The Success or Otherwise of Multiculturalism – What Really Matters

Surveys and polls concerning Islam and Muslims usually attract considerable press coverage but one we came across recently [1] was mentioned in only the Guardian [2] with the headline "Muslims are well-integrated in Britain – but no one seems to believe it". It might contain the most significant findings of all the surveys over the last few years.

This survey was carried out by Essex University and the results published in a report entitled "Britishness and Identity Assimilation among the UK’s Minority and Majority ethnic groups". [3] The sample details are impressive. It used data from a nationally representative sample of approximately 28,000 UK households with an additional ethnic minority boost sample of around 4000 households.

The report's summary says:

There has been extensive recent debate on the success or otherwise of ‘multiculturalism’. One key claim has been that multiculturalism has undermined minority groups’ willingness or ability to sign up to the national identity of the country in which they live.

National identification is widely regarded in the literature as an important indicator of the social cohesion within societies and to have implications for the incorporation or alienation of minorities.

.... We find first that minorities express strong British identities – stronger in fact than the White majority, and that these increase across generations.

Second we show that minority identification does not necessarily imply a loss of majority identity. Indeed the most common pattern in our sample of minorities was to hold strong majority and minority identities at the same time.

By contrast we show that among the White majority there is not only substantial variation in identification, but that with the exception of those born in Northern Ireland, individual country identities (Wales, Scotland, England) tends to be prioritised over British identities".

So, multiculturalism is a success. We are told.

The main question asked of all respondents was: “Most people who live in the UK may think of themselves as being British in some way. On a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 means ‘not at all important’ and 10 means ‘extremely important’, how important is being British to you?” . Respondents were shown a 10-point-scale and asked to identify their position on it.

Non-White respondents were also asked to report the strength of identification with their father’s ethnic group and also that of their mother’s ethnic group if that was different from their father’s, using a similar question format: “On a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 means ‘not at all important’ and 10 means ‘extremely important’, how important is being [your father’s ethnic group] to you?”

The answers were used to put minority ethnic respondents into one of four categories.

"Integrated" - high degrees of both own cultural maintenance and majority society engagement. “Assimilated” - loss of minority culture with the adoption of majority culture. “Separated” - exclusive maintenance of minority culture; and “Marginalized” - loss of minority culture but with no compensating gain or investment in majority culture.

The results obtained are illustrated in this Table:

		Cultural Maintenance Maximum of strength of identification with parent's ethnic groups
		High	Low
Contact Participation Strength of identification with being British	High	Integrated 44%	Assimilated 13%
	Low	Separated 22%	Marginalized 21%

Nearly half (44%) of British ethnic minorities identify as strongly with their ethnic identity as they do with being British. That is, nearly half, can be said to have in some degree a dual identity.

Of the remaining half, 22% are "separated" (they exclusively maintain their minority culture), and 21% are "marginalised" (they have lost their minority culture but taken nothing from the majority culture).

13% - just over one in 10 - are unambiguously British.

The Essex researchers take a positive, optimistic, view of these results. They also note, "By signing up to majority identity, minorities are .... providing evidence of acceptance of shared national values, and an implicit rejection of ethnic or cultural distinctiveness that may challenge that national consensus."

There is another line of thought. What happens if critical or too many "values" of the ethnic identity clash with the majority identity?

For example, the great majority of British people would probably agree that each person can decide his or her religion, or not to have a religion. You are not born into a religion. It is a choice you make. Apostasy is not a crime. We have struggled hard over the years to achieve the religious freedom and tolerance we have in Britain today.

In contrast to this British "value" see this BBC article "Ex-Muslim: My parents don't want me 'to burn in hell". [4] It describes the family rejection suffered by a young British Muslim girl because she no longer wanted to be a Muslim. At least, she didn't live in a Muslim country where apostates are threatened with death.

Unfortunately, the weaknesses of this Essex University study are also seen in the limited public debate that we have on this important subject. A sad example of how the relevant questions are avoided was given by a Muslim spokesperson recently interviewed about Islamic values versus British values on Sky News [5].

Yes, of course, Muslims are law abiding British citizens, he says, but don't expect Muslims to go out boozing on Saturday night. If that is the expectation there will be trouble! And, we are not going to eat pork!! British foreign policy gets dragged into the conversation too.

