Misrecognition and Political Agency. The Case of M uslim Organisations in a G eneral E lection

Research Highlights and Abstract This article: Examines the meaning of claims for ‘recognition’ and struggles against ‘misrecognition’ by working through aspects of M uslim political agency in contemporary B ritish politics; Contributes to research on the political mobilisation of M uslims in B ritain by examining how civil society organisations respond to perceived stigmas and project a M uslim civic identity; Contributes to research that investigates dilemmas of political agency between the pressure to conform to standards of neutrality and maturity, on the one hand, and creativity and opposition, on the other; Demonstrates how minority actors manoeuvre and position themselves in the unsettled environment of contemporary B ritish politics. It is a common complaint among M uslim civil society organisations that their presence in B ritish politics is misconstrued. An increasing number of activists and groups are concerned to repudiate what they perceive to be the misperception of their political agency as exceptional and difficult to accommodate. Organisations and initiatives thus project and practice civic identities, to demonstrate that they are committed to the ‘common good’. This article explores how a number of organisations positioned themselves in response to experiences of ‘misrecognition’ in the context of the G eneral E lection 2010. With this conceptual focus we explore one of the most pertinent characteristics of M uslim political agency in B ritain today: how actors respond to perceived pressures, make claims and project identities in opposition to alleged misperceptions or the refusal to acknowledge their desired self‐descriptions. The article draws on a set of qualitative interviews with representatives of advocacy organisations that mobilised M uslim constituents in the run‐up to the G eneral E lection 2010.