The Bradford Literature Festival is marking the 40th anniversary of the Race Relations Act with a timely discussion of the dynamics between different religions, races and communities in our society. How has the debate shifted away from questions of race and towards questions of faith in the past four decades, especially against the current backdrop of Islamophobia, and what has prompted that shift? In turn, how has this shift impacted upon civil liberties?
Leading the conversation are our panelists, all of whom have directly engaged with this most pressing issue. Nadia Latif, director of the planned National Youth Theatre production ‘Homegrown’, participated very publicly when the production was cancelled around fears that it pursued an extremist agenda; Dr Nasar Meer specialises on the history and policy of race equality in the UK; and Jay Bernard addresses identities and restrictions on civil liberties through her writing.
All are well-placed to assess how far we have travelled from tensions surrounding race relations towards those linked to faith relations, and where we might go from here.