{{pp|small=yes}} {{Short description|none}} {{About|Islam in the United Kingdom as a whole|Islam in each of its constituent countries|Islam in England|and|Islam in Scotland|and|Islam in Wales|and|Islam in Northern Ireland}} {{Redirect|British Muslim|the satellite television channel|British Muslim TV|the list of notable British Muslims|List of British Muslims}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE --> {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox religious group | group = Islam in the United Kingdom | flag = Allah-green.svg | flag_caption = | flag_size = 25px | image = Suffa Tul Islam Central Mosque, Horton Park Avenue, Bradford (6928840425).jpg | image_caption = The Bradford Grand Mosque is the largest mosque by capacity in the United Kingdom, and the largest in Yorkshire and the Humber. | image_size = 250px | population = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''United Kingdom: 3,998,875 – 6.0% (2021)'''<br/>{{Flagicon|ENG}} England: 3,801,186 – 6.7% (2021)<ref name=2021_censusE&W>{{cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021|title=Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021 |publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=29 November 2022}}</ref><br>{{Flagicon|SCO}} Scotland: 119,872 – 2.2% (2022)<ref name="2015census_Scot">{{cite web |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/media/trbdxzme/scotland-s-census-2022-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion-chart-data.xlsx |title=Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion - Chart data |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=21 May 2024 |website=Scotland's Census |publisher=National Records of Scotland |access-date=21 May 2024 }} [https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/search-the-census#/search-by Alternative URL] 'Search data by location' > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Religion'</ref><br/>{{Flagicon|WAL}} Wales: 66,947 – 2.2% (2021)<ref name=2021_censusE&W/><br/>Northern Ireland: 10,870 – 0.6% (2021)<ref name=NICensus2021>{{cite web|url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-b21.xlsx|title=MS-B21: Religion|publisher=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency|date= 22 September 2022|accessdate=7 January 2023}}</ref> | founder = | regions = | tablehdr = | region1 = Greater London | pop1 = 1,318,754 – 15.0%<ref>{{Cite web |title=TS030 - Religion Edit query|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/c2021ts030|access-date=29 November 2022|publisher=Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics|website=www.nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref> | ref1 = | region2 = West Midlands | pop2 = 569,963 – 9.6% | ref2 = | region3 = North West England | pop3 = 563,105 – 7.6% | ref3 = | region4 = Yorkshire and the Humber | pop4 = 442,533 – 8.1% | ref4 = | religions = Majority Sunni Islam with sizeable Shia minorities | scriptures = | languages = English<br />{{hlist|Urdu|Arabic|Punjabi{{efn|Including Pahari-Pothwari}}|Sindhi|Bengali|Gujarati|Turkish|Somali|Persian<ref>{{cite web|title=2011 Census: Quick Statistics|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-and-quick-statistics-for-wards-and-output-areas-in-england-and-wales/STB-2011-census--quick-statistics-for-england-and-wales--march-2011.html#tab-Main-language|access-date=17 May 2014}}</ref>}} | related-c = | website = | notes = }} {{Islam in Europe by country}} {{Islam by country}} Islam is the second-largest religion in the United Kingdom, with results from the 2021 Census recording just under four million Muslims, or 6.0% of the total population in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021 |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Religion (detailed) - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS031/editions/2021/versions/1 |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref> London has the largest population and greatest proportion (15%) of Muslims in the country.<ref name="EW Census 2011">{{cite web|title=2011 Census: KS209EW Religion, local authorities in England and Wales (Excel sheet 270Kb)|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks209ew.xls|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=7 July 2014|format=xls|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126035854/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks209ew.xls|archive-date=26 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="Scot Census 2011">{{cite web|title=Scotland's Census 2011 – National Records of Scotland Table KS209SCa – Religion (UK harmonised)|url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/scotland/KS209SCa.pdf|publisher=National Records of Scotland|access-date=7 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110172330/http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/scotland/KS209SCa.pdf|archive-date=10 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="NI Census 2011">{{cite web|title=Religion – Full Detail: QS218NI|url=http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census%202011_Excel/2011/QS218NI.xls|publisher=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency|access-date=7 July 2014|format=xls|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110173315/http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census%202011_Excel/2011/QS218NI.xls|archive-date=10 November 2013}}</ref> The vast majority of British Muslims in the United Kingdom adhere to Sunni Islam,<ref>[http://www.muslimsinbritain.org/resources/masjid_report.pdf UK Masjid Statistics] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100911022954/http://www.muslimsinbritain.org/resources/masjid_report.pdf |date=11 September 2010 }} Muslims In Britain (18 August 2010)</ref> while smaller numbers are associated with Shia Islam.
