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Summary: The Britain of the early twenty-first century has become consumed by heightened concerns about violent crime and terrorism in relation to Muslim communities in the West. Here Marta Bolognani fills a major gap in criminology and diaspora studies through an exhaustive investigation into crime among British Pakistanis. Through detailed ethnographic observation and interview data, Bolognani shows how Bradford Pakistanis' perceptions of crime and control are a combination of the formal and informal, or British and 'traditional' Pakistani, that are no longer separable in the diasporic context. She also examines local and national state policies that are geared to preventing crime and shows how crime comes to be understood by participants as well as institutional actors. Offering a counterpoint to the 'taboo' of talking about crime and race in cultural terms, 'Crime in Muslim Britain' is essential for all those interested in criminology, ethnicity and the predicaments of Muslim communities today.'This book merges together the study of criminality with diasporic studies, concerns with citizenship and multiculturalism. Building on the long standing tradition of academic work on 'race and crime' this book offers a more cultural studies approach to criminality within a specific community. In this sense, it is ground breaking work that moves the field of criminology out of its comfort zone and connects it with other useful traditions of thought. Based on an 'insider's informed account', the book presents rich data that analyses how practical concerns, cultural and religious beliefs and moral dilemmas play a part in the construction of the idea of crime in the community. The book will speak to those already immersed in studies in this area as well as anthropology, sociology and criminology in general. Such in-depth, long-term projects are becoming |
