The impact of the 'war on terror' on Birmingham's Pakistani/Kashmiri Muslims' perceptions of the state, the police and Islamic identities

This thesis explores British Muslims’ counter discourse to the ‘war on terror’ through revealing the impact of the dominant ‘war on terror’ discourse created by the state. The research explores the counter discourse through investigating the impact of the ‘war on terror’ on Birmingham’s Pakistani / Kashmiri Muslims’ perceptions of the state, the police and Islamic identities before the ‘war on terror’ and since the ‘war on terror’. The theoretical perspectives of cosmopolitanism and citizenship are used as a foundation from which the ‘war on terror’ and the role of the state and the police in the ‘war on terror’ can be deconstructed, critiqued and reconstructed according to Muslim citizens’ perceptions. In particular attention is paid to the challenges and difficulties the 32 respondents interviewed for the research have faced since the ‘war on terror’. Many themes emerged through this framework and the core themes were injustice, legitimacy and human rights. The impact of the ‘war on terror’ showed the battle for Islamic identity construction versus resistance and the negative impact of regulatory discourses on perceptions of commonality, unity and shared identities.