Review

'This is a refreshing and innovative account of the formation of different types of consciousness among Muslims in Britain and globally. Nasar Meer's lucid analysis of the complex processes at work is a timely reminder of the dangers of an over-simplified understanding of both Islam and Muslim communities. This is a book that deserves the widest possible readership' - John Solomos, Professor of Sociology, City University London, UK 'Nasar Meer's timely book makes an important contribution to current understandings of multiculturalism in Britain. He successfully deploys a critical application of the work of W.E.B Du Bois to theorise 'Muslim-consciousness' in relation to state funding of Muslim schools, race discrimination legislation and media representations of Muslim identity. The book uses Du Bois' notion of consciousness to articulate a nuanced understanding of British Muslim consciousness, distinguishing between a consciousness that exists 'in itself' and 'for itself', where the former is a socially imposed consciousness and the latter which is a product of self-mobilisation. Meer's work is both theoretically strong and empirically original.' - Judith Squires, Professor of Political Theory, University of Bristol, UK

About the Author

NASAR MEER is Lecturer in Social and Political Sciences, University of Southampton, UK. He was previously a Visiting Fellow with the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Studies, Harvard University, USA.