The Sky News interviewer failed to direct the interview. She let the Muslim interviewee pose the questions he wanted to answer not the questions that matter, that expose the clash of fundamental cultural values, though she might be excused as our senior politicians set a poor example. They steer clear of anything specific, anything that might be construed as a direct criticism of Islam, and labour generalities such as ".... freedom .... accepting personal and social responsibility, respecting and upholding the rule of law".

Agreement or otherwise on these points is what really matters.

# Men and woman are equal. All jobs and professions are open to women. Men and women have equal legal rights in all matters.

# Each person can decide his or her religion, or not to have a religion. You are not born into a religion. It is a choice you make.

# A person can leave their religion without fear of reprisal or punishment.

# Stoning, amputation, and flogging, are barbaric punishments with no place in the modern world.

# You can marry a person from another religion. They do not have to convert to yours.

# You can say, write, or draw, what you like as long as it does not call for violence against any person(s) or their property.

# Church/religion and state are separate.

# You have only one wife. Polygamy is illegal.

# Religious texts are subject to scientific and historical scrutiny.

# It is impolite, even rude, to cover your face in public, and it hinders communication.

# Rules and regulations should apply to everyone. Animals are stunned prior to slaughter.

Not all British people would vote strongly in favour of these values but it would be a reasonable bet that the median (the middle point of the results) for the white majority British population would lie much closer to the agreement end of the scale than the median for Muslims. Herein lies the clash of values.

The Essex study does not tell us if multiculturalism has been a success. All it does is give us a worrying measure of the scale of the challenge we face. Up to 87% (100% - 13%) of Muslims are potentially a source of social conflict. 13% is the dismally low proportion who so far have truly become British.

Notes

[1] Survey of Surveys - Concerning Islam & Muslims

[2] Muslims are well-integrated in Britain – but no one seems to believe it

[3] Britishness and Identity Assimilation among the UK’s Minority and Majority ethnic groups

See also: Just who does feel British?

[4] Ex-Muslim: My parents don't want me 'to burn in hell'

[5] Muhbeen Hussain and Dilly Hussain Discuss If British and Islamic Views Are Compatible?

Survey of Surveys - Concerning Islam & Muslims

1.0 About this Survey of Surveys
2.0 Summary
3.0 Headline Results
4.0 Surveys - British Muslims
5.0 Surveys - British People (non-Muslims)
6.0 Surveys - Muslims in Islamic Countries
7.0 Surveys - Muslims in Western Countries
8.0 Surveys - International (non-Muslims)

1.0 About this Survey of Surveys

Surveys and polls concerning Islam and Muslims regularly hit the headlines.

Often alarming, sometimes reassuring, and difficult to put into context they can confuse more than illuminate. And, there is always the question of survey and poll quality.

This is a survey of such surveys from reliable sources published over the last five years or so, compiled with the objective of providing a clear picture and a convenient reference.

2.0 Summary

British Muslims

A large minority of British Muslims subscribe to values that clash with those held by the majority of British people. The proportion ranges from around 15% to 30% depending on the topic.

27% had some sympathy with the killers of the Charlie Hebdo staff. 11% believe those who publish images of Mohammed deserve to be attacked. 20% have some sympathy with young Muslims who leave the UK to join fighters in Syria.

29% would prefer to live in Britain under Sharia law rather than British law. 17% believe it is appropriate that Muslims who convert to other religions are cut off by their family and even worse 31% agree Muslim conversion to another religion is forbidden and punishable by death.

Muslims themselves see the divide. 16-20% say there is a clash between Islam and British values.

Much of the time this might not be apparent as large numbers maintain dual identities. 77% say they identify as strongly with Britain just as much as they do (75%) with their religion.

For ethnic minorities in general research has shown that 44% say they identify as strongly with their ethnic group as they identify with Britain. 22% hold entirely to their original culture. 21% have lost their original culture but have taken nothing of British culture. Only 13% are assimilated.

Dual identity is not necessarily a bad thing but when starkly conflicting values are involved it is a cause for concern.

British People

The majority British view of Islam and Muslims is strongly negative.

Over half (55%) believe there is a fundamental clash between Islam and British values and six in 10 (61%) have a negative or wholly negative view of Islam.

A large majority (81%) would support a ban on wearing of a full face veil or niqab in public places, such as schools, courts or hospitals. 71% believe the media should publish material even if it offends the religious views of some people.

The World's Muslims

On average, seven in 10 (70%) Muslims in the greater part of the Muslim world favour making Sharia the Law of the Land.

