Introduction

Abstract

Since the 1990s, multiculturalism has become a household term. The term has been used to champion the recognition and respect of cultural diversity and difference, but it has also been used to indicate everything that is wrong with this difference. Multiculturalism, in common public discourse, refers to the idea of accepting cultural diversity and the multiplicity of cultural and religious groups within society. It also refers to the aim of accommodating, even catering for, this diversity and for people’s distinctive cultural or religious identities. At the level of state policies, multiculturalism has been used to refer to particular types of policy approaches that aim to accommodate people’s cultural differences, including a variety of minority rights, such as exemptions, assistance rights, special representation, symbolic recognition, and so on.