Abstract

Drawing on the British case, Tariq Modood and Jan Dobbernack consider the relationship between two modes of ‘difference’, multiculturalism and multiculture. Multiculture is concerned with moments of contact, the hybridization of culture and the creation of social and cultural spaces that allow for effortless encounters. Multiculturalism refers to claims, not least by Muslims, for equal respect and for the accommodation of their difference in the public sphere. The chapter illustrates ways in which these two modes have been seen to be in conflict. It argues that the plurality of minority claims for acceptance requires a pluralized normative and conceptual vocabulary and a way of thinking non-antagonistically about ‘multiple differences’