Tariq Modood
Encyclopedia
Tariq Modood is Professor of Sociology
, Politics
and Public Policy
at the University of Bristol
(1997- ). Modood is the founding Director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship and one of the leading authorities on ethnic minorities in Britain. He was awarded an MBE
for services to social sciences and ethnic relations in the 2001 New Year Honours list and elected to the Academy of Social Sciences
in 2004.
from University College Cardiff and a PhD
from University College Swansea. Following fellowships at Nuffield College, Oxford and the University of Manchester
, Modood was a Senior Research Fellow at the Policy Studies Institute
, London (1993-97).
, racial equality
, multiculturalism
and secularism
. Modood was the principal researcher involved in the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities in Britain published as Ethnic Minorities in Britain: Diversity and Disadvantage by the Policy Studies Institute
at the University of Westminster
in 1997.Research that he led in 1999 showed that university lecturers from ethnic minorities were half as likely to become professors compared to white lecturers. The research concluded "minority ethnic groups experienced discrimination in applications for posts and promotions, harassment and negative stereotyping". A study published in 2002 found that older universities in the UK discriminated against Indians, Pakistanis, black Africans and Irish students whereas some universities formed since 1992 actively favoured ethnic minorities. Modood said he thought that the discrimination was not conscious and that "Universities generally pride themselves on their ethnic diversity and would have no truck with deliberate discrimination". In 2004 he co-authored a report for the Department for Education and Skills which found that ethnic minority graduates were less likely to gain top jobs than their white counterparts. The difference was thought to be partly due to discrimination but also due to the fact that ethnic minority students do not achieve as high grades at university. In 2006 he co-authored a report that examined whether policies used to increase employment levels among ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States could be applied to Great Britain. He was Bristol director of the Leverhulme Programme on Migration and Citizenship with UCL
. He has served on the DfES Race, Education and Employment Forum, was part of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain (1997-2000), and a member of the IPPR Commission on National Security (2007-09) and a member of the National Equality Panel chaired by Professor John Hills (2008-10). He is also a co-founder of the scientific journal
Ethnicities
.
as: "not having to hide or apologise for one's origins, family or community but requiring others to show respect for them, and adapt public attitudes and arrangements so that the heritage they represent is encouraged rather than contemptuously expect them to wither away."
Modood is critical of policies that force secular identities upon religious minorities, he has coined the term "radical secularism" for this and commented that it "cannot be secured without illiberal measures". He has also said that some people feel "that religious people are not worthy of protection; more than that, they should be subject to not just intellectual criticism but mockery and ridicule..." Commentators have cited The Satanic Verses controversy
and the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
as examples of radical secularism.
In Multicultural Politics: racism, ethnicity and Muslims in Britain (2005), Modood argues that multiculturalism should not be written off because of setbacks such as the 7 July 2005 London bombings
. He points out that Britain is far less racist than in the past and that films and TV shows like Bend It Like Beckham
and The Kumars at No 42 demonstrate that Britain is multicultural. Despite this there are still problems with what he terms "cultural racism" which focuses on language, religion, family structures, dress and cuisine.
Speaking at the Labour Party Conference
in 2007 he asked "What is Britishness anyway?" and said that ethnic minorities should engage with the concept of Britishness which he called a "very diverse and plural identity". Modood was a signatory of a letter organised by Sunny Hundal
in 2008, that called for Gordon Brown
to abandon plans to allow terror suspects to be held for up to 42 days without charge, the plans were later abandoned.
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, Politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and Public Policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
(1997- ). Modood is the founding Director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship and one of the leading authorities on ethnic minorities in Britain. He was awarded an MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
for services to social sciences and ethnic relations in the 2001 New Year Honours list and elected to the Academy of Social Sciences
Academy of Social Sciences
The Academy of Social Sciences is a research body in the UK. , the Academy was composed of over 450 Academicians and 32 Learned Societies. Academicians are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors...
in 2004.
Education
Modood holds a bachelors and masters degree from the University of Durham, a PGCEPGCE
PGCE can stand for:* Postgraduate Certificate in Education, an English, Welsh and Northern Irish teacher-training qualification that includes master's credits...
from University College Cardiff and a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from University College Swansea. Following fellowships at Nuffield College, Oxford and the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, Modood was a Senior Research Fellow at the Policy Studies Institute
Policy Studies Institute
The Policy Studies Institute is a British think-tank. It was formed in 1978 through the merger of the former Centre for the Study of Social Policy and Political and Economic Planning. Since 1998 it has been an independent subsidiary of the University of Westminster...
, London (1993-97).
Research
Modood's research interests include racismRacism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, racial equality
Racial equality
Racial equality means different things in different contexts. It mostly deals with an equal regard to all races.It can refer to a belief in biological equality of all human races....
, multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and secularism
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
. Modood was the principal researcher involved in the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities in Britain published as Ethnic Minorities in Britain: Diversity and Disadvantage by the Policy Studies Institute
Policy Studies Institute
The Policy Studies Institute is a British think-tank. It was formed in 1978 through the merger of the former Centre for the Study of Social Policy and Political and Economic Planning. Since 1998 it has been an independent subsidiary of the University of Westminster...
at the University of Westminster
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
in 1997.Research that he led in 1999 showed that university lecturers from ethnic minorities were half as likely to become professors compared to white lecturers. The research concluded "minority ethnic groups experienced discrimination in applications for posts and promotions, harassment and negative stereotyping". A study published in 2002 found that older universities in the UK discriminated against Indians, Pakistanis, black Africans and Irish students whereas some universities formed since 1992 actively favoured ethnic minorities. Modood said he thought that the discrimination was not conscious and that "Universities generally pride themselves on their ethnic diversity and would have no truck with deliberate discrimination". In 2004 he co-authored a report for the Department for Education and Skills which found that ethnic minority graduates were less likely to gain top jobs than their white counterparts. The difference was thought to be partly due to discrimination but also due to the fact that ethnic minority students do not achieve as high grades at university. In 2006 he co-authored a report that examined whether policies used to increase employment levels among ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States could be applied to Great Britain. He was Bristol director of the Leverhulme Programme on Migration and Citizenship with UCL
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
. He has served on the DfES Race, Education and Employment Forum, was part of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain (1997-2000), and a member of the IPPR Commission on National Security (2007-09) and a member of the National Equality Panel chaired by Professor John Hills (2008-10). He is also a co-founder of the scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
Ethnicities
Ethnicities (journal)
Ethnicities is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes research in the fields of sociology and politics. It was established in 2001 and is published quarterly by SAGE Publications...
.
Opinions
Modood defines equalityEgalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
as: "not having to hide or apologise for one's origins, family or community but requiring others to show respect for them, and adapt public attitudes and arrangements so that the heritage they represent is encouraged rather than contemptuously expect them to wither away."
Modood is critical of policies that force secular identities upon religious minorities, he has coined the term "radical secularism" for this and commented that it "cannot be secured without illiberal measures". He has also said that some people feel "that religious people are not worthy of protection; more than that, they should be subject to not just intellectual criticism but mockery and ridicule..." Commentators have cited The Satanic Verses controversy
The Satanic Verses controversy
The Satanic Verses controversy was the heated and sometimes violent Muslim reaction to the publication of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. Many Muslims accused Rushdie of blasphemy or unbelief and in 1989 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie...
and the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
as examples of radical secularism.
In Multicultural Politics: racism, ethnicity and Muslims in Britain (2005), Modood argues that multiculturalism should not be written off because of setbacks such as the 7 July 2005 London bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
. He points out that Britain is far less racist than in the past and that films and TV shows like Bend It Like Beckham
Bend It Like Beckham
Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 comedy-drama film starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Anupam Kher, Shaznay Lewis, and Archie Panjabi first released in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha...
and The Kumars at No 42 demonstrate that Britain is multicultural. Despite this there are still problems with what he terms "cultural racism" which focuses on language, religion, family structures, dress and cuisine.
Speaking at the Labour Party Conference
Labour Party (UK) Conference
The Labour Party Conference, or annual national conference of the Labour Party, is formally the supreme decision-making body of the Party.-Conference decisions:...
in 2007 he asked "What is Britishness anyway?" and said that ethnic minorities should engage with the concept of Britishness which he called a "very diverse and plural identity". Modood was a signatory of a letter organised by Sunny Hundal
Sunny Hundal
Sunny Hundal is a British blogger.He was born in London to Sikh parents of Indian origin. He describes himself as a vegetarian and a strong environmentalist. He has a degree in Economics from Brunel University and has written articles for leading British newspapers including The Financial Times...
in 2008, that called for Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
to abandon plans to allow terror suspects to be held for up to 42 days without charge, the plans were later abandoned.
Publications
- Still not easy being British (Trentham Books, 2010)
- Secularism, Religion and Multicultural Citizenship, editor with G. Levey (Cambridge University Press, 2009)
- Multiculturalism: A Civic Idea (Polity Press, 2007)
- Multicultural Politics: Racism, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain (University of Minnesota Press and University of Edinburgh Press, 2005)
- Ethnicity, Social Mobility and Public Policy in the US and UK, editor with Glenn Loury and Steven Teles (Cambridge University Press, 2005)
External links
- University of Bristol : Professor Tariq Modood
- http://www.bristol.ac.uk/ethnicity Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship
- Tariq Modood:Muslims In The West The Observer
- Multicultural Politics: Race, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain The Muslim Weekly