The debate on the Islamic veil in the United Kingdom: liberal multiculturalism and the national identity

Authors

  • Carmen Innerarity

Keywords:

Multiculturalism, national identity, islamic veil, integration

Abstract

Debates on the Islamic veil in Europe have become a mirror of national identity. On the one hand, each country manages cultural diversity according to its self-understanding as a nation. On the other hand, conflicts around these issues have ended up raising the question about what keep us together as a nation. The context of crisis of multiculturalism that surrounds the debates has derived in campaigns in favor of a strongest feeling of belonging that safeguards social cohesion. This paper analyzes to what extent the understanding and the discourse on national identity are present in the controversies on the veil in Great Britain. The debates start using the British way of understanding liberalism. But they have moved to a broader arena that addresses national identity. The reassessment of «British» has taken place in close connection to the crisis of multiculturalism, blamed as responsible for social division. In this context the veil is considered as a symbol of that lack of integration and separateness.