During the Middle Ages, there was limited cultural exchange between Christendom and the Islamic world.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lewis |first=Bernard |date=February 1957 |title=The Muslim Discovery of Europe |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=409–416 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00061954}}</ref> There was no established Muslim presence in the British Isles, though a small number of Crusaders are recorded as having converted in the East, including Robert of St Albans. During the Elizabethan era, contacts became more explicit as the Tudors pursued diplomatic and commercial relations with Muslim powers, including the Ottoman Empire, in part to counter Catholic Habsburg Spain.
As the British Empire expanded, Britain came to rule territories with large Muslim populations; some Muslim seamen (lascars) are known to have settled in Britain from the mid-18th century onwards. In the 19th century, Victorian Orientalism contributed to growing interest in Islam and a number of Britons, including members of the aristocracy, converted. Marmaduke Pickthall, an English writer and convert to Islam, produced the first complete English-language translation of the Qur'an by a British Muslim in 1930. Under the British Indian Army, large numbers of Muslims fought for the United Kingdom during the First and Second World Wars, with some receiving the Victoria Cross. In the decades after the Second World War—particularly following the partition of India in 1947-many Muslims from what is now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh settled permanently in Britain.
Today, British Muslims are ethnically diverse. South Asians form the largest share of Muslims in Britain,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Shaw |first=Alison |date=4 April 2011 |title=Review of ''Crime and Muslim Britain: Culture and the Politics of Criminology among British Pakistanis'' by Marta Bolognani |journal=Journal of Islamic Studies |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=288–291 |doi=10.1093/jis/etr020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Muslims in Britain: An Introduction |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-83006-5 |location=Cambridge}}</ref> alongside significant Turkish, Arab, and Somali communities, as well as an estimated 100,000 British converts from a range of backgrounds.<ref name="BBC_converts_2011">{{cite news |last=Nye |first=Catrin |date=4 January 2011 |title=The white Britons converting to Islam |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-12075931 |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Muslims have the youngest average age profile among the major religious groups in the United Kingdom.<ref name="2011census" /> The Muslim population has grown significantly in recent decades, at a rate several times faster than the population overall.<ref name="ONSReligion2021">{{cite web |title=Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021 |website=Office for National Statistics |date=29 November 2022 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021 |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> Recent broad estimates suggest around 5,000–6,000 people convert to Islam each year, with women forming the majority in survey-based studies.<ref name="FaithMattersConverts">{{cite report |title=A Minority within a Minority: A Report on Converts to Islam in the United Kingdom |publisher=Faith Matters |date=2010 |url=https://faith-matters.org/images/stories/fm-reports/a-minority-within-a-minority-a-report-on-converts-to-islam-in-the-uk.pdf |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref>
==History== ===Early history=== {{Main|List of Arabic loanwords in English|Islam in England}}
[[File:Offa king of Mercia 757 793 gold dinar copy of dinar of the Abassid Caliphate 774.jpg|thumb|A mancus/gold dinar of king Offa, copied from the dinars of the Abbasid Caliphate (774). It includes the Arabic text "Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah", a line from the Shahada.]]
The earliest evidence of Islamic influence in England dates to the 8th century when Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia, minted a coin with an Arabic inscription, largely a copy of coins issued by a contemporary Abbasid ruler Caliph Al-Mansur.<ref>{{cite web|title=Offa Dinar|url=http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1093298&partId=1|website=British Museum|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805060856/http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1093298&partId=1|archive-date=5 August 2017}}</ref> In the 16th century, Muslims from North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia were present in London, working in a range of roles, from diplomats and translators to merchants and musicians.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35843991|title=The First Muslims in England|author-link1=Jerry Brotton|first=Jerry|last=Brotton|work=BBC News|date=21 March 2016|access-date=21 March 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321013653/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35843991|archive-date=21 March 2016}}</ref>
