Politicizing Islam in Europe : case of the Muslim Council of Britain

Konrad Pędziwiatr

Politicizing Islam in Europe : case of

the Muslim Council of Britain

Kultura i Polityka : zeszyty naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Europejskiej im. ks. Józefa Tischnera w Krakowie nr 2/3, 154-169

POLITICIZING ISLAM IN EUROPE:

CASE OF THE MUSLIM COUNCIL OF BRITAIN

Introduction

A lthough in m ajority o f countries in the w orld there is a form al separation betw een Church and State (Great Britain is one o f the m inority cases), religious bodies rem ain im portant political players. On the w hole, religions are very tightly interw oven w ith political establishm ents and their policies. The dom i­ nant religions in the given states are usually highly politicised, in the sense o f having significant impact not only on the public debates, but also on the policies o f these states. T heir politization, however, is often taken for granted and un­ noticed. This is not the case w ith the political m obilisation o f the m inority re ­ ligions. T heir efforts to actively shape public debates are very quickly noticed and frequently deem ed “ dangerous” for the social order. This is, for instance, the situation o f the public m obilisation o f Islam in Europe. In this article I shall shed some light on the relationship between politics and Islam in Great Britain.

One o f the biggest changes in recent years within Islam in Great Britain, as well as, in larger W estern Europe (around 14 m illion people - Pędziw iatr 2005: 4 6 -4 8 ) is that, it has ceased to be only the religion o f im m igrants and to a large extent it is no w religion o f E uropean b o m citizens. The largest com m unities w ithin the 1,6 m illion strong M uslim population in B ritain consists n o w o f m ajority o f people w ho w ere b o m in the country1. The generational change m arks not so m uch the difference in the legal citizenship status o f M uslim s, in the situation when m ost o f the British M uslim s coming from the form er British colonies w ere given all political rights instantly, as in identity and social citi­ zenship. W hile the first generation o f im m igrants w ere often lacking cultural resources to choose betw een different courses o f action and to play active role

* Konrad Pędziwiatr, socjolog i europeista, pracow nik Wyższej Szkoły Europejskiej im. ks. Józefa Tischnera. Redaktor stron internetow ych www.euro-islam .info i w w w .arabia.pl. A utor licznych publikacji naukow ych i po­ pularnonaukow ych na tem at migracji, wielokulturow ości, obywatelskości i islam u w Europie, w tym m onografii „O d islam u im igrantów do islam u obywateli: m uzułm anie w krajach Europy Zachodniej”

1 This figure is from the 2001 Census. Some authors have argued th at accounting for grow th and the fact th at the question w as a voluntary one, the actual figure in 2005 is closer to 1.8 million.

in the public life o f w ider society, and hence could be considered as partial denizens, their offspring in m ost cases is quite well equipped w ith the cultural tools. They understands h o w the political and adm inistrative process o f their countries function, and are eager to m ake use o f this know ledge and their civ­ ic rights. As research into the M uslim com m unities in E urope has show ed cit­ izenship is often central to th eir self-understandings and assertions o f who they are. M any m em bers o f the second and third generation o f M uslim s get in­ volved in the n ew types o f M uslim organisations w hich are a product o f po lit­ ical and social priorities o f both M uslim com m unities and the w ider society. These new organisations are w eakening their reference to the regions o f o ri­ gin or other foreign agencies, ju st as they are becom ing m ore “ecum enical” in their attitudes to cooperation w ith Islam ic religio-political m ovem ents differ­ ent from their ow n (D assetto and N ielsen 2003: 534). One o f such organisa­ tions is the M uslim Council o f B ritain (hereafter M CB ) that strives to repre­ sent interests o f all B ritish M uslim s vis-à-vis the governm ent. The article based on the fieldw ork m aterial2 analyses the efforts o f the M CB to create M uslim public sphere and to influence the policies o f the State.

Public Sphere or Public Spheres?

B efore I begin to analyse the dynam ics o f M uslim public sphere in Britain it is w orth shedding som e light on the concept o f public sphere. One o f the contem porary buzz words, the public sphere has re-em erged as a key concept only in the past decade. How ever, its roots one m ay trace already in the schol­ arship o f Im m anuel Kant. In his essay on Enlightenment, the notion o f “public” is represented by the w ords o f a w riter appearing before readers independent o f authoritative interm ediaries such as preachers, judges, and rulers. “Public” thoughts and ideas presented in this m anner are thus judged on their own merits. Im plicit in this notion is the idea o f a public space separate from both the for­ m al structures o f religious and political authority and the space o f households and kin (C hartier 1991: 23). It is also the notion w hich is closely associated w ith the w ork o f leading contem porary theorist o f public space, Jurgen H ab­ erm as, w ho has described the origins, developm ent and degeneration o f the “public sphere” in the W est (H aberm as 1989).

