"Debates about British Muslims tend to be based on crude caricatures. Identitarians on the left see Muslims as a victimised and disaffected bloc, marginalised by a supposedly bigoted society. Meanwhile, identitarians on the right tend to see them as disloyal and anti-British – a potential enemy within. My latest report, co-authored by Dr Jake Scott and published last week by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life, shatters these myths and misconceptions about British Muslims.
"Our polling shows that the overwhelming majority of British Muslims feel positively towards Britain. We found that 86 per cent believe Britain is a good place to live and that there are opportunities here for people to make progress and excel in life. This is actually higher than the general population, where the proportion drops to 70 per cent.
"This optimism towards Britain stands in stark contrast to the left’s view of Muslims as a helpless and downtrodden minority. It also debunks the myth among the right that Muslims are poorly integrated and uniquely hostile to the UK. But this finding shouldn’t actually be a surprise. Not least as many British Muslims are born outside the UK. Generally, they tend to come from underdeveloped countries with relatively high levels of social unrest, political instability and institutional corruption. This is why, for many Muslim migrants, Britain represents opportunity, not oppression. ...
"[A]ll too often, ordinary Muslims are ignored, while the state panders to vocal, assertive and self-selected ‘community representatives’, who tend to prioritise tribal interests over the wider common good. This mode of multicultural policymaking is not welcomed by most fair and civic-minded Muslims.
"When we let British Muslims speak for themselves, it turns out they actually have lots of positive things to say about life in the UK. We must not allow radical activists on the fringes to shape the national conversation on British Muslims and their place in society. It’s high time we left the caricatures behind."~ Rakib Ehsan, from his post 'What the left and the right get wrong about Muslims'
Tuesday, 12 March 2024
"The majority of British Muslims are neither downtrodden victims nor Britain-hating extremists."
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2 comments:
But what does polling of UK Muslims say about wanting to introduce Sharia law? What does polling of UK Muslims say about the role of women in society and the rights of women in society?
Of course the UK is a land of opportunity for migrant Muslim populations when compared to places like Kashmir (War torn and not very wealthy), Pakistan ( a state on the verge of collapse and prone to all sorts of political machinations up to and including military backed coups etc), or parts of the Middle East ruled by authoritarian regimes (i.e. pretty much all of the region)
The excerpt you have reproduced has nothing to say about the questions above which are cultural questions and go to the heart of whether UK Muslims in part or in whole are seeking to overturn UK cultural and legal norms (based on UK Common law) even though Muslims are a minority in that place.
The whole place of Islam in the West is not a simple question viewed through a live and let live libertarian lens. And the reason for that is Islam is a totalitarian world view encompassing religion and law as a singular item without the Wests established, if a little frayed, separation of State and Religion.
Islam brooks no competitor or opposing views once it has the ability to exercise political power in a place. This has been demonstrated over and over and over through Islams history since its inception in the 7th century A.D.
Fundamentalist Islam is not a friend of a free Western cultural sphere. Never has been and never will be UNLESS the whole of Islam undertakes a reformation, which has a chance of happening close to zero
Quite agree with Trevs_Elbow.
A large percentage of Muslims do find the UK a good place to live, full of opportunities. How does this debunk the "myth" that Muslims are poorly integrated & uniquely hostile to the UK?
There's an assumption here based on western standards of gratitude, but we're talking about the Islamic Worldview.
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