Of these, 58% favour whippings or cutting off the hands of thieves and robbers, 60% favour stoning as a punishment for adultery, and 53% favour the death penalty for apostasy. And, on average 43% of Muslims favour gender segregation in the workplace. It is as high as 85% in Pakistan.

Large minorities (10-30%) believe suicide bombing against civilian targets can be often or sometimes justified in order to defend Islam from its enemies.

It is difficult to find words that might qualify these horrendous results of surveys by the Pew Research Center, a highly reputable research organisation.

Knowledge and education topics also provide results alarming to modern people.

Nearly half (44%) of Muslims believe in creationism; humans and other living things have always existed in their present form. A staggering two in three (64%) deny that Arabs (Muslims) carried out the 9/11 attacks.

Muslims in Europe and Western Countries

In Germany more than one in five (22%) Muslims are against integration and reject German values. Over half of French Muslims say they will marry only another Muslim.

Nearly half (47%) of Canadian Muslims believe they should be free to choose to be ruled by Sharia courts in the case of divorce and other family matters.

Three quarters of Australian Muslims think counter-terrorism policing and laws unfairly target their community. Many of them explain terrorism as the result of "the history of occupation and invasion throughout the Middle East".

Western Views

On average in Europe's largest countries over half (54%) of Europeans believe Islam is incompatible with the Western world. Seven in 10 (69%) would approve a ban on veils that cover the whole face.

More than half (57%) of Germans believe Islam poses a threat to Germany. 52% believe it does not belong in German society. They see Islam as an "archaic religion, incapable of fitting into modern life".

Three quarters (74%) of the French think Islam is intolerant and that it is incompatible with the values of French society.

Half of Danish citizens favour a cap on the number of Muslims permitted to live in Denmark.

3.0 Headline Results

This section lists the publisher of each survey, the date of publication, and the headline results.

3.1 Surveys - British Muslims

Sky News, April 2015

Nearly one in five (16%) British Muslims believe British values are not compatible with Islam.

(This is in line with the findings of a survey for the BBC in February)

Four in 10 (39%) British Muslims believe the police and MI5 contribute to the radicalisation of young Muslims.

One in five (20%) have some sympathy with young Muslims who leave the UK to join fighters in Syria.

BBC Radio 4, February 2015

One in five (20%) British Muslims believe British liberal society can never be compatible with Islam.

More than one in four (27%) had some sympathy with the killers of the Charlie Hebdo staff. One in 10 (11%) believe those who publish images of the Prophet Mohammed deserve to be attacked.

And, one in 10 (11%) are sympathetic towards people who want to fight against western interests.

Nearly one in five (17%) believe it is appropriate that Muslims who convert to other religions are cut off by their family.

Understanding Society - University of Essex, December 2013

Nearly half (44%) of Britain's ethnic minority people say they identify as strongly with their ethnic group (and by implication with the values of that group's culture) as they identify with Britain.

Of the rest 22% are separate; they hold entirely to their original culture. 21% are marginalised; they have lost their original culture but have taken nothing from British culture.

Only 13% are assimilated. They strongly identify only with Britain and there is less potential for a clash with the values of their ethnic group.

Gallup – The Co-exist Foundation, 2009

British Muslims identify as extremely strongly or as very strongly with their religion (75%) as they do with Britain (77%).

British Muslims are much less inclined to see not wearing a veil (only 12% of them) and acceptance of comments about their faith which they deem offensive (9%) as necessary features of integration, than French or German Muslims.

Policy Exchange, January 2007

Three in 10 (31%) British Muslims agree Muslim conversion to another religion is forbidden and punishable by death.

Half (51%) agree a Muslim woman may not marry a non-Muslim.

Three in 10 (29%) would prefer to live in Britain under Sharia law rather than British law.

3.2 Surveys - British People (non-Muslims)

YouGov-Cambridge, March 2015

The majority (55%) of British people believe there is a fundamental clash between Islam and British values.

For Conservative voters the figure is 68%. For Labour 48%, and UKIP 89%.

Only one in five (22%) believe Islam is compatible with British society.

YouGov, January 2015

Six in 10 (61%) British adults have a negative or wholly negative view of Islam.

Sunday Times, January 2015

Seven in 10 (69%) of people believe it was acceptable for Charlie Hebdo to publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

Seven in 10 (71%) believe the media have an obligation to show controversial items that are newsworthy even if they may offend the religious views of some people.

Only one in 10 (11%) believe the media have an obligation to avoid offending religious views.