In 1627, the Salé Rovers, from the Republic of Salé (in modern-day Morocco) occupied the English island of Lundy for five years. The Barbary pirates, under the command of the Dutch Muslim Jan Janszoon, flew an Ottoman flag over the island. Slaving raids were made embarking from Lundy by the Barbary pirates, and captured Europeans were held on Lundy before being sent to Algiers to be sold as slaves.<ref>{{cite book |isbn=978-0340895092 |title=White Gold: The Forgotten Story of North Africa's One Million European Slaves |author=Giles Milton |year=2005 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Pirates who got away with it |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article1449736.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302095231/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article1449736.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 2, 2007 |access-date=25 November 2007 |publisher=The Times Online |location=London |work=The Times |date=28 February 2007 |first=Simon |last=de Bruxelles}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Piracy: the complete history |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=USiyy1ZA-BsC&pg=PA91|publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1846032400 |last=Konstam |first=Angus |year=2008 |page=91 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Europe: A History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jrVW9W9eiYMC&pg=PA561|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0198201717 |last=Davies |first=Norman |year=1996 |page=561}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Corbett | first1=Theodore | title=A Maritime History of the American Revolutionary War: An Atlantic-Wide Conflict over Independence and Empire | date=30 June 2023 | publisher=Pen and Sword Maritime | isbn=978-1-3990-4043-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEK8EAAAQBAJ&dq=Jan+Janszoon,+flew+an+Ottoman+flag+over+Lundy&pg=RA1-PT133 }}</ref>
===Interactions under British Empire=== {{Main|Company rule in India|British Raj}}
[[File:I'tisam-ud-Din.png|thumb|Bengali Muslim diplomat I'tisam-ud-Din was the first educated South Asian to have travelled to the United Kingdom in 1765.]] [[File:33rd Punjabis (15 Punjab) (PMs) 1910.jpg|thumb|right|Punjabi Muslims of the 33rd Punjabis, British Indian Army]] Bengal was annexed by the East India Company from the quasi-independent Nawabs of Bengal following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The manufactured goods produced in Bengal directly contributed to the Industrial Revolution in Britain,<ref name="tong">{{cite book |author=Junie T. Tong |year=2016 |title=Finance and Society in 21st Century China: Chinese Culture Versus Western Markets |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_UQGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA151 |publisher=CRC Press |page=151 |isbn=978-1-317-13522-7}}</ref><ref name="esposito">{{cite book |editor1=John L. Esposito |editor1-link=John L. Esposito |year=2004 |title=The Islamic World: Past and Present |volume=1: Abba - Hist. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KZcohRpc4OsC&pg=PT190 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=174 |isbn=978-0-19-516520-3}}</ref><ref name="ray">{{cite book |author=Indrajit Ray |year=2011 |title=Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757–1857) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHOrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |publisher=Routledge |pages=7–10 |isbn=978-1-136-82552-1}}</ref><ref>Shombit Sengupta, [http://www.financialexpress.com/archive/bengals-plunder-gifted-the-british-industrial-revolution/576476/ Bengals plunder gifted the British Industrial Revolution] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801120317/http://www.financialexpress.com/archive/bengals-plunder-gifted-the-british-industrial-revolution/576476/ |date=1 August 2017 }}, ''The Financial Express'', 8 February 2010</ref> with the textiles produced in Bengal being used to support British industries such as textile manufacturing, aided by the invention of devices such as the spinning jenny.<ref name="tong"/><ref name="esposito"/><ref name="ray"/> With the establishment of Crown control in India after 1857, the British Empire came to rule over a large Muslim population.<ref name="motadel">David Motadel (2014), [https://books.google.com/books?id=u0RYBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA267 ''Islam and the European Empires'', page 267], Oxford University Press</ref><ref name="robinson">Francis Robinson (2001), [https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/the-british-empire-and-the-muslim-world(d3ea8d76-c7d4-47d9-b56b-23baafdbb13e).html The British Empire and the Muslim world] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801032559/https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/the-british-empire-and-the-muslim-world(d3ea8d76-c7d4-47d9-b56b-23baafdbb13e).html |date=1 August 2017 }}, ''The Oxford History of the British Empire'', volume 4, pages 398-420, Oxford University Press</ref><ref name="britannica">{{cite EB1911 |first=Flora Louise |last=Lugard |wstitle=British Empire |chapter=Justice, &c.|page=615}}</ref> The first educated South Asian to travel to Europe and live in Britain was I'tisam-ud-Din, a Bengali Muslim cleric, munshi and diplomat to the Mughal Empire who arrived in 1765 with his servant Muhammad Muqim during the reign of King George III.<ref name=buckland>C.E. Buckland, Dictionary of Indian Biography, Haskell House Publishers Ltd, 1968, p.217</ref> He wrote of his experiences and travels in his Persian book, {{transliteration|fa|Shigurf-nama-i-Wilayat}} (or 'Wonder Book of Europe').<ref>{{cite news|title=For casual reader and connoisseur alike|last=Alam|first=Shahid|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=12 May 2012|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-233759}}</ref>
