cultural median
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In Liverpool, the white British individuals who converted to Islam during the late Victorian era were largely drawn from the working and lower-middle classes, often motivated by a fascination with the exotic and a desire to find alternatives to mainstream Christianity. William Quilliam’s Liverpool Muslim Institute (LMI) played a pivotal role in these conversions, offering British Christians a blend of religious instruction, cultural events, and community activities that framed Islam as compatible with British identity. Quilliam’s approach was strategic; he designed the Institute’s offerings to appeal to the local population by incorporating familiar elements, such as “weekly social evenings” and “Sunday morning and evening public ‘services,’” which attracted a steady stream of locals seeking new forms of spiritual and communal life (Gilham, p. 90). For Quilliam, converting British Christians was a means to “bridge the cultural and ideological gulf between Christians/Christianity and Muslims/Islam” (p. 88) and to establish Islam on secure footing in Britain. This approach resonated with individuals disillusioned with traditional religious institutions and seeking belonging in Liverpool’s cosmopolitan setting.
Atiya Husain’s study on racial markers in American Muslim communities shows how Islamic symbols like hijabs and beards impact racial perceptions, particularly for white Muslims. White Muslims who adopt these markers may experience a “compromised or complicated” whiteness, as wearing Islamic attire can lead to perceptions of foreignness, positioning them as culturally “other”(Husain, p. 595). For Black Muslims, on the other hand, Muslim identity interacts differently with race; while it can sometimes shield them from stereotypes associated with their skin color, it subjects them to Islamophobic profiling. Black Muslim critiques highlight that “Muslim whiteness” can obscure racial privileges that white Muslims retain despite facing religious discrimination (p. 597). This critique underscores how racial and religious identities intersect in ways that uphold a racial hierarchy within Muslim communities, privileging some while marginalizing others.