ABSTRACT
The shaping of identity is one of the most important tasks facing the adolescent. This chapter elucidates the process of identity formation by painting a vivid and largely unknown picture of the identity of a group of adolescent Muslim girls in the light of their experiences and aspirations. Immigrants in their adoptive country are labelled by their country of origin, regardless of how long ago they came to live there. This is particularly true of the Asians and African-Caribbeans who migrated to Britain. It has been said that a people without a language is only half a nation. Ethnic minorities, who feel that their languages are being undervalued and likely to be eradicated, may make a concerted effort to teach the heritage languages to their children at home or in supplementary schools, thereby keeping these languages alive. Religion has been defined as a sacred cosmos that bestows the ultimate valid identity on humans.
