British multiculturalism: in the age of terror

The increasing fear of "homegrown terrorism" has posed a great challenge to British multiculturalism. The debate about multiculturalism policy focuses on whether it promotes the coexistence of cultural diversity or leads to separateness. By examining British multiculturalism in the age of terror, this paper argues that despite some underlying problems, multiculturalism is not the main motivator of homegrown terrorism; instead it has managed to deal with cultural differences. By creating a common identity, British multiculturalism can even act as a weapon against terrorist ideology. This paper is divided into five parts. Firstly, this paper defines the terms "multicultural" and "multiculturalism" and classifies multiculturalism according to a communitarian or liberal stance. This part provides a framework in which to locate different versions of multiculturalism. Secondly, based on the call for a common identity within multicultural societies, this part discusses the concept of identity in detail. Thirdly, it focuses on the formation of British multicultural society and multiculturalism policy adopted by the Labour government. Fourthly, by examining recent siege faced by British multiculturalism, this paper further rethinks the underlying problems of communitarian multiculturalism. Finally, this paper presents multiple identities of British Muslims, and negotiates a new identity for them. Key words: multicultural, communitarian/ liberal multiculturalism, identity, homegrown terrorism, the UKMaster of Science (Strategic Studies