ABSTRACT
I often begin presentations on 'Muslims in Britain' by saying that 'it is an "interesting" time to be a Muslim!' The visible presence of Muslims in Europe has been perceived, by many, to be a real challenge to the status quo of the culture and traditions of European states. World events, such as those of 9/11, have had such sweeping effects on Islam and Muslims across the world that only time will allow us to record. Is this a clash of civilisations? Maybe - maybe not. Only in the luxury of a retrospective analysis can such questions be truly answered, for today, we are still living through the moment. It hasn't just been 9/11 though - over the last four decades event after event has reminded the world of the presence of Muslims. The Saudi oil embargo in the 1970s, the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, the Satanic Verses affair in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the eruption of Bosnia in the 1990s, the Gulf Wars in the 1990s, 9/11 in 2001 and then the 'War on Terror' and conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
