Islamophobia And Young Muslims’ Identity Crisis In Britain

Young Muslims in Britain refer to the second and third generation British Muslim youth who grow up in the UK.The current multiculturalism policy has been implemented in the UK for many years.But in the aftermath of the Rushdie Affair,the9/11 terrorist attacks and the 7/7 London bombings,multiculturalism is confronted with serious challenges.Islamophobia becomes increasingly prevalent and young Muslims are confronted with an even more serious identity construction crisis.This research aims to present the rise of Islamophobia and dilemmas of identity construction of young Muslims in Britain today,focus on the life experiences and identity construction demands of Young Muslims,explore the economic and cultural roots of their dilemmas and develop a deeper understanding of British society and culture.The research also examines the theoretical origins of multiculturalism,the practice of multiculturalism policy,the dilemmas of the theory and the policy’s departure from the theoretical basis to capture the essence of multiculturalism in the social context of modernity.The research concludes that multiculturalism in Britain has always followed the liberal tradition and multiculturalism policy is practised within the liberal framework.In the social context of modernity and liberalism,multiculturalism is more of an illusion that cannot really be constructed as a reality.The future of British multiculturalism will hardly address the issues of intensifying Islamophobia and young Muslims’ identity crisis if Muslims’ economic and social disadvantages couldn’t be handled properly.