Introduction

The aim of this chapter is two-fold: to present a brief account of the troubling times that face young people because of the politicisation of culture and faith in contemporary Britain, and to highlight the impact of Brexit, Fundamental British Values (FBVs) and the Prevent discourse on education under the banner of the ‘War on terror’. Intersectionality plays a key role in this discourse on Britishness, identity and belonging and thus will be revisited in the next chapters. Intersectionality shows how policymakers overlook its impact and how it is used to ‘create’ than ‘celebrate’ differences. In the run-up to the UK government leaving the European Union, a ‘we’ and ‘them’ discourse spread highlighting fundamental failures in social integration, cohesion and poor initiatives. Worst of all, there has been an increase in hate crimes because of a rise in Islamophobia and a growing fear towards British Muslims.