They say you shouldn\u2019t judge a book by its cover, but in this case they\u2019re wrong. In the foreground is a young woman with fuchsia lipstick, Jackie O-style sunglasses and a colourful headscarf. Behind her is a young man, with a hip, trimmed beard, headphones jammed in his ears and one hand casually resting in his pocket.<\/p>\n
They are part of Generation M, and the eponymous book, subtitled Young Muslims Changing the World, is the first detailed portrait of this influential constituency of the world\u2019s fastest growing religion. According to author Shelina Janmohamed, they are proud of their faith, enthusiastic consumers, dynamic, engaged, creative and demanding. And the change they will bring about won\u2019t depend on the benevolence of others: instead, the Muslim pound, like the pink pound before it, will force soft cultural change by means of hard economics.<\/p>\n
To demonstrate all that, the cover image was crucial. \u201cWhen you\u2019re talking about Muslims in particular, but actually people of religion in general, the images you get are really quite depressing,\u201d\u009d she says over coffee and baklava in her garden in the outer suburbs of London. \u201cBut I think this really captures it. It\u2019s bold, it\u2019s vibrant, the woman\u2019s got so much attitude. They are exactly the kind of people I\u2019m writing about.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n