I found the section where Patel describes  the role of Religion as an alternative community for people of colour.-“ you can see why amongst people of colour it plays a significant role because there are no spaces out there where this kind of thinking can occur.”

He talks about how in universities most space is dominated by Christianity, however despite the fact that there are more Muslim students, space is not considered for them in the same way. At the Peckham Road campus, there is a prayer room, however this doubles up as a storage space- one of my colleagues had to intervene when two Muslim students were denied access to it.

The process of ‘othering’ Patel describes in society more broadly, in my experience is reinforced by higher education structures. For example, in one of my roles I am required to do Prevent training- a duty that requires that all public sector workers from teachers to doctors have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.’  The majority of people being referred to Prevent are Muslim.