Channel 4 News, October 2013

Eight in 10 (81%) people would support a ban on wearing of a full face veil or niqab in certain public places, such as schools, courts or hospitals.

More than half (55%) would support such a ban in any public place.

BBC, September 2013

Six in 10 (60%) young British people (18 – 24 years-old) think Islam has a negative image. (For other religions it ranges from 11% to 17% thinking the religion has a negative image.)

Just over a quarter of young people (27%) do not trust Muslims.

Nearly half (44%) tend to agree or strongly agree that the Muslim community does not share the same values as people in the rest of Britain.

Sunday Times, May 2013

Six in 10 (60%) British people believe the great majority of Muslims are peaceful and law-abiding citizens but there is a dangerous minority.

One in seven (14%) think a large proportion of British Muslims feel no sense of loyalty to this country and are prepared to condone or even carry out acts of terrorism.

Half (50%) think a significant number of the leaders of Britain's Muslim communities are turning a blind eye to terrorism.

University of Nottingham, May 2013

Over half (59%) of British people agree or tend to agree there will be a "clash of civilizations" between Muslims and native white Britons.

(This followed the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby. Six months before the figure was 49%.)

63% agree or tend to agree the vast majority of Muslims are good British citizens.

45% think free speech in Britain is threatened by the influence of Muslims in the media

Chatham House, January 2013

Nearly half (49%) of British people agree or tend to agree there will be a "clash of civilizations" between Muslims and native white Britons.

Over half (52%) agree or tend to agree higher birth rates within Muslim communities pose a fundamental threat to British national identity.

Fewer than one in four (24%) think Muslims are compatible with the British way of life.

Extremis Project, September 2012

Nearly four in 10 (37%) would be more likely to vote for a party that promised to reduce the number of Muslims/presence of Islam in British society.

YouGov, April 2011

Two thirds (66%) of the public agree the burkha should be banned in Britain.

Searchlight Educational Trust, February 2011

More than two in three (68%) people think religion should not influence laws and policies in Britain.

Over half (52%) think Muslims create problems or a lot of problems. (For other religions it ranges from 7% to 15% thinking the religion creates problems or a lot of problems.)

Six in 10 (60%) think people should be allowed to say what they believe about religion, however critical or offensive it might be.

More than four in 10 (43%) would support a campaign to stop the building of a mosque near where they live.

3.3 Surveys – Muslims in Islamic Countries

Pew Research Center, July 2014

Large minorities (10-30%) in most large Muslim countries believe suicide bombing can be often or sometimes justified against civilian targets in order to defend Islam from its enemies.

University of Kirikkale and Happy Kids Association, April 2013

One in three (34%) Turkish men believe violence against women is "occasionally necessary".

Pew Research Center, April 2013

On average, seven in 10 (70%) Muslims in each county in the greater part of the Muslim world, favour making Sharia the Law of the Land.

Of these, 58% favour whippings or cutting off the hands of thieves and robbers, 60% favour stoning as a punishment for adultery, and 53% favour the death penalty for apostasy.

18% of all Muslims say suicide bombing attacks against civilians in defence of Islam can be often/sometimes justified.

Nearly half (44%) believe in creationism; humans and other living things have always existed in their present form.

Pew Research Center, July 2011

Nearly two in three (64%) Muslims deny that Arabs (Muslims) carried out the 9/11 attacks. Only one in five (20%) believe Arabs (Muslims) were responsible.

Over half (56%) of Muslims first consider themselves as a Muslim. Only one in four (25%) first consider themselves as being a particular nationality.

Only 23% of Westerners first consider themselves as a Christian. Two in three (65%) first consider themselves as being a particular nationality.

Well over half (59%) of Westerners believe Muslims in their countries want to be distinct from the larger society.

Pew Research Center, December 2010

On average 43% of Muslims favour gender segregation in the workplace. This ranges from 85% in Pakistan to 11% in Lebanon.

One in two (49%) Muslims favour whippings or cutting off the hands of thieves and robbers, 53% favour stoning as a punishment for adultery, and 48% favour the death penalty for apostasy.

On average 65% say democracy is preferable to any other kind of government. This ranges from 81% in Lebanon to 42% in Pakistan.

3.4 Surveys – Muslims in Western Countries

Australian Research Council, March 2015

Three quarters of Australian Muslims think counter-terrorism policing and laws unfairly target their community. This has generated a community backlash.

(A limited and biased knowledge of how the West and the Islamic world have interacted in modern times may have a lot to do with this attitude.)