In his study o f eighteenth century European society, H aberm as em phasized that public arenas like coffee houses, literary clubs, journals, and “m oral w eek­ lies” helped to create an open and egalitarian culture o f participation. H e has

2 In the course o f the research, the author has carried out 10 in-depth interview s w ith m em bers o f the M CB and 6 interview s w ith mem bers o f the organizations not-affiliated w ith the MCB. A part from that the author par­ ticipated in several sem inars, conferences and m eetings organised by the M C B and its affiliates.

also suggested that this developm ent provided vital precedents for the next cen tu ry ’s struggles for dem ocratic representation. A ccording to the G erm an social philosopher, the public space is created in and out o f civil society. It is not absorbed into the state, but addresses the state and the sorts o f public issues on w hich state policy m ight bear. It is based on: notion o f public good as distinct from private interest; social institutions (such as private property) that empower individuals to particip ate independently in th e p ublic sphere because th eir livelihoods and access to it are not dependent on political pow er or patronage; and form s o f private life (notably fam ilies) that prepare individuals to act as au­ tonom ous, rational-critical subjects in the public sphere (Calhoun 2000: 533).

This influential concept has m et w ith a great deal o f criticism from m any angles and although there is no room here to elaborate on it at length, it is worth presenting the m ain argum ents o f the critics, since they can enable us to b et­ ter understand the functioning o f the M uslim public sphere in B ritain and the involvem ent o f M uslim s in the national public sphere. First o f all, one cannot notice that w ithin the fram ew ork o f H aberm as’s concept there is no place for the m inority g roup’s public space at all. This is so n ot only because H aberm as in his classical concept did not pay m uch attention to religions’ role in creating the public sphere o f bourgeois (Calhoun 1992), but m ore so because he did not envisage that there m ight be plural public spheres. A ccording to Calhoum the idea o f a single, uniquely authoritative public sphere as presented by H aberm as needs to be questioned and the m anner o f relations am ong m ultiple, intersect­ ing, and heterogeneous publics needs to be considered, sim ply because it is one o f the illusions o f liberal discourse to believe that in a dem ocratic society there is a single uniquely authoritative discourse about public affairs. The idea o f a single public sphere should also be rejected because it is build on the false nationalist presum ption that m em bership in a com m on society is prior to dem ­ ocratic deliberations and im plicit believe that politics revolves around a single and unitary state (2000: 534).

The im portant voice in the criticism o f the m odem conceptions o f the public sphere w as raised also in the fem inist literature and notably by N ancy Fraser. In a situation o f existence o f substantial inequalities, F raser denies that it is desirable to have public debate confined to a single, overarching public sphere. She believes it is far better to think o f m ultiple public spheres in w hich m em ­ bers o f different social groups or those w ith specialist interests discuss issues w ith one another and then com pete to get their view s on the political agenda. She also points out that m em bers o f m inority groups have repeatedly found it advantageous to constitute alternative publics. The “subaltern counterpublics“ as F raser calls them , are parallel discursive arenas w here m em bers o f subor­ dinated groups invent and circulate counter discourses (Fraser 1995: 291). It seem s that w ith the developm ent o f internet these “subaltern counterpublics”

and the people and organisations active in them have gained m ore space for expression o f alternative discourses.

Public Sphere, Religion, Identity and Common Good

A different line o f criticism has developed to question the central prem ises o f H aberm asian theory (as well as m any other dém ocratisation m odels) con­ cerning th e p lace o f religion in th e p ublic sphere. The assum ption th at for a society to dem ocratize, religion m ust retreat from the public stage to the pri­ vacy o f personal b elief’ has been challenged, for exam ple, by Jose Casanova who argues the religion always was and still is part o f public sphere. H e points out three situations w hen religion enters the public sphere o f civil society to raise norm ative issues, participating in ongoing processes o f norm ative con­ testation (C asanova 1994). The three situations w hen w e can observe “de-pri­ vatisation o f religion”, are w hen religion enters public sphere: a) in defence o f traditional life-w orlds against state and m arket penetration (i.e. m obilisation against abortion or against banning the ritual killing o f anim als); b) in defence o f traditional m oral norm s against the absolutist claim s o f states and m arkets to function according to their ow n intrinsic functionalist norm s; and c) in de­ fence o f the principle o f “ com m on good” against individualist m odem liberal theories that w ould reduce the com m on good to the aggregated sum o f indi­ vidualist rational choices.

Yet other critiques o f H aberm as challenge his presum ption that identities o f social actors active in the public sphere will be form ed in private (and/or in other public contexts) prior to entry into the political public sphere. They point out the lack o f adequately them atic role o f identity-form ing, and culture-form ­ ing o f public activity in the Frankfurt theorist concept o f public sphere. The authors such as, for example, Craig Calhoun argue that it is absolutely necessary to abandon the notion that identity as form ed once and for all in advance o f participation in the public sphere, in order to recognise that in varying degree all public discourses are occasions for identity form ation (2002: 536). Others in the sam e gist point out that experience is not som ething exclusively prior to and only addressed by the rational-critical discourse o f the public sphere; it is constituted in part through public discourse and at the sam e tim e continually orients people differently in public life (Negt and K luge 1993). They also point out that it is possible to distinguish public spheres in w hich identity-form ation figures m ore prominently, and those in which rational-critical discourse is more prominent. As m y research into the M uslim public sphere in Britain has shown

3 It is w orth noting that Haberm as in his recent w ritings has revised his opinions in this m atter and now en­ visages m uch m ore space for religion in the public sphere. See for exam ple Haberm as 2005.

it is undoubtedly an exam ple o f the former, rather than the later public sphere. Furtherm ore w ithin this sphere it is especially the M uslim youth and Islam ist4 organisations w hich pay a great deal o f attention to the process o f identity for­ m ation o f the generation o f M uslim s b om in the non-M uslim country.

