ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to the religion of young Muslims in the city of Birmingham. Birmingham has struggled against negative perceptions and stereotypes. It does not delve into the Trojan Horse' questions of school governance or extremist' infiltration, but seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the young people themselves, of their relationship to their own religion and to the religions of others. It is based on findings from group discussions with pupils of Heath Wood School. All pupils were Muslim, predominantly of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin, with one Somali and one Turkish pupil. The chapter presents a divergence of understanding between a Western', secular' and liberal' framing of religion promoted through public education and the religion of the strongly religious'. It answers the question for a group of young Muslim people in inner-city Birmingham. Their ontological security, and indeed their ontological selves, rest in Islam.
