British universities and Islamism

Mukherjee, Kunal (2011) British universities and Islamism. Comparative Strategy, 30 (1). pp. 60-78. ISSN 0149-5933

Abstract

This article tries to look into the question, to what extent have British universities become the new recruiting grounds of Islamism, if at all, making a shift from Mosques. It argues that both Islam (the religion itself) and Islamism (the political ideology) coexist at the university level. At universities both moderate thinkers and Islamists are invited to give their speeches, a small few of whom openly advocate terrorism or what Islamists would call “martyrdom.” The article moves away from the traditional reactive explanations and tries to give both an active and reactive explanation as to what causes Islamism in Britain among British Muslim university students and analyzes the causes within the broader framework of identity issues and socioeconomic marginalization. It has been advised that social policy workers in Britain dealing with ethnic minorities collaborate with security officials while dealing with the problem of Islamism.