ABSTRACT
When many Muslims around the world took offense at the publication of cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and elsewhere depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist and began to protest vigorously against them (Modood 2006), the incident highlighted not only the gulf of misunderstanding and fear that still exists between different cultures (in this case, between Islam and the West), but also the diffi culty of fi nding an appropriate response to cultural difference. This chapter argues that in spite of recent devastating critiques of multiculturalism, it remains a philosophically sound concept and is in fact the approach to cultural difference that holds out most hope for the future. The chapter begins by considering contemporary claims by journalists and politicians about the ‘death’ of multiculturalism before turning to a closer examination of the actual arguments and debates. The chapter concludes with a brief examination of the implications for education. In the discussion, examples are drawn mainly from Muslims in the UK, for three reasons. First, the impact of cultural diversity in the British context is seen most clearly in the case of the Muslims because they are less likely than other groups to be integrated in terms of religious practices, language, food, dress, intermarriage, or core values. Secondly, it is Muslims more than any other minority group who are implicated in and affected by recent changes in attitudes to multiculturalism-so much so that some commentators fi nd it hard to be sure “whether it is ‘multiculturalism’ or ‘Muslims’ and ‘Islam’ that is being questioned” (Allen 2007, 127). Thirdly, the situation of Muslims in the UK is closely watched in other Western countries with signifi cant cultural minorities, including the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark, and thus any arguments developed are likely to be of international interest.
