ABSTRACT
This chapter frames the central puzzles and questions of the book. It asks what happens when a long-excluded group is newly included in national memory. While national memory is always contested and multivocal, it is also power-laden and holds high stakes for belonging. The goal of this book is to make sense of the various, often contradictory, ways that marginalised groups lay claim to national memory. The chapter introduces the case study: representations of Muslims during the British and French First World War centenary (2014–2018). It considers the importance of the centenary for nation-building. The introduction concludes by outlining the remaining chapters of the book.