In South Asia, specifically, the British ruled over one of the largest Muslim populations in the world.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} Upon coming into contact with such a population, the British authorities forged a uniquely Muslim identity for the local believers. This was, in part, due to the way British historians periodised South Asian history into an "ancient" Hindu one and a "medieval" Muslim one. Under the system, the colonial period was classified as "modern".<ref name="Ali 382–407">{{Cite journal|last=Ali|first=Daud|date=3 July 2014|title=The idea of the medieval in the writing of South Asian history: contexts, methods and politics|journal=Social History|volume=39|issue=3|pages=382–407|doi=10.1080/03071022.2014.942521|s2cid=143855459|issn=0307-1022|url=https://zenodo.org/record/3374590}}</ref> Debate rages on concerning the utility and legitimacy of these labels themselves. Problems with these labels range from the connotations coupled with the word 'medieval' to the implications related to labelling the colonial era as "modern". The term ''medieval'' itself is quite controversial. Historians writing in journals relating to the time period have asked whether the term is a "tyrannous construct" or an "alien conceptual hegemony".<ref name="Ali 382–407"/> This is because the label was originally developed during the study of European history to mark the period in between the fall of the Roman Empire and the fall of Constantinople.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
Such classifications done by British historians throughout their long period of rule paved the way for a more cohesive Muslim identity. In the eighteenth century, this seemed unlikely. Muslims who hailed from Afghan, Turk, Persian, or Arab roots did not find their Muslim identities especially salient. Mughal courts divided not into Hindu or Muslim factions but Persian and Turkish ones. Converts to the religion outside of courtly life, the majority of the Muslim population in the Subcontinent, too were more focused on their regional and lingual cultural identities-whether that be Bengali, Punjabi, Sindhi, or Gujarati.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Robinson|first=Francis|date=December 1998|title=The British Empire and Muslim Identity in South Asia|journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society|volume=8|pages=271–289|doi=10.2307/3679298|issn=0080-4401|jstor=3679298|s2cid=154772583 }}</ref>
The first group of Muslims to come to Great Britain in significant numbers, in the 18th century, were lascars (sailors) recruited from the Indian subcontinent, largely from the Bengal region, to work for the East India Company on British ships, some of whom settled down and took local wives.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Counterflows to Colonialism|first=Michael Herbert|last=Fisher|year=2006|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=81-7824-154-4|pages=111–9, 129–30, 140, 154–6, 160–8, 181}}</ref> Due to the majority being lascars, the earliest Muslim communities were found in port towns. Naval cooks also came, many of them from the Sylhet district of British Bengal (now in Bangladesh). One of the most famous early Asian immigrants to England was the Bengali Muslim entrepreneur Sake Dean Mahomet, a captain of the East India Company who in 1810 founded London's first Indian restaurant, the Hindoostanee Coffee House.<ref>{{cite web|title=Curry house founder is honoured|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4290124.stm|publisher=BBC|access-date=5 July 2014|date=29 September 2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801010324/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4290124.stm|archive-date=1 August 2017}}</ref>
Between 1803 and 1813, there were more than 10,000 lascars from the Indian subcontinent visiting British port cities and towns.<ref name="Fisher2004">{{cite book|last=Fisher|first=Michael H. |title=Counterflows to Colonialism: Indian Travellers and Settlers in Britain, 1600-1857|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iPHqigUD6FUC|year=2004|publisher=Permanent Black|location=Delhi|isbn=978-81-7824-154-8|pages=140, 154–6, 160–8, 172}}</ref> By 1842, 3,000 lascars visited the UK annually, and by 1855, 12,000 lascars were arriving annually in British ports. In 1873, 3,271 lascars arrived in Britain.<ref name="Ansari">{{cite book |first=Humayun|last=Ansari|title=The Infidel Within: The History of Muslims in Britain, 1800 to the Present|year=2004|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=1-85065-685-1|page=35}}</ref> Throughout the early 19th century lascars visited Britain at a rate of 1,000 every year,<ref name="Fisher2004"/> which increased to a rate of 10,000 to 12,000 every year throughout the late 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|first=Diane|last=Robinson-Dunn|title=Lascar Sailors and English Converts: The Imperial Port and Islam in late 19th-Century England|publisher=Seascapes, Littoral Cultures, and Trans-Oceanic Exchanges|date=February 2003|url=http://www.historycooperative.org/proceedings/seascapes/dunn.html|access-date=13 January 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916081312/http://www.historycooperative.org/proceedings/seascapes/dunn.html|archive-date= 2012-09-16}}</ref><ref name = behal>{{cite book |editor-last1=Behal |editor-first1=Rana P. |editor-last2=van der Linden |editor-first2=Marcel |year=2006 |title=Coolies, Capital and Colonialism: Studies in Indian Labour History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oy67XQk5cukC&pg=PA114 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=114 |isbn=978-0-521-69974-7}}</ref> A prominent English convert of the 19th century was Henry Stanley, 3rd Baron Stanley of Alderley, who became a Muslim in 1862. Although not a convert himself, the Victorian Age adventurer, Sir Richard Francis Burton visited Mecca in disguise, documented in ''The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night''. At the beginning of World War I, there were 51,616 South Asian lascars working on British ships, the majority of whom were of Bengali descent.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Infidel Within: The History of Muslims in Britain, 1800 to the Present|first=Humayun|last=Ansari|year=2004|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=1-85065-685-1|page=37}}</ref> In 1932, the Indian National Congress survey of 'all Indians outside India' (which included modern Pakistani and Bangladeshi territories) estimated that there were 7,128 Indians living in the United Kingdom.
