Conclusion

Abstract

A number of conclusions are reached here. Most importantly, that Muslim women’s participation is influenced by their positioning in three spheres—the ethnic group, majority society, the religious group—and that inter- and intra-group contradictions, arising from unequal relations of gender, ‘race’/ethnicity and religion, mean that Muslim women must negotiate their way through them, to resist barriers and exploit facilitators of participation. Second, that Muslim women’s interest in politics and civic life, modes of participation and extent to which they participate, contrary to public perception, compare favourably with national averages. Ethnic minorities, including Muslims, are generally more implicated in formal political structures and processes in Britain than in France. Finally, that Muslim women are concerned by specific issues and their day-to-day consequences, for example, the wearing of Islamic dress in a Western context, the War on Terror and the control of women by men.