London: Although over a quarter of Muslims in the UK don`t feel themselves British, they are the most patriotic in Europe, according a new study.
The survey, based on more than 2,000 detailed interviews in 11 European cities, suggested that Muslims are better integrated in Britain than in other parts of the
European Union (EU).
According to the study, funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, on average 78 percent of Muslims identified themselves as British, although this dropped by six points in east London, The Sunday Times reported.
In France, only 49 percent of Muslims consider themselves French while just 23 percent of them in Germany feel German, said the report.
The report also discovered that 55 percent of Muslims across the EU believe that religious and racial discrimination have risen in the past five years.
“There is a disturbing message that emerges from these findings,” said Nazia Hussain, director of the research project.
“Even though Muslims overwhelmingly feel British, they’re not seen as British by wider society. That said ...there has been a policy of trying to accommodate difference here and it appears to be paying off.”
The report appears to contradict previous research in the UK suggesting some Muslims are failing to embrace British values. A Populous poll in 2006 claimed that seven percent of British Muslims believed suicide attacks on fellow civilians could be justified.
The debate about the integration of Europe’s 20 million Muslims was thrown into sharp relief last month when the Swiss controversially voted to ban the building of new minarets.
Many Europeans also worry that aspects of Islam — such as women’s rights — clash with their own values. A survey conducted last week for Le Parisien newspaper found only 54 percent of French people think Islam is compatible with their society.
France, which touts itself as most secular in Europe, has banned Muslim pupils from wearing the hijab, or headscarf, in classrooms.
The Soros study, however, found that "strength of religious belief made no difference to how patriotic Muslims feel".
It found that levels of patriotism are much higher among second-generation Muslims. In Leicester, 72 percent of Muslims born abroad said they felt British; this figure jumped to 94 percent among UK-born Muslims.
Experts believe that Muslims in Germany may feel less patriotic because they have only been allowed citizenship since the 1990s.
France’s divisive history with its colonies, such as Algeria, could explain its lower levels of patriotism.
PTI
