Pew Research Center survey reveals insights into relationship between Christian identity and views regarding Muslims

A survey from the Pew Research Center has reveals insights into the relationship between Christian identity and views regarding religious minorities and immigrants. Christian identity in Europe “is associated with higher levels of negative sentiment towards immigrants and religious minorities” as “self-identified Christians – whether they attend church or not – are more likely than religiously unaffiliated people to express negative views of immigrants, as well as of Muslims and Jews”.

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UK government’s ‘Integrated Communities Strategy’ draws criticism for its emphasis on minority communities and its ignorance of the effect of spending cuts

The ‘Integrated Communities Strategy’ green paper sets out “an ambitious long-term plan of action to tackle the root causes of poor integration and create a stronger, more united Britain”. It has invited submissions on this subject to its official consultation, which is running over the next twelve weeks. The paper has drawn criticism for its emphasis on minority communities, and ignorance of how spending cuts have hampered strategies already in place to achieve the paper’s proposed aims.

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Eric Pickles writes a letter to 1,000 imams to promote ‘Muslim British Identity’ sparks criticism

A new row has erupted between the British government and Muslim organisations after the minister responsible for community cohesion wrote to hundreds of imams calling on them to do more to tackle violent extremism and demonstrate “how faith in Islam can be part of British identity”. The letter, sent by Eric Pickles, the secretary of…

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The New Museum Surveys Art From the Arab World

July 15, 2014 The Western media’s obsession with Middle Eastern conflict has made it easy for American audiences to mistake war and crisis as components of Arab identity. But if there’s anything that the New Museum’s newest exhibition, “Here and Elsewhere,” works to dispel, it’s the fallacy that any single portrayal can summarize the many…

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‘Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity’ by Shabana Mir

March 7, 2014   It should come as no surprise that being a Muslim American woman on an American college campus, surrounded by social pressures involving drinking and dating, makes for a complex young-adult experience. What’s surprising is that these conflicts are not much discussed. Shabana Mir, who teaches global studies and anthropology at Millikin…

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