London Places

So far, only the evidence from the British part of the survey has been made public and what is most interesting about the methodology is that it compares a Muslim perspective on any given issue with the perspective of non-Muslims.  

BBC London's Kurt Barling

One of the real issues facing Muslims is how to counter the widespread perception that they are a homogeneous group just because they share the same faith.  

identification

69% of Muslim respondents said they strongly identified with their faith and 57% said they also identified strongly with Britain.  

Amongst the non-Muslim respondents only 48% identified strongly with Britain.  In other words, on the surface, there is less of a  conflict of identity for Muslims than non-Muslims.  Rather than being competing identities, they are seen as complementary.

In the wake of the bombings on the London Underground London Muslims were as likely to condemn the suicide bombings against civilians as the general public and slightly more likely (81% vs 72%) to find no moral justification whatsoever for using violence for a “noble cause”.

This counters a growing urban myth that a strong attachment to their faith amongst Muslims necessarily implies radicalisation. 

Abdul Malik was instrumental in The Radical Middle Way project which was part funded by the government in the wake of 7/7.   I attended the first of these intellectual roadshows which aimed to present young Muslims with views from respected Islamic scholars to counter the preaching of radical Imams like Abu Hamza or Omar Bakri Mohammed.

What struck me at the time was the sheer numbers of young people who would turn out on a cold damp night to listen to highbrow discourse at the mosque.

What was clear from that first of a series of seminars which have now run for 16 months is that amongst young Muslims there is a thirst for understanding and a way to put an Islamic way of life into a British context. 

radicalism

It’s almost as if they feel deeply uncomfortable in their religiosity because they feel it paints them with the same brush as the radicals the mainstream media have been railing against.

The Radical Middle Way project says Abdul Malik was a way to show young Muslims that there is a wide spectrum of views in Islam and that this is perfectly acceptable.  He sees the survey results confirming the view that London Muslims are no more or less content with their Britishness than any other group. 

There is he argues evidence here that there is a real plurality of views amongst British Muslims as with all other groups.   Given the range of ethnicities and countries of origin of many migrant Muslim communities this should really come as no surprise.

London is far from being a segregated city but certain areas have come to attract certain ethnicities.   Interestingly the survey suggested that Muslims are less likely than the general public to say they would prefer to live in an area made up mostly of people who share their religious or ethnic background (25% vs 35%).    

London Muslims feel they are at home in the capital.  74% say they feel integrated and there is a wide degree of acceptance amongst Muslims and the general public on what that integration requires.  For example; mastering English, getting a better education, finding a job, participating in politics and volunteering.

On the other hand 45% of non-Muslims say Muslims are not integrated.  This goes to the heart of what seems to be the most fundamental message from this survey: that it is perhaps non-Muslims who need to try to understand Muslims and their approach to life more.  

media representation

If the evidence is an accurate portrayal of Muslim perceptions, it shows London Muslims to be much more loyal and flexible in their approach to living in the Capital than the general portrayal of Muslims in the Media.   The more Muslims feel misunderstood the more disaffection there is likely to be.  This is a recipe for greater alienation.

This interpretation is borne out by responses to another question which reveals the divergent opinions about the co-existence of cultures within British society.  62% of non-Muslims believe that minorities must be more flexible to blend in with the majority.  Whereas 54% of the capital’s Muslims believe that more should be done to accommodate their religious customs. 

Muslim communities

Nowhere is this clearer than on the issue of the wearing of the veil.   Although it is clear from other surveys that there is some confusion about what non-Muslims consider to be the veil (head covering or full burkha which covers all but the eyes), 55% of the general public thought removing the veil is necessary for integration.  13% of London Muslims consider this necessary.

Significantly London Muslims were 10 times more likely to express positive views as negative views of Christians, while the general public is evenly split in expressing negative and positive views of Muslims.

One big surprise from the survey is that Muslim respondents were overwhelmingly more positive about the public institutions than the general public.  They were more confident in the local police (78% vs 69%), the probity of elections (73% vs 60%), the National government (64% vs 36%) and the judicial system (67% vs 55%).

attitudes

It is worth remembering that this survey was conducted after the badly handled Forest Gate raids, in which a man was shot after armed police broke into the home of two men they believed had a terror link.

No such link was found and the men were not charged with any terrorist offence.  In other words confidence levels remain high even with very public mistakes being made.

The most significant differences in attitudes are on issues of morality like sex outside marriage, homosexual behaviour, abortion, suicide, viewing pornography or having an affair.    Whilst this suggests a high degree of social conservatism it points ironically to a good deal of common ground with those who are quite possibly least favourably disposed to London Muslims in the first place.


Above all what is clear from this survey is that it challenges popular stereotypes and suggests that there’s a significant gap between the way London Muslims see themselves and the way others see them. 

All this begs a big question about how the public is forming relatively unfavourable views of their Muslim counterparts. For the sake of community relations it would seem obvious that it is this gap in perceptions that needs to be addressed urgently.

Morally acceptable or morally wrong?

                                        London Muslims             Public

Sex outside marriage         11%                             82%
Homosexual acts                 4%                             66%
Abortion                            10%                             58%
Death penalty                    31%                             43%
Suicide                               4%                             38%
Viewing porn                       4%                             29%
Having an affair                   5%                             18%
Crimes of passion                3%                              2%
Honour killing                      3%                              1%

Gallup World Poll, Beyond Multiculturalism vs Assimilation, Gallup’s Centre for Muslim Studies (April 2007)