ABSTRACT
The growth of Muslim communities in the west has led to a substantial increase in research on Muslims in the diaspora, particularly European Muslims. Evidence from this research questions the notion of a unidirectional religious transmission. For women migrating to Tower Hamlets, the space has allowed for a greater understanding and exploration of religion not limited to instructions from male members of the family. The dress of Muslim women is used to portray Muslim women as either passive victims of patriarchal regimes or as self-segregating outsiders refusing to integrate into British society. The hijab has come to symbolise a lack of integration by Muslims into their countries of migration, spurring legislation in countries such as France to ban the headscarf as apparently a means to encourage integration. The global channels appear to enhance religious learning but to some degree at the expense of cultural learning.