Finally the last line o f criticism o f H aberm asian theory o f public sphere w hich I believe is pertinent to the analysis o f the M uslim associational sector in Britain concerns one o f its fundam ental notions, nam ely that o f public/com ­ m on good. W hile in the m odem conceptions o f the public sphere, to w hich we can classify also the H aberm asian one, it w as believed that people should dis­ cuss w hat w as in the public interest and w hat w as good for everyone, som e p o stm odernist scholars argue otherw ise. A lready quoted, N ancy Fraser, for example rejects the idea that people should not push their private interests in the public sphere. She argues, giving as an exam ple the fem inist cam paign against sexual harassm ent, that w hat starts out as being a private interest can come to be accepted as an issue o f public concern. Furtherm ore she argues that the per­ sonal and the private can be political, and that w e should not presum e in ad­ vance that certain things should be o ff lim its for public debate. The divide b e ­ tw een the public and the private is an artificial division o f m odern societies and it should not be allow ed to shape public debates (Fraser 1995). H aving sit­ uated the them e o f the article w ithin a larger theoretical context, it is tim e to m ove to the case under discussion, the M uslim C ouncil o f B ritain w hich is one o f the m ost im portant players within the M uslim non-governm ental sector in G reat Britain.

The Muslim Council of Britain as a Timely Initiative

The organisation that has been striving to speak on b e h a lf on all M uslim s in the country since 1997 is an exam ple o f melange o f the top-dow n and bot- tom -up initiative. The M CB is to a large extent a result o f an effort carried out alm ost from the tim e o f the R ushdie affair, w hen m any M uslim s who lobbied the governm ent to ban the ‘Satanic V erses’ felt that their voice w as being ig ­ nored and that “they needed to organize otherw ise nobody was going to listen to them ” (interview w ith MR).

Like m any other m inority um brella organisations in the country, the M CB is pattern ed on the B o ard o f D eputies o f B ritish Jew s founded in 1760 by Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jew s ww w .bod.org.uk). Its affairs are conducted ac­ cording to a written constitution and it is m ade up o f a General Assembly, C en­

4 1 use the adjective Islam ist in value-free manner. By Islam ists I m ean the social actors who place M uslim identity at the centre o f their activities and use the language o f Islam ic m etaphors to th in k through their politi­ cal destinies. By ‘Islam ist organisations’ I m ean those w hich hold th at Islam is not only a religion, b u t also a sy­ stem that should govern the politicial, econom ic and social im peratives o f the state.

tral W orking Committee, Specialist Com m ittees and B oard o f Counsellors. The true engines w hich drive the m ulti-faceted w ork o f the organisation are its Com m ittees. There are officially about 400 institutions affiliated to the M CB including m osques, education and charitable institutions, w om en and youth organisations and professional bodies. How ever, if one does not count the re­ gional and local branches o f certain organisations then the num ber o f affiliates o f the M CB goes dow n to about 2505. W hile the com position o f the m em ber­ ship is ethnically and theologically m ixed some critics point out that it has not been m ixed enough. It has been accused o f being com prised o f “prim arily Paki­ stani and Indian m ales” w ith little representation o f groups such as w om en, youth and Shia M uslim s (Q N ew s June 2000). These are how ever not the only groups th at the M CB fails to represent according to m y non-M C B affiliated respondents. The Secretary-General o f the recently established British M uslim Forum (hereafter B M F), grouping 250 m osques, points out for exam ple that the M CB does not represent “the m ainstream M uslim s” by w hom he m eans people o f the Brelw i tradition. A lthough there are som e Brelw i organizations affiliated w ith the M CB, these organizations are there, according to Gul M o­ ham m ad, ju st so as the M CB could say that there are some. “There is no real representation (o f the B relw is-K .Pçdziw iatr) but ju st a token few ” - he m ain­ tains (in terv iew w ith GM). O ther actors o f the B ritish M uslim civil society point at the M C B ’s strong ideological links w ith M uslim reform ism , and w ith the Jam a’at-i Islam i m ovem ent in particular. A ccording to the co-founder o f A n N isa Society “the M CB is rooted in external political context and it tries to re-create that in the B ritish context“(interview w ith HK).

