Multiculturalism: Second Edition: A Civic Idea - Softcover

Modood, Tariq

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0745662870 ISBN 13: 9780745662879

Publisher: Polity, 2013

Synopsis

In the second edition of this popular and compelling book, Modood shows how the rise of Islamic terrorism has neither discredited multiculturalism nor heralded a clash of civilizations. Instead, it has highlighted an enduring hallenge for the 21st century - the urgent need to include Muslims in contemporary conceptions of democratic citizenship.

About this title

Review

This important book is an authoritative and subtle analysis as well as a robust and well argued defence of multiculturalism. It cuts through much conceptual fog surrounding the subject, and shows why multiculturalism in some form is a necessary precondition of social cohesion.
Lord Bhikhu Parekh, University of Westminster

Multiculturalism is, in my view, the best introduction to what has become a central concern of contemporary liberal politics. More than that, it is a significant contribution to the ongoing debate on the acceptable limits of cultural difference in a democracy. Well-informed on questions of crucial fact, skilled in the deployment of relevant social theory, Modood has given us an important book that should be read carefully by everyone who wants to think sanely about our plural societies.
Talal Asad, The CUNY Graduate Center, New York

Modood’s important and challenging book is a much needed voice of caution in the headlong rush to abandon multiculturalism and all it stands for. There is much that critics of multiculturalism can and must learn from this book. It should also be compulsory reading for all engaged in British political life.
Paul Kelly, London School of Economics and Political Science

At a moment when many declare multiculturalism to be dead, Tariq Modood shows that it is actually quite alive and explains why it deserves to be so. The first edition of this book was excellent, and the second is even better. Multiculturalism is sociologically detailed, theoretically rich and highly accessible.
Joseph H. Carens, University of Toronto

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: 0745662870
• ISBN 13: 9780745662879
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 256