Multiculturalism - Hardcover

Modood, Tariq

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0745662862 ISBN 13: 9780745662862

Publisher: Polity, 2013

Synopsis

At a time when many public commentators are turning against multiculturalism in response to fears about militant Islam, immigration or social cohesion, Tariq Modood, one of the world's leading authorities on multiculturalism, provides a distinctive contribution to these debates. He contends that the rise of Islamic terrorism has neither discredited multiculturalism nor heralded a clash of civilizations. Instead, it has highlighted a central challenge for the 21st century - the urgent need to include Muslims in contemporary conceptions of democratic citizenship.

In the second edition of this popular and compelling book, Modood updates his original argument with two new chapters. He reassesses the relationship between multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism and assimilation, demonstrating that multiculturalism is crucial for successful integration. He also argues that while multiculturalism poses a significant challenge to existing forms of secularism, this challenge should not be exaggerated into a crisis. In so doing, Modood adds new vigor to the claim that multiculturalism remains a living force which is shaping our polities, even as its death is repeatedly announced.

This book will appeal to students, researchers and teachers of politics, sociology and public policy, as well as to anyone interested in the prospects of multiculturalism today.

About this title

About the Author

Tariq Modood is Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy and Director of the University Research Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship at the University of Bristol, and the Founding Editor of Ethnicities (Sage).

From the Back Cover

At a time when many public commentators are turning against multiculturalism in response to fears about militant Islam, immigration or social cohesion, Tariq Modood, one of the world's leading authorities on multiculturalism, provides a distinctive contribution to these debates.

He contends that the rise of Islamic terrorism has neither discredited multiculturalism nor heralded a clash of civilizations. Instead, it has highlighted a central challenge for the 21st century - the urgent need to include Muslims in contemporary conceptions of democratic citizenship.

In this compelling new book, Modood shows that inclusion is not possible within some narrow forms of liberalism. He argues that while different minorities need to be accommodated in different ways, a single template is not appropriate. He suggests, moreover, that such differential accommodation or multiculturalism cannot be the task of the state alone but must be shared across different civil society sectors.

Controversially, he sees the revival of ideological secularism as an obstacle to multicultural integration but institutional secularism as an important resource for accommodating Muslims.

This book will appeal to students, researchers and teachers of politics, sociology and public policy but also to general readers interested in the prospects of multiculturalism today.

For discussion of Modood's ideas, see openDemocracy.

Edition details

• Publisher: Polity
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0745662862
• ISBN 13: 9780745662862
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 208