W ith m ore w om en in its Central W orking Com m ittee every tw o years (the duration o f tenure) and grow ing num ber o f affiliates from various ethnic com ­ m unities, the M CB has been clearly trying to address som e o f these criticisms. On the other hand, it has no illusions that becom ing a truly representative body is an easy goal to achieve. Som e o f the m ost active m em bers believe that it is achievable - “there is ju st a lot o f organisational coherence and sustainability needed to achieve this objective” (interview w ith JS) - w hile others suggest that striving for greater representativity rem inds the quest for the H oly Grail (Hussain 2003: 248).

It needs to be also stressed that the M CB as an um brella organisation is not a monolith. Some o f the m ost im portant cleavages that one m ay observe w ith­ in it are form ed along political, generational, and theological lines. The differenc­ es betw een conservative and progressive; the 1st and 2nd generation activists, as w ell as betw een the D eobandis, Salafis, B relw is and others, all com e into

5 For exam ple the Islam ic Society o f B ritain is counted 16 tim es The list o f the M CB affiliates available on w w w .m cb.org.uk.

play not only during the m om ents w hen the organisation decides to respond to m ajor international events such as for exam ple the m ilitary interventions in A fghanistan or in Iraq, but also w hen addressing national issues w hich include inter alia religious extrem ism , anti-Sem itism or hom ophobia6 w ithin the M us­ lim population.

The organisation strives to deal with problems faced by M uslims in the coun­ try and influence policies and outcom es through principled and effective p ar­ ticipation, in conform ity w ith Islam ic norm s and standards. A m ong its aims are inter alia: “to prom ote cooperation, consensus and unity on M uslim affairs in the U K and to w ork for the eradication o f disadvantages and form s o f dis­ crimination faced by M uslims and to foster better community relations and work for the good o f society as a w hole” (M CB Constitution on ww w.m cb.org.uk).

Closer investigation o f the aims o f the M CB shows significant resem blance w ith those o f the first British M uslim “representative” organisation established in the country after the Second W orld War - still functioning - the U nion o f M us­ lim O rganisations o f U K & Ireland (hereafter UM O). The im portant question which one needs to rise is why the M CB has been m ore successful in pursuing these goals than the U M O established in 1970 and led by Syed A ziz Pasha? One o f the m ain reasons for that lies in the tim ing o f the foundation o f the new M uslim “representative body” . One o f the m ajor problem s o f the U M O was that it w as essentially prem ature (N ielsen 1992: 47). The organisation failed to recognise that m ost o f the decisions and policies affecting M uslim s had been taken until recently at local rather not national political level. H ow ever, the lobbying o f the governm ent by the UM O , w hich one m ay perceive as preview o f the current w ork o f the M CB , w as not entirely fruitless. M any o f the issues such as for example, Islam ic m ortgage, founding o f M uslim schools, religious question in the census, that the M CB has been occupied w ith now, w ere initi­ ated already by the UM O. The U nion as a m em ber o f various inter-faith groups has also pioneered the cooperation with other faith com m unities7. The fact that its Secretary-General from the tim e o f inception until now has not changed tells a lot about the style o f leadership in this organisation and explains some o f the reasons why several prom inent m em bers o f the U M O (notably the current Sec­ retary-G eneral o f the M C B ) came to the conclusion that the structures o f the organisation w ere im possible to w ork w ithin and decided to set up a n ew in ­ stitutional body. The n ew organisation, according to Syed Aziz Pasha was sup­ posed to be only a service organisation which would not compete with the UMO,

6 The organisation’s stand on hom osexuality is one o f the m ost recent sources o f internal tensions. Some ev­ idence o f these tensions could be found even in the press. See “M uslim s are accused o f gay U -turn” The O b­ server, 23 April, 2006.

7 U nion o f M uslim O rganisations o f U K & Ireland (U M O ), 1 9 7 0 - 1 9 9 5 : A Record o f A chievem ent, 25 Years Silver Jubilee M agazine 1995: 6.

as a “representative body” (interview with SAP). H ow ever from the m om ent o f birth o f the M CB it was clear that am ongst the services w hich the new organ­ isation wanted to offer was also to represent M uslim s vis-à-vis the government.

Yet another reason why the M CB has been m ore successful in establishing itse lf at the stage o f the M uslim organisations, and in pursuing its goals and rapidly gaining the status o f “first am ong equals” am ong various M uslim or­ ganisations in the country w as its exceptionally good relationship w ith the governm ent. W hile the leaders o f the M CB talk about “constructive engage­ m ent in dealing w ith the governm ent”, the leaders o f the U M O and BM F call the M CB “a governm ent backed body” (interview with SAP and with GM) and both sides have a point. On the one hand, in support o f the thesis o f Syed Aziz P asha and o f Gul M oham m ed one m ay point out that only six m onths after its launch, M CB attended a m eeting w ith Hom e Secretary Jack Straw 8, and by the end o f its first year, had established regular contact w ith Straw and FC O m in­ isters9. This good relationship w ith the governm ent continued to develop so that in its 2002 A nnual R eport the M CB claim ed to conduct regular m eetings w ith “governm ent m inisters and other politicians and ‘m overs and shakers’” as well as senior civil servants10. A nas O sam a Altikriti from the M uslim A sso­ ciation o f B ritain m akes an im portant point w hen he notices that “It w ould be very difficult to achieve the position that the M CB holds at the m om ent without the governm ental back up” (interview w ith AOA).