By 1911, the British Empire had a Muslim population of 94 million, larger than the empire's 58 million Christian population.<ref name="britannica"/> By the 1920s, the British Empire included roughly half of the world's Muslim population.<ref name="robinson"/> More than 400,000 Muslim soldiers of the British Indian Army fought for Britain during World War I, where 62,060 were killed in action.<ref>[https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/forgotten-army-400000-muslim-soldiers-9589884 The 'forgotten' army of 400,000 Muslim soldiers who fought for British freedom in World War I] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319093714/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/forgotten-army-400000-muslim-soldiers-9589884 |date=19 March 2018 }}, ''Daily Mirror'', 9 January 2017</ref> Muslim soldiers of the British Indian Army later fought for Britain against the Nazis in World War II,<ref>Ziauddin Sardar (2012), [https://books.google.com/books?id=38OHCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131 ''Critical Muslim 2: The Idea of Islam'', page 131], Oxford University Press</ref> where Muslim soldiers accounted for up to 40%<ref name="huffpost">{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-muslims-won-the-secon_b_5202541|title=How Muslims Won the Second World War|first1=Azeem|last1=Ibrahim|date=24 April 2014|website=HuffPost}}</ref> of the 2.5 million troops serving the British Indian Army.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mE04D9PMpAC&pg=PA361|title=Encyclopedia of the Developing World|first=Thomas M.|last=Leonard|date=8 August 2005|publisher=Psychology Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9781579583880}}</ref> David Lloyd George, British Prime Minister from 1916 to 1922, stated: "we are the greatest Mahomedan power in the world and one-fourth of the population of the British Empire is Mahomedan. There have been no more loyal adherents to the throne and no more effective and loyal supporters of the Empire in its hour of trial." This statement was later reiterated by Gandhi in 1920.<ref name="motadel"/> Winston Churchill also stated in 1942: "We must not on any account break with the Moslems, who represent a hundred million people, and the main army elements on which we must rely for the immediate fighting."<ref name="huffpost"/>
[[File:Marmaduke Pickthall Portrait.jpg|thumb|right|Marmaduke Pickthall authored an English language translation of the Qur'an in 1930.]]
The Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking was the first purpose-built mosque in Britain, and was built in 1889. In the same year, Abdullah Quilliam installed a mosque in a terrace in Liverpool, which became the Liverpool Muslim Institute.<ref name="BBC_Quilliam_firstUKmosque" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Liverpool Mosque and Muslim Institute|url=http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/liverpool-mosque-and-muslim-institute|publisher=Open University|access-date=5 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519093128/http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/liverpool-mosque-and-muslim-institute|archive-date=19 May 2014}}</ref> The first mosque in London was the Fazl Mosque, established in 1924, commonly called the London mosque.
Quran translators Yusuf Ali and Marmaduke Pickthall, who authored ''The Meaning of the Glorious Koran: An Explanatory Translation'' in 1930, were both trustees of the Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking and the East London Mosque.<ref>Khizar Humayun Ansari, 'Ali, Abdullah Yusuf (1872–1953)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oct 2012; online edn, Jan 2013 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/95416, accessed 6 February 2020]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eastlondonmosque.org.uk/history |title=East London Mosque - London Muslim Centre |work=East London Mosque|date=12 February 2017 |access-date=6 February 2020}}</ref>
Other aristocratic British converts included Sir Archibald Hamilton, 5th Baronet, Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley, St John Philby and Zainab Cobbold (the first Muslim woman born in Britain to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca).
