Table Of ContentSomali,
Muslim, British
London SchooL of EconomicS monographS
on SociaL anthropoLogy
Managing Editor: Laura Bear
The Monographs on Social Anthropology were established in 1940
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Somali,
Muslim, British
Striving in Securitized
Britain
giuLia LibEratorE
Bloomsbury Academic
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First published 2017
© Giulia Liberatore, 2017
Giulia Liberatore has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
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ISBN: HB: 978-1-3500-2771-8
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A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
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Cover image © Kate Stanworth
Series: LSE Monographs on Social Anthropology
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To my parents, Grazia and Sergio
vi
contEntS
List of figures viii
Acknowledgements ix
Note on language xii
1 Introduction 1
2 An ethnography with Somali women in London 25
3 Memories of modern Mogadishu 35
4 Tuition centres and Somali mosques: Raising good
daughters in London 77
5 Updating Soomaalinimo: Young Somalis and the
problematization of culture 109
6 Mosque hopping: Seeking Islamic knowledge in
London 147
7 Multiculturalism, British values and the Muslim
subject 187
8 Imagining an ideal husband 221
9 Conclusion: Beyond Prevent 243
References 263
Index 278
LiSt of figurES
Figure 1 Somali Horn of Africa. Published in Michael Walls
(2014: 318) A Somali Nation-State: History, Culture
and Somaliland’s Political Transition. Pisa, Italy: Ponte
Invisibile 42
Figure 2 Modern Mogadishu c.1970. Published in Ismail
Mohamed Ali (1972: 13) Beautiful Somalia. Somalia:
Ministry of Information and National Guidance 55
Figure 3 Showcasing Women’s Involvement in Research
c.1970. Published in Ismail Mohamed Ali (1972: 54)
Beautiful Somalia. Somalia: Ministry of Information
and National Guidance 56
Figure 4 Somali Week Festival 2016. Courtesy Kate
Stanworth 113
Figure 5 Nine versions of Leyla. Courtesy Leyla Hussein 119
Figure 6 Leyla’s mother dressed up as a nomad girl. Courtesy
Leyla Hussein 124
Figure 7 Al-Huda Mosque in Stepney Green, East London.
Photograph taken by the author 150
Figure 8 East London Mosque and Maryam Centre in
Whitechapel, East London. Photograph taken by the
author 151
acKnoWLEdgEmEntS
This book was written during a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship
at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), and a
Bryan Warren Junior Research Fellowship at Linacre College, at the
University of Oxford. Initial research was funded by the London
School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) PhD Scholarship,
the Rosemary and Raymond Firth Award, and additional LSE funds.
Additional research was also made possible by the Leverhulme
Trust- funded Oxford Diaspora Programme.
Sections of Chapter 8 appear in Anthropological Quarterly
(volume 89, issue 3), and sections of Chapter 6 have been published
in Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, and in the
edited volume Religion and the Global City by David Garbin and
Anna Strhan, which will be published by Bloomsbury Academic. I
thank the publishers for allowing me to reproduce this work. I also
extend my appreciation to the Poetry Translation Centre, Clare
Pollard, Lidwien Kapteijns, John W. Johnson and Hamdi Khalif for
allowing me to reproduce extracts from their work, and Michael
Walls for allowing me to reproduce his map of the Somali regions.
My deepest gratitude goes to all the Somali women in London
who shared their life stories, experiences and knowledge with
me throughout the years. Many opened their homes to me, and
took precious time out of their day to invite me into their lives. To
preserve their anonymity I cannot mention their names here, but
I thank them all for their warm hospitality, prayers and enduring
friendships. I have learnt so much from them, and I sincerely hope
this book is able to do justice to their strength and endurance.
Caasha-Kin Duale, Leyla Hussein and Kinsi Abdulleh have asked
not to be anonymized, and I can thank them by name. I am also
indebted to Zainab Dahir, who continues to support my learning
of Somali with patience and enthusiasm. She is a fantastic teacher
