The Muslim community and crisis of British multiculturalism at the beginning of the XXI century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the development problems of multiculturalism in Great Britain. The purpose of study is defining a role of Moslems in crisis of British multiculturalism at the beginning of the 21st century. In the course of research both general scientific methods and special historical (historical-systems, historical-genetic) methods were applied. In article it is shown, that disorders in the summer of 2001 in the north of England, acts of terrorism on September, 11th in New York and on July, 7^th, 2005 in London became an occasion to discussion about revision of ethnoconfessional policy. It is proved that military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, pendency of immigration and social and economic problems in the country have provoked discontent from Muslims and growth of islamophobia in the host society. Thus, crisis in relations of a Muslim community and the host society began to be perceived as a crisis of multiculturalism. It is shown, that British government declared off multiculturalism in February, 2011 on a wave of strengthening of attention of the host society to a problem of Islamic radicalism. It is ascertained that deradicalization has been put in the chapter of interior policy with regard to Muslims. In the conclusion it is proved that the government of the Great Britain has supported individual social and economic and cultural integration through activity at local level. It has excluded the state support of the Muslim organizations which quite often had communications with extremists. But the purposeful policy concerning the British Muslims is absent.