===Immigration and post-World War II=== [[File:Muslims in Britain- Eid Ul Fitr Celebrations, 1941 D5142.jpg|thumb|Muslims during an Eid al-Fitr feast at the East London Mosque in 1941]] Large-scale immigration of Muslims to Britain began after World War II, as a result of the destruction and labour shortages caused by the war.<ref name="barbera">MariaCaterina La Barbera (2014), [https://books.google.com/books?id=q_yWBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA230 ''Identity and Migration in Europe: Multidisciplinary Perspectives'', page 230], Springer Science+Business Media</ref><ref>Richard D. Hecht, Vincent F. Biondo (2010), [https://books.google.com/books?id=ivnWCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA859 ''Religion and Everyday Life and Culture'', page 859], ABC-CLIO</ref> Muslim migrants from former British colonies, predominantly India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh,<ref name="barbera"/> were recruited in large numbers by government and businesses to rebuild the country.<ref>[https://cla.umn.edu/ihrc/news-events/other/muslim-migration-europe Muslim Migration to Europe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701092902/https://cla.umn.edu/ihrc/news-events/other/muslim-migration-europe |date=1 July 2017 }}, University of Minnesota, 17 June 2015</ref> Large numbers of doctors recruited from India and Pakistan also played a role in the establishment of the National Health Service (NHS).<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/jun/18/nhs60.nhs2 How migrants helped make the NHS] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529154730/http://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/jun/18/nhs60.nhs2 |date=29 May 2014 }}, ''The Guardian'', 18 June 2008</ref>
British Asians (both Muslim and non-Muslim) faced increased discrimination following Powell's "Rivers of Blood" speech and the establishment of the National Front (NF) in the late 1960s. This included overt racism in the form of "Paki bashing", predominantly from white power skinheads, the National Front, and the British National Party (BNP), throughout the 1970s and 1980s.<ref>Nahid Afrose Kabir (2012), [https://books.google.com/books?id=GRPsAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT53 ''Young British Muslims''], Edinburgh University Press</ref> Drawing inspiration from the civil rights movement, the black power movement, and the anti-apartheid movement, young British Pakistani and British Bangladeshi activists began a number of anti-racist Asian youth movements in the 1970s and 1980s, including the Bradford Youth Movement in 1977, the Bangladeshi Youth Movement following the murder of Altab Ali in 1978, and the Newham Youth Movement following the murder of Akhtar Ali Baig in 1980.<ref>Timothy Peace (2015), [https://books.google.com/books?id=9JFMCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT55 ''European Social Movements and Muslim Activism: Another World but with Whom?'', page 55], Springer Science+Business Media</ref>
The majority of mosques founded after World War II in Britain are reflective of the major strands of Sunni Islam predominating in the Indian subcontinent; namely Deobandi and Barelvi (the latter of which is more Sufi-orientated). There are also a smaller number of Salafi-oriented mosques, inspired by Abul A'la Maududi and {{transliteration|ar|Jamaat-e-Islami}}, are representative of the Arab mainstream or are associated with the UK Turkish Islamic Trust. In addition to this there are Twelver Shīʿa Mosques. The Murabitun World Movement founded by Abdalqadir as-Sufi (born Ian Dallas) in 1968 is a branch of the Sufi Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri tariqa which was run out of Achnagairn in the Scottish Highlands.
Martin Lings, an English Muslim scholar, published a biography of Muhammad in 1983 entitled ''Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources''. The publication of Salman Rushdie's novel ''The Satanic Verses'' in 1988 caused major controversy. A number of Muslims in Britain condemned the book for blasphemy. On 2 December 1988, the book was publicly burned at a demonstration in Bolton attended by 7,000 Muslims, followed by a similar demonstration and book-burning in Bradford on 14 January 1989.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lustig|first1=Robin|last2=Bailey|first2=Martin|last3=de Bruxelles|first3=Simon|last4=Mather|first4=Ian|title=War of the Word|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1989/feb/19/race.world|access-date=7 July 2014|work=The Observer|date=19 February 1989|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008235518/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1989/feb/19/race.world|archive-date=8 October 2014}}</ref>
Recently, several wars in the Balkans, Middle East and North Africa have led to many Muslims migrating to the United Kingdom. In 1992, with the outbreak of the Bosnian War, a large number of Bosniaks who fled the ethnic cleansing and genocide ended up settling in Britain. Their numbers currently exist at between 10,000 and 15,000 including their descendants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK Bosnian Community {{!}} Bosnian Genocide Educational Trust |url=https://www.bget-uk.org/bosniancommunity |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117105529/https://www.bget-uk.org/bosniancommunity |archive-date=January 17, 2022 |access-date=January 17, 2022 |website=BGET}}</ref> Just over three years later, an insurgency in Kosovo beginning in 1995, eventually evolving into the Kosovo War in 1998, would see 29,000 Kosovo Albanians flee their homes and settle in Britain. It is commonly believed that many Albanians from Albania moved to the United Kingdom at this time, posing as refugees from Kosovo, in search of a better life in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Table 1.3: Overseas-born population in the United Kingdom, excluding some residents in communal establishments, by sex, by country of birth, January 2019 to December 2019 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=%2fpeoplepopulationandcommunity%2fpopulationandmigration%2finternationalmigration%2fdatasets%2fpopulationoftheunitedkingdombycountryofbirthandnationality%2fjanuary2019todecember2019/populationbycountryofbirthandnationalityjan19todec1919052020143312.xls}}</ref>
