Awkward challanges

UK multi-culturalism under spotlight

By Roger Hardy BBC Islamic Affairs analyst

The radicalisation of some younger members of Britain's 1.5 million-strong Muslim community has led to often heated debate. Now questions are being asked about whether British-style multi-culturalism is succeeding or failing. Protests over Rushdie's novel in the 1980s was a turning point -Muslims have lived in Britain for centuries, but only relatively recently have they become the focus of controversy. Three big crises over the last decade and a half have heightened tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims:

The Rushdie affair of the late 1980s
The attacks of 9/11 in the US, and their implications for Britain
And now, potentially most serious of all, this month's London bombings

They pose awkward challenges for British policy-makers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4681615.stm