On the other hand, the support w hich the M CB has been receiving from the governm ent in various form s does not m ean that the organisation has becom e a governm ental puppet. To achieve its goals it em ploys both the strategy o f an “insider” trying to influence the politics behind the scenes (R edcliffe 2004) and o f the “outsider”, by taking stand in the public sphere and stim ulating de­ bates in the M uslim “subaltern counterpublic” , to use the poetic o f N ancy Fra­ ser (1995: 291). The organisation has rem ained highly critical o f policies o f the governm ent and especially o f its foreign policy. Its im age as a pro-Pales- tinian and anti-Zionist strongly boosts its position am ong B ritish M uslim s.

The M CB argues its position not with reference to the Sharia or Quran, which w ould not appeal to the m ajority o f non-M uslim s readers, but usually w ith re­ ferences to principles such as hum an rights, international law and the will o f the international community. It dissem inates its opinions m ainly through the m eans o f press releases, w hich are often published in m ajor broadsheet n e­ w spapers. F o r exam ple, in its first press release on an issue o f international concern - condem nation o f the US bom bing o f A fghanistan and Sudan in A u­ gust 1998 in retaliation for the terrorist bom bings o f their em bassies in K enya

8 M CB, “M CB D elegation m eets Hom e Secretary (17 June 1998)”, w w w .m cb.org.uk/new sl70698.htm l. 9 Valerie Grove, “H ollow laughs over US ‘resp ec t’ for holy m onth,” The Times, 19 D ecem ber 1998. 10 M CB, “S ecretary-G eneral’s Introduction,” w w w .m cb.org.uk/annual2002.htm .

and Tanzania - the M CB w rote “The A m erican action is a clear violation o f international law and takes us back to the days o f gunboat diplom acy w hen m ight was right, and the law o f the ju n g le prevailed” 11 and thus, it couched its criticism in the language o f international law and diplomacy. Despite the M C B ’s criticism, the governm ent has continued to look with favour on the organisation since it desperately needs, m ainly from the point o f effectiveness o f communi­ cation, a single voice to refer to as an interlocutor in order to deal with M uslim s’ dem ands and needs (H ussain 2003: 245). It seem s that instead o f setting up from scratch a new body, as Belgium , France, A ustria and Spain did, the British governm ent prefers to tacitly support the existing organisation hoping that it will gain further credibility w ithin the M uslim population.

Attaining and Using the Power

The organization w hich until recently had been em ploying only tw o people have m anaged to establish itse lf as the g ov ern m en t’s favourite M uslim um ­ brella organization also as a result o f the enorm ous input o f voluntary w ork o f its m em bers. In this sense the M CB can be view ed as an organisation w hich draw s on a strong sense o f social enterprise (interview JS). The financial v al­ ue o f the voluntary w ork o f the M CB m em bers and the volunteers’ expenses am ounted in 2004 to nearly 500 000 pounds and it was one and a h a lf tim es higher than the actual turnover o f the organisation o f 350 000 pounds (M CB A nnual R eport 2004: 15). W ithout this voluntary effort the organisation w ould probably have never m anaged to gain such prom inence in a relatively short time. A long with the prom inence o f the organisation m any o f its m em bers have g ained prestige and are being p erceiv ed as pow erful. Its Secretary-G eneral Iqbal Sacranie for his social activity w as aw arded first O rder o f the B ritish Em pire - OBE (w w w .obeservice.org.uk) and in 2005 the Knighthood. Already in 1999 he w as voted by The Observer a one o f the 300 m ost pow erful people in Britain - a year, the paper noted, the A rchbishop o f Canterbury did not even m ake the list12. Certainly he was not put on this list as an accountant running the fam ily business (trading in agro-chem icals)13, but as a leader o f the organ­ isation that the governm ent w ants to see as a voice o f the M uslim population o f the country. In the light o f the F o u cau lt’s “m icro-physics o f po w er” ap­ proach one could say that the m ain reason w hy the Islam ists attain pow er and becom e “religious brokers” is because they posses the know ledge how western societies w ork and w illingly and skilfully are taking advantage o f this exper­ tise by engaging in the public arena. On the other h and the ethno-religious

11 “American Airstrikes against Afghanistan and Sudan (21 August 1998),” www.mcb.org.uk/news210898.html. 12 “ 1999 The O bserver Pow er 300: From S o u terto G rieve,” The Observer, 24 O ctober 1999.

leaders w ho pay m ore attention to know ledge o f desk pardesh (In U rdu “hom e far from hom e”) than to B ritish context and those who see Islam as part o f the private sphere rather than the public one, are not interested and often not ca­ pable o f com peting w ith Islam ists.