A mere decade later, the Arab Spring (and later Arab Winter) brought a wave of Muslim refugees fleeing civil war in Syria, war in Iraq, two wars in Libya, war in Yemen and countless other insurgencies by political groups and other terrorist organisations which exerted control over vast swathes of territory in the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-06-13 |title=Islamic State and the crisis in Iraq and Syria in maps |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27838034 |access-date=2024-04-21 |work=BBC News }}</ref> Britain took on 20,000 refugees from Syria<ref>{{Cite web |title=The UK's Syria Resettlement Progamme: Looking Back, and Ahead |url=https://www.unhcr.org/uk/news/announcements/uks-syria-resettlement-progamme-looking-back-and-ahead |access-date=2024-04-21 |website=UNHCR UK }}</ref> and 11,647 from Iraq.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK accused of 'washing its hands' of Iraqi refugees |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/iraq-war-iraqi-refugees-uk-asylum-rejected/}}</ref>
The growing number of Muslims resulted in the establishment of more than 1,500 mosques by 2007.<ref>Dominic Casciani (29 November 2007) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7118503.stm The battle over mosque reform] BBC News (BBC). Retrieved 3 May 2009.</ref>
==Demographics== {{Historical populations |title = Muslim Population of the United Kingdom |type = |footnote = Religious Affiliation was not recorded in the census prior to 2001. |align = |width = |state = |shading = |pop_name = |percentages = |source = |2001|1,591,126 |2011|2,786,635 |2021|3,998,875}} thumb|Distribution of British Muslims by local authority, 2021 census {| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto;" |+ Muslims in the United Kingdom by region and country |- ! rowspan="2" |Region / Country ! colspan="2" |2021{{refn|2021/22: England and Wales,<ref>{{Cite web |title=TS030 - Religion Edit query|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/c2021ts030|access-date=2022-11-29|website=www.nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref> Northern Ireland,<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=MS-B21: Religion - full detail |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-b21.xlsx |website=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.}}</ref> and Scotland<ref>[https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion/#contents "Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion"]. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.</ref>}} ! colspan="2" |2011{{refn|2011: England and Wales,<ref>{{Cite web |title=KS209EW (Religion) - Nomis - 2011 |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks209ew |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref> Northern Ireland,<ref>{{cite web |title=Census 2011: Religion: KS211NI (administrative geographies) |url=http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/Theme.aspx?themeNumber=136&themeName=Census%202011 |publisher=nisra.gov.uk |access-date=18 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225122750/http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/Theme.aspx?themeNumber=136&themeName=Census%202011 |archive-date=25 February 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ni2011">{{cite web|title=Census 2011: Religion - Full Detail: QS218NI - Northern Ireland|url=http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census%202011_Excel/2011/QS218NI.xls|publisher=nisra.gov.uk|access-date=1 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110173315/http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census%202011_Excel/2011/QS218NI.xls|archive-date=10 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> and Scotland<ref>{{cite web |title=Scotland's Census 2011: Table KS209SCa |url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/scotland/KS209SCa.pdf |publisher=scotlandcensus.gov.uk |access-date=26 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110172330/http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/scotland/KS209SCa.pdf |archive-date=10 November 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} ! colspan="2" |2001{{refn|2001: England and Wales,<ref>{{Cite web |title=KS007 - Religion - Nomis - 2001 |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/ks007 |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref> Northern Ireland<ref>{{cite web |title=Census 2001: Religion (administrative geographies) |url=http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/Theme.aspx?themeNumber=135&themeName=Census%202001 |publisher=nisra.gov.uk |access-date=18 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225121003/http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/Theme.aspx?themeNumber=135&themeName=Census%202001 |archive-date=25 February 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nisra.gov.uk/Census/2001%20Census%20Results/Key%20Statistics/KeyStatisticstoOutputAreaLevel.html |title=Table KS07c: Religion (full list with 10 or more persons) |publisher=nisra.gov.uk |access-date=18 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225191541/http://www.nisra.gov.uk/Census/2001%20Census%20Results/Key%20Statistics/KeyStatisticstoOutputAreaLevel.html |archive-date=25 February 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> and Scotland<ref>{{cite web|title=Summary: Religious Group Demographics|date=20 June 2008 |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/Equalities/DataGrid/Religion/RelPopMig|publisher=scotland.gov.uk|access-date=18 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122071712/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/Equalities/DataGrid/Religion/RelPopMig|archive-date=22 January 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>}} |- !Number !