Young British Muslims alienated by 'us versus them' rhetoric of counter-terrorism

The government’s “Prevent” counter-terrorism strategy is proving counter-productive, engulfing British Muslims further in the political rhetoric of the global “war on terror”. It has contributed to a growing moral panic between a British “us” and a Muslim “other”.

A hostile attitude towards Islam and Muslims and a tendency to associate Islam with intolerance and extremism, effectively asks British Muslims to decide whether they are Muslim or British by constructing these two facets of identity as incompatible.

My research has focused on Islam, identity and youth – complex, serious, and often misunderstood issues that, I’d argue, affect us all. I’m often asked what can be done about the radicalisation of our young people. I have no easy answers or solutions. But through my years of community work and interaction with young people, particularly third-generation Bangladeshis from east London, I can offer some insight on how it feels to be a young British Muslim in 2015, embroiled in a conundrum of non-belonging.