There's a highly effective narrative about British Muslims that's typically neglected: one among belonging and optimism.
It’s simple to grasp why. At many ranges of society, we see boundaries of Islamophobia stopping Muslims from taking part as equal residents.
Think about the office: a brand new Hyphen-Savanta ComRes ballot exhibits that a staggeringly excessive 69% of UK Muslims have skilled some type of Islamophobia within the office. And should you’re a black Muslim, the determine is 76%. Simply having a Muslim title makes it much less probably that you just get a job, discover a flat and even get insurance coverage.
Or contemplate the schooling system: a Division for Training research that confirmed 18% of the pupils polled in England have seen different youngsters being bullied for being Muslim. This was reiterated in responses to findings by Childline, the place younger Muslims had particularly reported being referred to as “terrorists” and “bombers” by classmates.
Or contemplate politics: whether or not it’s the rampant and institutional Islamophobia within the Conservative celebration or the (smaller albeit extraordinarily severe) challenges within the Labour celebration, the place greater than one in 4 Muslim members of the celebration had straight skilled Islamophobia. Even those that succeed regardless of Islamophobic political campaigns find yourself going through Islamophobia in workplace, together with Sadiq Khan, who wants 24/7 safety because of the “color of his pores and skin and the god he worships”.
Let’s not even go into the media, the place solely 0.4% of British journalists are Muslim, and virtually two-thirds of articles that point out Muslims or Islam paint them in a damaging mild.
However it’s not simply employment, schooling, politics and the media – the structural challenges are even deeper. Half of British Muslims face poverty, way more Muslims reside in disadvantaged housing situations than the UK inhabitants common (35% v 13%) and Muslims are vastly over-represented within the felony justice system: 15% of all jail inmates in England and Wales are Muslims, regardless of being lower than 5% of the entire inhabitants.
Possibly these boundaries are unsurprising given the racist views held by many relating to Muslims. Britons are reportedly virtually thrice extra prone to maintain prejudiced views of Islam than they're of different religions, and conspiracy theories comparable to believing Muslim immigration was a part of a wider plot to make Muslims the bulk in Britain infect a sizeable minority of the nation. Of these canvassed for one ballot, 22% could be involved if a Muslim household moved in subsequent to them.
These info on the bottom make up an necessary evidence-based narrative concerning the challenges going through British Muslims, and shouldn't be neglected.
Nevertheless, that's solely a part of the story. The new Hyphen-Savanta Comres ballot, corroborated by different analysis, additionally helps a extra nuanced narrative: one that doesn't erase the institutional racism and boundaries to equality going through Muslims, however as a substitute acknowledges how regardless of the discrimination and these structural challenges, British Muslims are overcoming the chances, defying the stereotypes peddled by the far-right and their allies and as a substitute reply with a way of belonging and optimism.
For instance, most Muslim respondents (53%) to the brand new ballot mentioned there may be an improved acceptance of Muslims within the UK. Different polling exhibits 93% of Muslims felt they belonged to Britain and extra Muslims really feel proud to be British than the nationwide common.
Alongside belonging, there may be optimism: most (57%) imagine that younger Muslims will probably be extra profitable than their mother and father, many Muslim pupils are already outperforming friends at college, and way more Muslim mother and father (66%) thought it “very probably” that their little one would go on to school to do a level sooner or later, in comparison with the nationwide common (38%).
However why is that this the case? Why, regardless of the Islamophobia being confronted, do most Muslims nonetheless really feel like they belong and are optimistic about their future?
On the one hand, there are extra function fashions and larger illustration throughout all walks of life: Mo Salah, FWA footballer of the yr, the mayor of London, Oscar winner Riz Ahmed, Radio 4 presenter Mishal Husain and Nadiya Hussain, a Nice British Bake Off winner.
And extra structurally, it appears a part of the reason being youthful optimism (half of British Muslims are beneath the age of 35), a spiritual sense of belonging and an immigrant mentality of working laborious and making the perfect of inauspicious conditions (British Muslims are predominantly first- or second-generation migrants). The truth is that we have no idea.
It’s good that we rejoice the optimism, however let’s not ignore the challenges of Islamophobia and the inaction in tackling it. A nuanced narrative about Muslim communities is hopefully not an excessive amount of to ask.
Miqdaad Versi is public affairs spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain
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