Socio-cultural and social-political contexts of the participation of Muslim youth in the institutional policy of Scotland

The authors emphasize that with the growth of Scottish national consciousness and the reality of a new independence referendum, Scotland is increasingly developing a special socio-cultural and political landscape that offers young Muslims different contexts of political participation. According to the authors, young Muslims represent a very important demographic group in Scotland. In this regard, the study of the place and role of representatives of Muslim youth in the socio-political processes of Scotland is particularly relevant in scientific, theoretical and practical aspects. The authors of this article, set themselves the task of scientific understanding of the socio-cultural and socio-political contexts of the participation of Muslim youth in the institutional policy of Scotland. They highlight the significant role the SNP plays in engaging Muslim youth in politics. This is possible because the SNP is able to use various socio-political issues of young Muslims to involve the latter in the implementation of the Scottish nationalist agenda actively. The authors conclude that, despite the variety of forms and ways in which young Muslims express their interest in politics, their participation is primarily due to the Scottish (rather than British) specifics of the socio-cultural and socio-political contexts, which are present in this part of the UK.