosity and Recognition. Palgrave Politics of Identity and Citizenship Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75127-2_2
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