Review: Citizenship, Identity and the Politics of Multiculturalism: The Rise of Muslim Consciousness, by Nasar Meer. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. 248pp. $85.00 cloth. ISBN: 9780230576667
Abstract
Review Citizenship, Identity and the Politics of Multiculturalism: The Rise of Muslim Consciousness, by Nasar Meer. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. 248pp. $85.00 cloth. ISBN: 9780230576667 SAGE Publications, Inc. 2011DOI: 10.1177/00943061110400020239 Rachad Antonius University of Québec, Montréal antonius.rachad@uqam.ca This book’s aim is to establish theoretically the notion of ‘‘Muslim-consciousness’’ as a category of ethnic/racial consciousness that transcends the limits of ethnicity and race. Drawing on the work of W.E.B. Du Bois and grounding the notion in an empiri- cal study of Muslim mobilization in Britain, Nasar Meer engages with theoreticians of multiculturalism and anti-racist policies, mirroring the way in which Muslim commu- nities themselves have engaged with public institutions in Britain and have challenged the way in which multicultural policies have been conceptualized and practiced. The main thesis is clear, and the discussion of the literature is rich and subtle. The book is well written, well organized, and intellec- tually stimulating. Yet it leaves out impor- tant questions that will be discussed shortly. At the theoretical level, the crucial point that informs the logical argument of the book is the shift from race to religion as a category for thinking about multicultural policies. The argument is grounded