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Sufi Politics in Britain: the Sufi Muslim Council and the 'silent majority' of Muslims

Stjernholm, Simon LU (2010) In Journal of Islamic Law and Culture 12(3). p.215-226
Abstract
This article presents and analyses a new public Muslim voice that emerged in the political aftermath of the terrorist attacks in London in July 2005, in which the government reviewed its relations with Muslim communities. The Sufi Muslim Council (SMC) immediately attracted attention and criticism when it was launched in 2006, but it has not been studied in detail before. This article addresses the SMC's publicized self-presentation at the time of the launch, which contentiously identified itself against a broad definition of ‘extremists’ and adopted the language of the government. An interview with the SMC spokesperson and attendance at several public events arranged by the SMC from 2006 to 2009 are the basis of further analysis. The SMC's... (More)
This article presents and analyses a new public Muslim voice that emerged in the political aftermath of the terrorist attacks in London in July 2005, in which the government reviewed its relations with Muslim communities. The Sufi Muslim Council (SMC) immediately attracted attention and criticism when it was launched in 2006, but it has not been studied in detail before. This article addresses the SMC's publicized self-presentation at the time of the launch, which contentiously identified itself against a broad definition of ‘extremists’ and adopted the language of the government. An interview with the SMC spokesperson and attendance at several public events arranged by the SMC from 2006 to 2009 are the basis of further analysis. The SMC's effort to establish a coalition of Sufi communities, previously lacking in Britain, is discussed. It is concluded that a combination of the circumstances at hand and the framing of the SMC's project, including the focus put on what the various communities shared, made this effort at least temporarily successful. An important feature in this framing was focus on the common Sufi practice of venerating the prophet Muhammad. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Islam, Sufi Muslim Council, Britain, preventing violent extremism, Naqshbandi-Haqqani, Muslim politics
in
Journal of Islamic Law and Culture
volume
12
issue
3
pages
215 - 226
ISSN
1528-817X
DOI
10.1080/1528817X.2010.618025
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d373f1b7-7e9c-4f4f-8eb2-377babdd7eec (old id 2222450)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 09:04:51
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:50:37
@article{d373f1b7-7e9c-4f4f-8eb2-377babdd7eec,
  abstract     = {{This article presents and analyses a new public Muslim voice that emerged in the political aftermath of the terrorist attacks in London in July 2005, in which the government reviewed its relations with Muslim communities. The Sufi Muslim Council (SMC) immediately attracted attention and criticism when it was launched in 2006, but it has not been studied in detail before. This article addresses the SMC's publicized self-presentation at the time of the launch, which contentiously identified itself against a broad definition of ‘extremists’ and adopted the language of the government. An interview with the SMC spokesperson and attendance at several public events arranged by the SMC from 2006 to 2009 are the basis of further analysis. The SMC's effort to establish a coalition of Sufi communities, previously lacking in Britain, is discussed. It is concluded that a combination of the circumstances at hand and the framing of the SMC's project, including the focus put on what the various communities shared, made this effort at least temporarily successful. An important feature in this framing was focus on the common Sufi practice of venerating the prophet Muhammad.}},
  author       = {{Stjernholm, Simon}},
  issn         = {{1528-817X}},
  keywords     = {{Islam; Sufi Muslim Council; Britain; preventing violent extremism; Naqshbandi-Haqqani; Muslim politics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{215--226}},
  series       = {{Journal of Islamic Law and Culture}},
  title        = {{Sufi Politics in Britain: the Sufi Muslim Council and the 'silent majority' of Muslims}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1528817X.2010.618025}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/1528817X.2010.618025}},
  volume       = {{12}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}