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Religious minorities

General overview

This heading provides information on the social perception of religious groups in the United Kingdom. For further information concerning religious minorities in the UK, see the Social and (...)

This heading provides information on the social perception of religious groups in the United Kingdom. For further information concerning religious minorities in the UK, see the Social and religious data heading.

  • For further information, see the Mineurel website of information on religious minorities, concerning the United Kingdom.

D 7 May 2012   

The Jews in Britain

Position in society
Jews are active in British political life. In Parliament, Jews compose about 3% and 7% respectively of the membership of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, (...)

Position in society

Jews are active in British political life. In Parliament, Jews compose about 3% and 7% respectively of the membership of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, compared to 0.5% in the general population. Michael Howard, leader of the main opposition party (the Conservatives) at the last election, is Jewish. While it is commonly believed that British Jewry is influential in public life, many of its representatives believe that the community’s influence has diminished.

Although classic anti-Semitism appears to be on the decline, there has been a rise in hooliganism and physical violence, with Muslim Asians committing an increasing proportion of attacks against the local Jewish communities. A total of 532 anti-Semitic incidents were reported by the Community Security Trust in 2004, up from 375 in the previous year.

Hostility to Israel has been translated, in the eyes of many Jewish commentators, into leftist anti-Semitism. The controversial decision in 2005 by the Association of University Teachers to boycott three Israeli universities is a recent example of action that is causing concern.

The UK Holocaust Memorial Day was first held on 27 January 2001 and is now firmly fixed in the national calendar. The main commemorative event rotates between major cities; in 2005, for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, it was in London. The commemoration was attended by the Queen, the Prime Minister, and other public figures.

See also:
 David Graham, L. D. Staetsky and Jonathan Boyd, Jews in the United Kingdom in 2013: Preliminary findings from the National Jewish Community Survey, January 2014.
 David Graham, European Jewish identity: Mosaic or monolith? An empirical assessment of eight European countries, Institute for Jewish Policy Research, April 2018.
 D. C. Mashiah, Vital statistics of the UK Jewish population: births and deaths, Institute for Jewish Policy Research, June 2018.

D 11 September 2012    ABrenda E. Brasher AMichael J. Weil

Islam

Contemporary challenges
In the early days of migration and settlement, Muslims imported imams to run their local mosques and give their children a basic Islamic education. Nowadays, the (...)

Contemporary challenges

In the early days of migration and settlement, Muslims imported imams to run their local mosques and give their children a basic Islamic education. Nowadays, the children’s language of communication has increasingly become English, and a generation gap has developed.
Also, the use of imams from villages of the Indian sub-continent and the emphasis on fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) seems a potential problem. Very few imams possess the skills and the vision to understand the meaning of living as a Muslim in a pluralist society.
Lastly, Muslim youth who become actively involved in Islamic activities during their college and university lives may come to question their parents’ beliefs and practices. Some become very zealous. External factors such as the Gulf crisis, the massacre of Muslims in Bosnia, and the issue of wearing the head scarf (hijab) in France strengthens their view of non-Muslims as potential enemies of Islam.
Today, the Muslim community in Britain is a relativly settled community. There are two tendencies for the youth: one associated with the religious ethos, and the other more inclined to ’bhangra’ culture. Both groups are restless, and the future of Muslims in Britain largely depends upon their choice of direction.

Download an entire article.

A 2005 report

EUMAP, a programme of the Open Society Institute, has produced a report on Muslims in the UK: Policies for engaged citizens. The report focuses on employment, education, the criminal justice system, and equality and community cohesion.

Muslims in Scotland

 Report of the British Council on Integration of Muslims in Scotland, 2013
 Report of the Scottish Government Social Research, Experiences of Muslims living in Scotland, 2011

D 11 September 2012    AAtaullah Siddiqui

Muslims in Scotland

Two reports
– Report of the British Council on Integration of Muslims in Scotland, 2013
– Report of the Scottish Government Social Research, Experiences of Muslims living in Scotland, 2011

Two reports

 Report of the British Council on Integration of Muslims in Scotland, 2013
 Report of the Scottish Government Social Research, Experiences of Muslims living in Scotland, 2011

D 20 May 2013   

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