Self-Segregation and the Muslim Problematic

Abstract

The debate on Muslims and the question of self-segregation has become a dominant discourse shaping Muslim geographical space in the UK (Cantle 2005; Thomas 2011), and also in a range of other European countries such as France (Bowen 2007; Laborde 2008). A number of high-profile media stories have contributed towards a moral panic, with Muslim communities as the new folk devil (Cohen 2011). In fact these moral panics can be grouped together as spatial and cultural self-segregation. Spatial segregation revolves around a number of themes associated with ethnic residential clustering and ‘Muslim no-go areas’, which are symbolised by purpose-built mosques. It focuses on the idea that Muslims self-consciously live in separate neighbourhoods by deliberately excluding themselves from the rest of the society, by either actively resisting non-Muslims from entering their space or ‘regulating’ non-Muslim activities within ‘Muslim areas’. The creation of ‘Muslim ghettoes’ has been fuelled by recent sensationalist headlines over the ‘Shari’a patrols’ of innercity Muslim neighbourhoods. The Shari’a patrols refer to videos uploaded to YouTube by self-proclaimed Muslim vigilantes patrolling the streets of East London, confronting non-Muslims consuming alcoholic drinks and ordering women to dress appropriately by proclaiming that ‘this is a Muslim area’ (Gadher 2013).

There has been a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism. One of the results of this has been to further alienate the young from the nation in which they were growing up and also to turn already separate communities into ‘no-go’ areas where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability… Those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work there because of hostility to them and even the risk of violence… Attempts have been made to impose an ‘Islamic’ character on certain areas.

(Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali 2008)