One o f the best exam ples o f how the M CB is using its pow er to influence the public sphere and to strengthen its authority w ithin B ritish M uslim discur­ sive arena is its cam paign for introduction o f the religion question into the census. A lthough the cam paign started y et before the foundation o f the M CB and the intellectual engine behind it was a group “Churches W orking Together”, M uslim s took an active part in it from the very beginning14. As one o f its active participants pointed out, it m arked for m any B ritish M uslim s their first com ­ prehensive engagem ent with the variety o f networks, pow er centres, institutions and processes that interact in the shaping o f policy and participative dem ocra­ cy (S herif 2002). D espite m any tw ists and turns it ended w ith success on June 19, 2000 w hen the H ouse o f C om m ons p assed am endm ent introducing n ew questions to the census by 194 to 10 v o tes15. This victory was not only a con­ sequence o f efforts o f the m any B ritish M uslim s, but also advocacy o f the Churches and a changing social m ilieu w hich has becom e m ore open to role for faith in the public sphere. The result o f the cam paign w as inclusion to the 2001 census a question on religious identification w hich the last tim e was asked in Census for E ngland 150 years ago. The high response rate (92% ) to w hat was the only voluntary question in the census form indicated its w ide ac­ ceptability and confirm ed the im portance o f religion as a basis o f identity.

W hile for the leader o f the U M O lobbying for introduction o f the question “w hat is your religion?” into the census was “irrelevant thing” (Interview with SAP), all the interview ed m em bers o f the M CB spoke unanim ously about it, as a “landm ark event” and one o f the greatest achievem ents o f the M CB (inter­ view s w ith IB, JS, SJ, M R and IM). F o r the m em bers o f the M CB, in contrast to Syad A ziz P asha it w as clear that a m ere presence o f the w ord “M uslim ” in the nation-w ide census was a significant developm ent allow ing the discussion about the nature o f the British pluralist society to m ove beyond the race/ethnic paradigm that until recently has dom inated thinking am ongst social scientists and policy makers. As Jamil Sherif points out the 2001 Census was significant because it acknow ledged th at allegiance to m oral and ethical values w as in som e contexts m ore im portant that characterizing people by w hat they looked like (S h erif 2002: 1). The m em bers o f the M CB w ere also aw are o f the fact

14 Before N ovem ber 1997 the advocacy body for the M uslim com m unity was U K A C IA - the U K A ction Com m ittee on Islam ic Affairs.

15 M ore about the census cam paign, Sherif Jam il (2002) The R eligion Q uestion in the Census - A L andm ark E vent’ on w w w .m cb.org.uk.

that im plem entation o f religious question into the Census m eant that religions and religious groups have gained a n ew space in the public sphere.

The fact that n o w there is authoritative data on the size and regional distri­ bution o f British M uslim s has m eant not only the end o f quarrels about the size o f the M uslim s population but also the beginning o f their statistical visibility as the second, after Christians, religious group in the country. On the one hand this statistical visibility has given the M CB a valuable tool w hich the organi­ zation m ight use both w hen it lobbies the governm ent or takes part in public debate and w hen it tries to strengthen its position w ithin the M uslim popula­ tion in the country. As Peter Skerry rem inds us state-defined identity categories can have a p rofound im pact on in d ivid u als’ conception o f them selves. Like birth certificates and m igration docum ents, the census is a crucial instrum ent in producing and m aintaining ethnic, racial and, n o w w ith the inclusion o f the religious category, also religious identities. In this way the census w hich ena­ bles us to understand the boundaries o f certain nation, its strengths, weaknesses and the relationship o f its part, can contribute also to m aintaining these b ound­ aries (Skerry 2000: 11).

The M CB as an organisation that strives to provide “com m unity represen­ tation” has been trying to translate the diverse socio-cultural reality o f num er­ ous M uslim com m unities in the country and the established by the census cat­ egory o f M uslim population into the category o f singular M uslim community. In doing so it has been trying to deploy the idea o f essence into the em pty n o ­ tion o f com m unity and in this way it has been striving to aggregate and m obi­ lise people o f often quite different subject positions in a com m on cause. The m ethods used by the M CB in its discursive effort to create British M uslim com ­ munity include am ong others, the usage o f the notion o f M uslim comm unity as it w as a hom ogenous one and frequent referring to the size o f the M uslim p o p ­ ulation as to the size o f the M uslim community. The em ploym ent o f this kind o f discursive technique by the organisation has not rem ained unnoticed by m em ­ bers o f other M uslim NGOs. The editor o f the portal um m anew s.com Faisal Bodi, for exam ple, com plained in the G uardian th at “barely a new s bulletin passes these days w ithout reference to M C B ’s take on the latest developm ents, giving the impression, as did the M uslim Parliam ent during the Rushdie Affair, that it alone legitim ately speaks for B ritish M uslim s” (Bodi 2001).

