The Myth of British Identity and the Failure of Multiculturalism?: From hijab to jilbab

Based in two English cities the project will explore the effect of multiculturalism over the last decade in two very different British schools. It will do this by re-visiting the doctoral research carried out by the applicant in two schools ten years ago (Haw, 1994, 1995, 1998). At the time the aim of the work was twofold, to promote critical dialogue between the applicant as a non-Muslim white researcher and the participants, and to give Muslim women a 'voice' in places where they would not normally be heard (Haw, 1996). The ideas behind this proposal come from recent research with some of the girls who took part in the original study (Haw, 2007). The young women represent the first generation to have been through the UK education system. Ten years on they reveal strong identities shaped in part though a process of 'resistance' to social constructions of Muslims, Muslim communities and Islam. The research design and approach is aimed at working with them to articulate an 'insider' perspective by examining the impact of this 'resistance' stance in their identity formation, and in doing so provide fresh insights for 'outsiders' to these communities (Haw, 2006 and forthcoming)

This proposal is designed to move on from the notion of promoting critical dialogue to the co-construction of the arguments concerning multicultural initiatives and their consequences providing a different lens through which to see multiracial, multicultural Britain. The aim of this research is twofold. First, to contribute to current debates that argue multiculturalism has 'failed' in the light of an international religious resurgence (Esposito, 2002; Kepel, 1997; 2003), heightened political sensitivities in response to the events of 9/11 and 7/7 and the notion of 'home grown' terrorism. Second, to create support materials for use by teachers and young people in citizenship classes who often feel uncomfortable exploring issues concerning Muslim communities in Britain. The multi-voiced materials will promote the importance of cultural literacy and sensitivity via the development of a flexible video-based package that will challenge young people's existing perceptions in a way that is appropriate to them as individuals. The materials will be designed in a way that will enable young people to reflect critically on themselves and their attitudes to the issues around multiculturalism in general and Muslim communities in particular and encourage them to investigate these issues for themselves.

The research will adapt an approach developed over several years of research with inner city communities. It will draw on the work of visual ethnographers and anthropologists interested in researching the construction of individual lives and representation within the media (Banks, 1995; MacCanell, 1994; Margolis, 1998) combined with a second approach that explores group self-representation, and collective and individual identity using a series of projective tasks to trigger discussion (Melucci, 1989, 1996).

The research will be multi-phased. First, the co-researchers will be trained by the applicant to conduct individual and group interviews and work with video so that they can produce video narratives from within their families. These materials will be used in the second phase when the researchers will work in the schools they attended conducting group discussions that will also be videoed and recorded as well as individual interviews with staff and pupils. The resulting representations of everyday life and the individual and group discussions that occur amongst these participants, their families and teachers will be incorporated into a rough edit of a final DVD piloted within a range of settings that will also be videoed and recorded. A final DVD and accompanying text will be produced that reflect a multi-voiced account of being a Muslim in contemporary Britain and the uneven progress made towards achieving a truly multicultural, multi-faith society.