Almost all Muslims living in Britain feel a loyalty to the country (95%). Just 6% say they feel a disloyalty.

British Muslims undoubtedly comprise a more religiously devout sub-set of
the UK population. This is reflected in personal assessments of an individual’s
own level of devotion and in the fact that an overwhelming majority identify
with their mosque and see it as representing their views (71%).

A heightened sense of religious devotion manifests in a clear social
conservatism on some issues. This was reflected, for example, in high levels
of support for gender segregated education (40% supported this proposal,
as compared to just 11% of the general population), as well as ‘traditional’
religious clothing within schools (44% supported the idea that schools should
be able to insist on the hijab or niqab).

There are relatively large levels of support among British Muslims for the
implementation of elements of Sharia law; however, the nature of that support
is quite ‘soft’. Whilst a plurality of people expressed a preference for such
measures ‘in the abstract’, they were far less forthcoming in supporting them
‘in reality’. (Only 4% of those surveyed said that they used Sharia banking, for
instance, and 55% said that they would not prefer to use this option). It should
also be noted that younger Muslims
were relatively less likely than their
older counterparts to endorse Sharia.

It is clear that the more religious
character and general social
conservatism of British Muslim
communities, does not detract from
the essentially secular character of most Muslim lifestyles. In terms of their
everyday concerns and priorities, British Muslims answer no differently from
their non-Muslim neighbours. When asked what are the most important issues
facing Britain today (people were allowed to give three responses), the most
likely answer was NHS/hospitals/healthcare (36%), with unemployment
second (32%) and then immigration (30%). Contrary to what is often asserted on both sides of the political spectrum, the priorities and everyday
concerns of the overwhelming majority of Muslims are inherently secular.

Religious devotion and social conservatism do not correlate to political radicalism.
It is striking that British Muslims are more likely, as a group, to condemn various
acts of political violence (and even non-violent political protest), than the UK
population as a whole. 89% of Muslim respondents condemned the use of
violence in political protest and 90% condemned terrorism; in both instances,
just 2% of people expressed sympathy for such actions (for the population as a
whole, the equivalent figures were 5% and 4%).

When probed specifically on the question of crime, it is striking that the
issue British Muslims identified as being of greatest importance within local
areas was that of ‘alcohol and drug abuse’. This, as well as other essentially
non-sectarian, ‘law and order’ issues (such as ‘minor street crime’) were
deemed to be of greater concern than harassment on the basis of religion,
race or ethnicity. In tackling these problems, a majority of British Muslims
expressed support for straight-forward law and order policies such as the
provision of extra police on the beat (55%) and the provision of security
cameras (30%).

A clear majority of British Muslims (69%) favour an essentially secular
education, which adheres to a shared national curriculum. Only a minority
(26%) believe that the school classroom is the best place for faith education,
believing instead that faith should be taught at home, or in the mosque.

British Muslims tend to be among the more active and engaged members of
British social and political life. They vote in elections, make use of local social
and cultural amenities, and see the value of social and political engagement.

In terms of the manner of that engagement, it is clear that only a minority
of British Muslims (just 20%) see themselves as being represented by those
organisations that claim to speak for their community. Moreover, within that
cohort, there is no single group that can plausibly claim to speak for more
than 20% of people who are so-minded. In each case, therefore, supporters
represent
a fraction of a fraction
of the wider community. Putatively national
representative organisations are no such thing. Groups like the Muslim
Council of Britain enjoy the support of between 2 to 4% of Britain’s Muslims –
and when one goes outside London, that level of support is vanishingly small.