In the case o f the M CB the crucial role in building its authority within the country M uslim population and wider society plays the internet. The organisation not only uses it to comm unicate with the affiliates but also m aintains and regu­ larly updates a com prehensive and easily navigable w ebsite that includes both inform ation on current affairs and historical m aterial about w hat the M CB has done to further various causes o f concern to B ritish M uslims. This presentation seeks to convey to M uslim and non-M uslim citizens the M C B ’s leading role

as the community representative. Gary Bunt has rightly pointed out that its w eb­ site “presents an im pression o f ‘unity’ within the British M uslim com m unity” with M CB at the helm, emphasising the num ber and diversity o f M CB affiliate organisations (Bunt 1999: 354). As one may read in the M CB 2004 Annual R e­ port the financial value o f the content m anagement o f the website and related to it technical services, provided free o f charge by the company o f one o f the M CB m em bers, excess 25 000 pounds per annum (M CB A nnual R eport 2004: 15).

In its efforts to m eet o f one o f its central goals, w hich is “fostering o f better com m unity relations and w orking for the good o f society as a w hole” , the M CB tries to activate M uslim com m unities and encourage their m em bers to use th eir civic rights. F or exam ple it encouraged the active participation o f B ritish M uslim s in the elections o f 1997 and 2001, calling on M uslim s to vote strategically to elect M Ps that were responsive to M uslim concerns16. The or­ ganisation issued “m anifestos” prior to both elections, outlining the “M uslim position” on various issues17. M ore recently the M CB has sent a letter to all o f the co u ntry ’s m osques, Islam ic associations and institutions urging them to encourage their com m unities to take the fullest part in the upcom ing local and E uropean elections18. In the letter w hich has gained high publicity, as it was p u b lished am ong others on th e B B C w eb site19, the M C B em phasized that M uslim s’ participation w as very im portant in order not to let in the racist and F ar R ight parties sim ply by default w hich could happen i f people did not vote and there was a low turnout.

In order to foster better com m unity relations and prom ote comm unity cohe­ sion the organisation in the w ake o f the M adrid bom bings on M arch 11, 2004 has also taken the unprecedented step o f w riting to every m osque, urging peo ­ ple to help in the fight against terror. In the letter w hich was quoted directly, for exam ple, in the khutbah delivered on A pril 2nd 2004 at the E ast London M osque20 and m entioned in m any other m osques across the country, the M CB asked M uslim s “to observe the utm ost vigilance against any m ischievous or criminal elem ents from infiltrating the comm unity and provoking any unlawful activity” and “to liaise w ith the local Police and give them the fullest cooper­

16 A special election supplement written by M C B was included in T M N , 30 M arch 2001. It included an arti­ cle entitled “W hy vote?” ; a “M uslim VoteCard” to be sent to parliam entary candidates asking them to declare their position on five issues o f concern to M uslim s, and a chart listing constituencies w ith outcom es that could potentially be affected by the voting o f its M uslim electorate.

17 The 1997 political m anifesto w as issued by U K A C IA , the driving force behind the form ation o f MCB; see UK A CIA , “Elections 1997 and B ritish M uslim s - for a fair and caring society” (1997). This docum ent was published in both T M N , 28 February 1997 and Q - N e m , M arch 1997. Also MCB, “Electing to Listen: prom o­ ting policies for British M uslim s” (2000).

18 The letter is available on http://w w w .m cb.org.uk/Jun04_letter_m osques.pdf.

19 See, M CB letter to M uslim com m unities on BBC http://new s.bbc.co.U k/l/hi/uk/3772017.stm . 20 The transcription o f the khutbah one m ay find on http://w w w .m cb.org.uk/khutbah.pdf.

ation in dealing w ith any crim inal activity including terrorist threat21”. It has legitim ised both requests w ith verses from the Q u r’an22. W hile the letter has m et w ith m any positive responses there w ere also som e people who felt that it linked their religion w ith terrorism and w ere expressing their dissatisfaction w ith the action in their e-m ail to the M C B 23.

B oth initiatives o f the M CB to w rite letters to M osques and M uslim organ­ isations across the country show that after more than 8 years o f continuous work aim ed at building authority w ithin the M uslim population and w ider society, it feels strong enough to take m ore pro-active and sometimes even controversial decisions in order to achieve its goals. B efore the attacks on London Transport N etw ork on July 7th 2005 the position o f the M CB as ‘a voice o f B ritish M us­ lim s’ was so strong that could not be challenged by any other organisation. A f­ ter the attacks the situation has radically changed as the governm ent is trying to extend the array o f the consulted M uslim leaders and organisations. The M CB accused o f being “too soft” on dealing w ith extrem ism w ithin the M u s­ lim com m unity seem s to have lost its p rivileged position in the corridors o f power. H o w ev er taking into account its significant advances in this m atter I think it w ould not take it long yet to regain its position prior to 7/7.

Conclusion

The article has shed light on the case o f politization o f Islam in Europe. M oreover it has dem onstrated the usefulness o f the concept o f public sphere in the analysis o f the M uslim organisational activism in Britain. In order to be analytically useful though, the notion o f public sphere needs to be understood not as singular b ut as m ultiple public spheres.

