Britishness and Muslim-ness: differentiation, demarcation and discrimination in political discourse

Abstract

The Britishness agenda found in political speeches, reporting and opinion editorials is here posited as a form of 'new racism', as it emphasises the difference between 'them', Muslims, and 'us', non-Muslim Britons, and uses that difference as a defining demarcation. Twenty-first-century political discourse invested in the Britishness agenda works to eradicate distinctions between British Muslims and non-British Muslims, and even the distinction between those guilty of terrorist atrocities and those who have nothing to do with them. Muslims are framed within this discourse as the problem within multiculturalism, and the problem with multiculturalism. The difficulty of a demand to 'be more British' is laid bare.

Cameron, Conservatives and a Christian Britain: A Critical Exploration of Political Discourses about Religion in the Contemporary United Kingdom

“…Where this is most apparent is during his speech to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta and the news stories that sought to report it most notably, 'Be more British Cameron tells UK Muslims' [50]. Despite the call to 'be more British' being somewhat meaningless-as indeed is for Britain to be more Christian or indeed more evangelical-such sentiments function by appealing to what might be understood as 'common-sense'.…”

“…In this respect, Barker's conception of a 'new' racism was such that it was a discriminatory process which functioned through the accentuation of just how different 'they'-whoever 'they' might be at any given time and juncture-are from 'us'. The process is threefold [50]: it enables political actors to navigate the new landscapes of diversity and legislation while avoiding explicit references to discriminatory markers; it affirms the difference attributed to 'them' is wholly problematic because it threatens 'us' and 'our' culture, values, way of life and so on; and finally, it continues to exaggerate both the difference attributed to 'them' and the consequences experiences because of that same difference. 'Christian country' clearly functions in this way.…”

“…Given that the discourses of political actors and their discourses tell us what we all already think [50], Cameron and the Conservatives' discourses about Britain being a Christian country and the membership categories associated with therefore sought to routinely deploy hollow and meaningless notions of identity through which they were able to confer legitimacy on the process of demarcating 'them' from 'us'. In doing so, one might suggest that the use of 'Christian country' here functions akin to what might be described as a form of 'new' racism.…”

Young, Brummie and Muslim in the Problematised City: Investigating Identity and Belonging Among Muslim Youth in Birmingham, England

“…For Brown, not only does this culminate in Muslim identity being attributed with a series of unfounded claims that are both threatening and dangerous to 'us', but so too do they typically demand changes in "the ordinary and unexceptional lives of [British Muslim] citizens" (Brown 2010, p.172). For Allen (2015), this is most evident in associated political discourses about 'Britishness'. Through ascribing a certain 'way of life ' and 'values' to what it means to be 'British', not only are none of these ascribed to 'Muslims' but neither can 'Muslims' ever be seen to be 'British'.…”

Charlie Hebdo Attack and Discourses of Muslims in British and Danish Newspapers: A cross-cultural critical discourse analysis of four newspapers

“…Are references made to multiculturalism in each country?The research questions developed from engagement with existing literature around the dominant framings and discourses the media employ when discussing Muslim communities (seeVertovec and Wessendorf 2010;Wodak 2015;Allen 2015;Billig 1995and Poole 2011…”