[...]... in their opinions Conversations that stand out include those with Norbert Mao (Uganda), Emilia Beblava (Slovakia), Kamala Chandrakirana (Indonesia), Hoda Elsadda (Egypt), Hiddo Houben (the Netherlands), Brian Kagoro (Zimbabwe), Raenette Taljaard (South Africa), and Michael Ward (Canada), and also with Emelia Arthur (Ghana), Christine Hogan (Canada), and Abdul Tejan-Cole (Ghana) The Yale environment... ‘Preserving American Values: The Challenge at Home and Abroad’, in Strobe Talbott and Nayan Chanda (eds.), The Age of Terror: America and the World after September 11 (2001); Klausen, K., The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005); Zakara, F., The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad (New York, Norton, 2003); Nye, J S., The... pluralism and conflict in Western societies presents academic researchers with two related challenges 11 To begin with, there is the perennial difficulty of exploring the limits of secularism in public life and in public 10 Saggar, S., ‘Race and Political Behaviour’, in Dalton, R., and Klingerman, H (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Behaviour (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007) 11 Lewis, Bernard, What. .. might be turned around Turnarounds are unlikely to happen soon or without better policies and behaviour by governments and communities, respectively A more hopeful trajectory should not be dismissed, partly because of the need not to submit to Huntingtonian prophecies Better public policy is certainly one dimension that a book such as this, and by such an author, can expect to add value As for the behaviour... start with a deeper understanding of both foreground and background; and of the role of public policy in preventing that conflict This book is a distinguished contribution to that understanding Trevor Phillips London October 2008 x Preface Origins and Preliminary Thoughts The basic thoughts that underpin this book are scattered over a number of years and a range of academic, policy, and journalistic settings... additionally, have been somewhat flat-footed in pursuing the role of ideas and interests in shaping causes and outcomes 10 These together have been significant missed opportunities which are not unrelated to largish gaps in understanding within and beyond the academic community Exceptions to the rule exist, fortunately For example, the insights of political economists, political geographers, and social demographers... political Islam, both ancient and modern But it can hope to describe the markers and preconditions of better behavioural outcomes for Muslims in Western democracies Addressing and combating tacit support is probably the most important behavioural change that is needed It is a major change that is long overdue It is something that requires patience and a steady political nerve And it needs clear thinking... working on matching a better understanding with the needs of policy design and response The scholastic driver has been a most familiar one, albeit one where the fruits of specialists have only modest gains to show relative to the amount of time that has been inputted This is a point of some regret since I have seen 8 Messina., A., The Logic and Politics of Post-WWII Migration to Western Europe (New York:... of Boxes List of Abbreviations 1 Introduction xxxii xxxiv xxxv 1 2 Demographic and Factual Overview 27 3 Thinking about Religious Identity, Politics, and Public Policy 63 4 Integration and Identity Politics 109 5 Grievance Politics 153 6 Extremism and Reputational Politics 189 7 Strategic Responses 225 8 Concluding Thoughts and Future Prospects 265 Epilogue Index 314 317 xxxi List of Figures 2.1 Religious... dealing with terribly salient and critical issues where the risks of failure are high both in political and in personal terms The turnaround has been swift and largely unpredicted When I began my own academic career in the mid1980s, it was clear that the politics of ethnic and religious pluralism was a fairly esoteric and limited volume among social science researchers and commentators A few notable .