The thesis examines the extent to which the Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) as an Islamic, theocratic and social movement has negotiated and adapted to the British context, especially London in the post 7/7 period. TJ is the largest Islamic movement in the word and is characterised as an isolationist, disengaged, salvation oriented, apolitical organisation. The London branch of TJ has ambitions to construct a headquarter mosque in London – a project facing opposition across a spectrum of British society, and brandished as the “mega mosque”. As a means of ensuring the success of their project, London TJ leaders have embarked on a process of socio-political engagement aiming to demonstrate that the movement has changed its modes of operation, and trying to curtail allegations of radicalisation, after reports of terrorists passing through TJ mosques. Extensive observation research and interviews with TJ leaders, grassroots members and others involved in the on going contestation of the project, explain the adoption of the new strategy from the perspective of an elite and instrumentally aware leadership. In essence how the new strategy has been justified and re-framed, making it acceptable to a wider audience. The Public Inquiry over Enforcement Action of TJ’s mosque in Newham allowed for both TJ and opponents to highlight wider issues surrounding TJ and its stance towards engagement and commitment to community cohesion. Engagement may have initially been a tick-box exercise for London TJ leaders, but interacting with the wider community has had a transformative effect. TJ Leaders in London have emerged as a practical minded, demonstrating adaptability to local contexts, ensuring the survival of the movement. The durability of this, given the conservative and revivalist nature of the movement, will be a test of time.

This thesis explores how Islamophobia is institutionalised in British universities. Focussing on Muslim students, this question is largely explored through empirical research using two case study universities. Each university was examined through key university functions; namely, 'ethnic' monitoring data under the Race Amendment (2000), union politics and welfare/observance provisions. The research involved semi-structured interviews with Muslim students who were in some way 'active' on campus, as well as university/union staff between 2004 and 2006. It also included some document analysis. It is argued that Islamophobia is institutionalised through its govermentalising function and is reflected in three key modes of 'managing' Muslim students; 'absence' (invisibility), 'presence' (hyper-visibility) and 'inclusion' (liberal multiculturalism). 'Absence' refers to the absence of Muslim students as a recognised collectivity within the formal structures of the university. Thus, it is argued, Muslim student concerns about racism fail to be formally registered and remain trivialised at anecdotal levels. 'Presence' refers to the hyper-visibility of Muslim students as a troublesome 'fundamentalist'/'extremist' cohort. This is exemplified through numerous historical and contemporary sector and state interventions, but also in student union politics. 'Inclusion' refers to liberal multicultural practices that regulate Muslim students. This is observed in equality practices (e.g. university provisions) in the university and the way they function to minoritise rather than equalise the status of Muslim students. What these modes of governance emphasise is the way Muslim students are the subject of and subjected to processes of racialised management, that is, regulation, discipline and normalisation. Each of these modes are explored through interviewee accounts/documents, and (in)formed by a recursive engagement with theories of racialised governmentality. It is argued that together, these modes of racialised governmentality signify the transgressive status of Muslims. They are also seen to reflect the broader political (in)visibility of Muslims in Britain and their awkward place within British multiculturalism. Influenced by 'de-colonial' thinking and activist-based research, the thesis has sought to develop a critique of dominant and racialised discourses about Muslim students in universities. This has involved the selective use of discursive techniques and a reflexive awareness of my own positioning with research. It has also involved cognizance of the way Muslim students and Muslim communities generally, have been perceived as 'suspect' and subject to increased securitisation. In the main however, the thesis has troubled the equality practices of universities and highlighted the way they are part of, not separate from, the problem of Islamophobia.