At the age o f politics o f identity, creating subaltern counterpublics allows the groups w hich w ould otherw ise have lim ited opportunities to attain power, to prom ote their ow n goals and eventually influence the policies o f the state. The article identifies several specific factors w hich have enabled the M CB to in ­ fluence the politics o f the state. Some o f them are: good relations with the gov­ ernm ent, know ledge o f “h o w w estern societies w ork”, sim ultaneous usage o f the strategy o f an “insider” and “outsider”, em ploym ent o f the internet and ap­ propriate languages w hile addressing the state and the M uslim com m unities. One o f the general factors that have paved the way for the M CB to the corridors

21 The letter is available on http://w w w .m cb.org.uk/Im am letter-31M arch04.pdf.

22 The first one with ayah 10 from surah f a t i r (chapter The Angels) “A n d those who crim inally plot evil deeds,

a severe punishm ent aw aits them; a n d all their plotting is bound to come to nought.” (35:10) and the second one

w ith ayah 2 from surah al-m aeda (The Table) “H elp one another to virtue a n d God-consciousness a n d do not

help one other to sin a n d transgression.” (5:2) Q u r’an on-line available on http://w ww.usc.edu/dept/M SA/quran/.

o f pow er is undoubtedly the w ider politicisation o f Islam not only in Europe, but in the West. Since the attacks on the W TC and the Pentagon in 2001, and the explosions o f trains in Spain in 2004, Islam and M uslim populations have been very high on the agendas o f Western governments. It seems that this situa­ tion has favoured the M uslim organisations that strive for m ore space for Islam w ithin the public sphere, rather than those that believe that religion should re­ m ain part o f the private sphere. Clearly, the im pact o f the w ider politicization o f Islam on the M uslim organisational activism is one o f the fields that require yet further research.

Abstrakt

Większość brytyjskich organizacji muzułmańskich założonych przez pierwsze pokolenie imigrantów działa głównie w obrębie „kolonii etnicznych” i rzadko bierze udział w debatach publicznych. Organizacje, w skład których wchodzi coraz większa liczba przedstawicieli dru­ giego pokolenia, kreatywnie i dynamicznie angażują się w tego typu debaty. Jedną z nich jest Muzułmańska Rada Wielkiej Brytanii (MCB), która dąży do tego by reprezentować interesy wszystkich brytyjskich muzułmanów w kontaktach z rządem. Niniejszy artykuł analizuje próby stworzenia przez MCB muzułmańskiej sfery publicznej i wywarcia wpływu na politykę pań­ stwa. Proponuje myślenie o sferze publicznej nie w liczbie pojedynczej, lecz w liczbie mno­ giej, jak o rozmaitych sferach publicznych, w obrębie których członkowie różnych grup spo­ łecznych i specjaliści rozmawiają ze sobą, a następnie konkurują między sobą żeby ich opinie znalazły odzwierciedlenie w polityce państwa. W ten sposób rzuca światło na zróżnicowanie oraz konflikty wewnątrz populacji muzułmańskiej w kraju.

Słowa kluczowe: sfera publiczna - polityzacja islamu w Europie - muzułmańskie organi­ zacje w Wielkiej Brytanii - polityzacja islamu w Europie - muzułmańskie organizacje w Wiel­ kiej Brytanii

Abstract

While the majority of British Muslim organisations established by the first generation of immigrants tend to work within the “ethnic colonies” and rarely take part in public debates, the organisations made up by an increasing number of the second generation critically and creati­ vely engage in them. One of such organisations is the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) that strives to represent interests of all British Muslims vis-r-vis the government. The article ana­ lyses the efforts of the MCB to create Muslim public sphere and to influence the policies of the State. It proposes to think about the public sphere not as singular but as multiple public spheres in which members of different social groups or those with specialist interests discuss issues with one another and then compete to get their views on the political agenda. Thus, it sheds light on the diversity of the Muslim population in the country and the conflicts within it.

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Interviews

IB - Inayat Bungalawala, Secretary of the MCB Media Committee, MCB’s ‘spin doctor’, 31 July - 3 August 2003, Lincoln.

AL - Ayub Leher, vice-president of Bradford Council for Mosques, executive member of the MCB and Association of Muslim Scholars, School councillor in Feversham Primary School,

14 December 2003, Bradford.

IM - Ibrahim Moghra, Imam of the Mosque in Leicester, Secretary of the MCB Mosque and Community Affairs Committee, 19-22 June 2003, Nottingham. SA P- SyedAziz Pasha, the leader of the Union of Muslim Organisation of UK and Ireland - UMO, 25 September 2003, London. MR - Mahmud al-Rashid, member of the ISB, former deputy of the Secretary General of the

JS - Jamil Sherif, former secretary of the MCB Research and Documentation Committee, 27 September 2002, London. GM - Gul Mohammad, Secretary Gemeral of the British Muslim Forum, telephone interview 25 April 2006.

FA - Fareena Alam, Editor of the Q-News, 29 March 2006, Brussels.FIK - Flummera Khan Flumera Khan, co-founder of the An Nisa Society 30 March 2006, Brussels.