Identity Denied: Minority-Within-Minority Discrimination and the Contradictions of British Multiculturalism

This thesis explores the causes and lived experiences of anti-Ahmadi sentiment in the United Kingdom. It reveals that British Ahmadis experience severe, targeted anti-Ahmadi hostility, which is both more widespread and has a greater negative impact on their lives than the anti-Muslim prejudice they encounter as Muslims. Anti-Ahmadism is found permitted to proliferate due to government policies and approaches that, at best, overlook these experiences, and at worst, enable them. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, including a large-N survey, semi-structured interviews, case studies, and a comparative analysis with the experience of anti-Ahmadism in Germany, whilst drawing on social movement theory, frame theory, diffusion theory, and J.L. Mackie’s INUS model of causation. This theoretical and methodological framework enables a flexible analysis of how multiple, interacting conditions contribute to the persistence of anti-Ahmadi prejudice. The thesis identifies the specific historical experiences of colonialism and partition in South Asia as critical to understanding the construction of theological boundaries and suspicion toward anything perceived as Western or colonial. These historical legacies continue to shape political and religious discourse within the South Asian diaspora, where notions of theological purity and loyalty to Islam have become deeply entwined with national identity. In this context, the Ahmadiyya community is both politically and theologically othered, viewed with suspicion due to its association with colonial-era history and its theological beliefs. The findings show that anti-Ahmadi sentiment in Britain is maintained through transnational networks, and deeply held collective action frames, including anti-blasphemy, anti-colonialism, and Khatm-e-Nabuwwat, which are deployed to justify the exclusion of Ahmadis from wider Muslim communal life, in addition to having influence over how non-Muslim communities interact with the group.<p></p>

Author dc:creator

• Charlotte Littlewood (21050147)

• Islam
• Minority
• Ahmadiyya
• Multiculturalism
• Islamism
• Extremism
• Jamaat-e-Islami
• Khatme Nabuwwat
• Muslim Brotherhood
• Blasphemy
• Colonialism

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Identifier

10779/exe.30374371.v1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:figshare.com:article/30374371