Why are Muslims in Britain asked to condemn their community members when they do something wrong but not others?

The frequent calls for Muslim communities to apologise for and condemn behaviour and activities of their members is not limited to child sexual exploitation scandals.

There have been repeated demands from newspapers, political figures and 'community leaders' demanding Muslims speak out in opposition to events ranging from 9/11, Muslims fighting in Syria to allegations of the plot to takeover Birmingham schools.

These demands are not simply spontaneous requests for an apology following a crime, atrocity or supposedly regressive practice: rather, they effectively serve as a 'pledge of allegiance' to the state, nation and the hegemonic order.

Muslims occupy an inferior position in this order. This is determined according to the extent to which they are 'integrated' or not.

The researcher Gargi Bhattacharyya notes:

"Minority communities are challenged to prove their allegiance and integration, however long they have been settled in the 'host' nation'. This is particularly the case with the Muslim community of Britain who, for over a decade, have occupied a position as the dangerous minority and the primary subject group of counter‐terrorism policy, legislation and state surveillance"