Muslim Australians identify much more strongly with their religion than they do with being an Australian.

WZB - Berlin Social Science Center, December 2013

Islamic fundamentalism is widespread in Europe.

(Fundamentalism is defined as the return to eternal and unchangeable rules laid down in the past; the rules allow only one interpretation and are binding for all believers; and they have priority over secular laws.)

Two thirds (65%) of Muslim Turkish and Moroccan immigrants believe religious rules are more important to them than the laws of the country in which they live.

German Interior Ministry, March 2012

More than one in five (22%) Muslims in Germany are against integration.

Among those who are not German citizens this rises to nearly half (48%) who clearly reject German majority culture.

Among the 14 to 32-year-olds a subgroup of religious extremists holds anti-western views and are reportedly prepared to use violence. This group amounts to about 15% of Muslims with German citizenship and about 24% for Muslims who are not German.

Macdonald-Laurier Institute, November 2011

Nearly half (47%) of Canadian Muslims believe they should be free to choose to be ruled by Sharia courts in the case of divorce and other family matters.

This is belief is also very high, a third (33%), among Muslims who do not attend mosque regularly.

Online Muslim dating service, January 2011

Over half of French Muslims say they will marry only another Muslim.

3.5 Surveys – International (non-Muslims)

The Huffington Post, April 2015

More than half (55%) of Americans have unfavourable view of Islam.

Global News, March 2015

Most Canadians (88%) say faces shouldn’t be covered at citizenship ceremonies.

Heute tabloid paper, February 2015

Seven in 10 (69%) Austrians say "Islam does not belong in Austria".

Metroxpress, February 2015

One in two (50%) Danish citizens favour a cap on the number of Muslims permitted to live in Denmark.

Bertelsmann Foundation, January 2015

More than half (57%) of Germans believe Islam poses a threat to Germany.

Six in 10 (61%) believe Islam is incompatible with the Western world.

Scanlon Foundation and Monash University, October 2014

One in four (26%) Australians feel very negative or somewhat negative towards Muslims.

(This is five times greater than any negative feelings towards Christians or Buddhists.)

Stern Magazine, August 2014

Over half (52%) of Germans believe Islam "does not belong in German society".

Friedrich Ebert Foundation, March 2014

Over half (56%) of Germans consider Islam an "archaic religion, incapable of fitting into modern life".

Berlingske newspaper, October 2013

Danes: We are too tolerant of Muslims.

Bertelsmann Foundation, April 2013

On average in Europe's largest countries over half (54%) of Europeans believe Islam is incompatible with the Western world.

46% say it is very threatening or fairly threatening.

Le Parisien, March 2013

80% of French public favour tougher anti-veil laws

Le Monde, January 2013

Three quarters (74%) of the French think Islam is intolerant.

The same number think it is incompatible with the values of French society.

(In comparison, 10% think Catholicism incompatible and 25% think Judaism incompatible.)

University of Bielefeld, January 2013

Only 19% of Germans believe that Islam is compatible with German culture.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, November 2012

German poll indicates a widespread fear of Muslims and Islam.

Association for Canadian Studies and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, March 2012.

Half (52%) of Canadians distrust Muslims.

Canadians believe discrimination against Muslims is "mainly their own fault"

IFOP, February 2012

More than two in five (40-47%) in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK, say the presence of a Muslim community is a threat to their country’s identity.

About three quarters (65-77%) say Muslims are not very or not at all integrated.

More than one in three (34-47%) say the cultural differences are too great.

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, March 2011

Half (47-60%) of Europeans say Islam is an intolerant religion.

Pew Research Center, July 2010

Seven in 10 (69%) Europeans approve a ban on veils that cover the whole face

4.0 Surveys - British Muslims

The sections above are the first three sections (the first 11pp of 120pp) of the report, "Survey of Surveys - Concerning Islam & Muslims". The full report is available only as a pdf.

If you would like a copy of the full report emailed to you simply email islamsurveyed[AT]gmail.com

The main sections of the report provide considerably more information on each survey and poll covered, including:

• A tabular summary of all significant results as well as those mentioned above;
• Further summary analysis and comment;
• Survey details such as sample size and interview method;
• Links to publishers' and research agency original reports and results;
• Summaries of and links to media coverage, press comment and articles.

5.0 Surveys - British People (non-Muslims)

6.0 Surveys - Muslims in Islamic Countries

7.0 Surveys - Muslims in Western Countries

8.0 Surveys - International (non-Muslims)