The quest for equal citizenship: Middle Eastern Christian narratives of migration and inclusion in the United Kingdom

Alistair Pursell Hunter; Fiona McCallum Guiney

doi:10.24847/v8i12020.288

The quest for equal citizenship: Middle Eastern Christian narratives of migration and inclusion in the United Kingdom

Alistair Pursell Hunter, Fiona McCallum Guiney

School of International Relations

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

14 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This article explores how migrants experience the process of becoming (and being) citizens by taking the understudied case of Middle Eastern Christians of Iraqi and Egyptian heritage residing in the United Kingdom. It is argued that exclusion in the Middle East reinforces a sense of inclusion in the UK particularly due to the prevalence of the rule of law in the UK. However, by exploring a “clash of values” on the role of religion in society and sexual liberalization issues, it is suggested that Middle Eastern Christians’ support for equality and tolerance is not absolute, especially when they perceive societal norms as conflicting with religious teachings. Finally, the paper shows how the notion of “protective patriotism” is used by some Middle Eastern Christians to express their belonging to their new state by defending perceived societal values.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	15-43
Number of pages	29
Journal	Mashriq and Mahjar
Volume	8
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.24847/v8i12020.288
Publication status	Published - 8 Dec 2020

Keywords

United Kingdom
Migration
Iraqi
Egyptian
Christian

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10.24847/v8i12020.288Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Hunter_2020_MM_Quest_CC
Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Open Access article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Final published version, 300 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Fiona McCallum Guiney
- fm25st-andrews.acuk
- School of International Relations - Professor, Deputy Head of School
- Centre for Minorities Research
Person: Academic

Cite this

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title = "The quest for equal citizenship: Middle Eastern Christian narratives of migration and inclusion in the United Kingdom",

abstract = "This article explores how migrants experience the process of becoming (and being) citizens by taking the understudied case of Middle Eastern Christians of Iraqi and Egyptian heritage residing in the United Kingdom. It is argued that exclusion in the Middle East reinforces a sense of inclusion in the UK particularly due to the prevalence of the rule of law in the UK. However, by exploring a “clash of values” on the role of religion in society and sexual liberalization issues, it is suggested that Middle Eastern Christians{\textquoteright} support for equality and tolerance is not absolute, especially when they perceive societal norms as conflicting with religious teachings. Finally, the paper shows how the notion of “protective patriotism” is used by some Middle Eastern Christians to express their belonging to their new state by defending perceived societal values.",

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note = "This project has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 291827. The project “Defining and Identifying Middle Eastern Christian Communities in Europe” is financially supported by the HERA Joint Research Programme (www.heranet.info) which is cofunded by AHRC, AKA, BMBF via PT-DLR, DASTI, ETAG, FCT, FNR, FNRS, FWF, FWO, HAZU, IRC, LMT, MHEST, NWO, NCN, RANN{\'I}S, RCN, VR, and The European Community FP7 2007-2013, under the Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities programme.",

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N2 - This article explores how migrants experience the process of becoming (and being) citizens by taking the understudied case of Middle Eastern Christians of Iraqi and Egyptian heritage residing in the United Kingdom. It is argued that exclusion in the Middle East reinforces a sense of inclusion in the UK particularly due to the prevalence of the rule of law in the UK. However, by exploring a “clash of values” on the role of religion in society and sexual liberalization issues, it is suggested that Middle Eastern Christians’ support for equality and tolerance is not absolute, especially when they perceive societal norms as conflicting with religious teachings. Finally, the paper shows how the notion of “protective patriotism” is used by some Middle Eastern Christians to express their belonging to their new state by defending perceived societal values.

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The quest for equal citizenship: Middle Eastern Christian narratives of migration and inclusion in the United Kingdom

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Fiona McCallum Guiney

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