Values in Harmony - University of St Andrews

PROMOTING “GOOD COMMUNITY RELATIONS” -THE CONTEXTTHE FAILURE OF MULTICULTURALISMIn his most recent book, The Home That We Build Together, the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacksstated:“Multiculturalism has run its course, and has not led to integration but segregation. It hasallowed groups to live separately with no incentive to integrate……Culture is fragmenting intonon-communicating systems of belief in which civil discourse ends and reasoned argumentbecomes impossible.” 2This view is reinforced by a timely publication from the Institute of Public Policy and Research,Faith in the Nation, which states:“What is actually being criticised is the idea and experience of cultural segregation, what hasbeen termed ‘mosaic multiculturalism.’… ….This is the tendency to treat cultural and faithgroups as static silos rather than dynamic communities.” 3In a recent address to mark the fortieth anniversary of MP Enoch Powell’s inflammatoryspeech warning of the dangers of continual immigration, Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Equalityand Human Rights Commission stated that“The fear that followed Powellism still stalks Britain.” 4He expounded the Commission’s vision for a fresh approach to the concept of multiculturalismin twenty-first century Britain.Since Enoch Powell’s day ethnic minority identity has undergone a subtle but profound changeto religious identity, and, unlike ethnicities, religions are now global. Religion has emerged asthe most powerful form of allegiance in the twenty-first century, more so than national identity.With the age of instant mass communication this has far-reaching consequences, for, asSacks bluntly states:“The result is highly destabilising, especially in terms of the management of conflict………..forany clash anywhere in the world now has the potential to go global.” 5One just has to think of the Danish cartoons to appreciate what he means.Further evidence to support the notion that multiculturalism, as a means of “promoting goodcommunity relations” has failed comes from the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2006.Disturbingly this revealed that 50% of Scots felt that “…Scotland would lose its identity if moreMuslims came to live here”, up from 38% in 2003. Also, 27% felt “Ethnic minorities take jobsaway from others,” compared to 20% in the survey of 2002. The pattern would appear to bethat discriminatory attitudes towards ethnic minorities have become more common in recentyears, with discrimination being less about colour and more about creed.8