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} !Number !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} !Number !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} |- |'''{{flagicon|England}} England''' | '''3,801,186''' | '''6.7%''' | '''2,660,116''' | '''5.0%''' | '''1,524,887''' | '''3.1%''' |- | —Greater London | 1,318,754 | 15.0% | 1,012,823 | 12.4% | 607,083 | 8.5% |- | —West Midlands | 569,963 | 9.6% | 376,152 | 6.7% | 216,184 | 4.1% |- | —North West | 563,105 | 7.6% | 356,458 | 5.1% | 204,261 | 3.0% |- | —Yorkshire and the Humber | 442,533 | 8.1% | 326,050 | 6.2% | 189,089 | 3.8% |- | —South East | 309,067 | 3.3% | 201,651 | 2.3% | 108,725 | 1.4% |- | —East | 234,744 | 3.3% | 148,341 | 2.5% | 78,931 | 1.5% |- | —East Midlands | 210,766 | 4.3% | 140,649 | 3.1% | 70,224 | 1.7% |- | —South West | 80,152 | 1.4% | 51,228 | 1.0% | 23,465 | 0.5% |- | —North East | 72,102 | 2.7% | 46,764 | 1.8% | 26,925 | 1.1% |- |'''{{flagicon|Scotland}} Scotland''' | '''119,872'''{{efn|name=Census2021/22|Scotland held its census a year later after the rest of the United Kingdom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, data shown is for 2022 as opposed to 2021.}} | '''2.2%''' | '''76,737''' | '''1.4%''' | '''42,557''' | '''0.8%''' |- |'''{{flagicon|Wales}} Wales''' | '''66,947''' | '''2.2%''' | '''45,950''' | '''1.5%''' | '''21,739''' | '''0.7%''' |- | '''Northern Ireland''' | '''10,870''' | '''0.6%''' | '''3,832''' | '''0.2%''' | '''1,943''' | '''0.1%''' |- !'''{{flag|United Kingdom}}''' ! '''3,998,875''' ! '''6.0%''' ! '''2,786,635''' ! '''4.4%''' ! '''1,591,126''' ! '''2.7%''' |}
{{Historical populations |title= Muslim population of England and Wales |1961 | 50,000<ref name=BRIN/> |1971 |226,000<ref name=BRIN/> |1981 |553,000<ref name=BRIN/> |1991 |950,000<ref name=BRIN/> |2001 |1,600,000<ref name=BRIN/> |2011 |2,706,066<ref name=2011census/> |2021 |3,868,133<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021 |title=Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021 - Office for National Statistics}}</ref>}} thumb|Muslim population pyramid in 2021 in England and Wales thumb|Ethnic composition of British Muslims, 2021 census<ref name="RM031 21">{{cite web |title=RM031: Ethnic group by religion |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/RM031/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/24813f2b-1853-4d45-a2cf-ec5124ffc082#get-data |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> {{Pie chart|thumb=right|caption=Year of arrival (2021 census, England and Wales)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religion and year of arrival in the UK|publisher = Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/RM031/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/1bb3987f-0160-4508-9176-3be3c03bf142#get-data |access-date=28 March 2023 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>|label1=Born in the UK|value1=51.0|color1=DodgerBlue| label2=Before 1971|value2=2.2|color2=Gray| label3=1971 to 1980|value3=3.2|color3=Green| label4=1981 to 1990|value4=4.0|color4=DarkOrange| label5=1991 to 2000|value5=7.4|color5=DarkKhaki| label6=2001 to 2010|value6=13.3|color6=Khaki| label7=2011 to 2021|value7=18.9|color7=Gold|}}
According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, Muslims in England and Wales numbered 3,868,133, or 6.5% of the population.<ref name=2021census>{{Cite web |title=Religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021 |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref> Northern Ireland recorded a population of 10,870, or 0.6% of the population, with the highest number of Muslims recorded in Belfast at 5,487, or 1.59% of the population.<ref>{{cite web |title=MS-B20 Religion - intermediate detail |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-b20.xlsx |publisher=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency |access-date=30 November 2023}}</ref> The equivalent census was conducted a year later in Scotland and recorded a population of 119,872, or 2.2% of the population. In Scotland, Glasgow recorded the highest number of Muslims at 48,766, or 7.86% of the population.<ref name="Religion_22">{{cite web |title=Council Area 2019 by Religion by Individuals |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/search-the-census#/location/topics/list?topic=Ethnic%20group,%20national%20identity,%20language%20and%20religion&categoryId=1 |publisher=National Records of Scotland |access-date=24 May 2024}} Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion > Religion UV205</ref> The top 25 local authorities in the United Kingdom with the highest percentage of Muslims based on the 2021 census were:<ref>{{cite web |title=TS030 - Religion |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/c2021ts030 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk |publisher=Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics |access-date=30 November 2022}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%;" |+ Top 25 local authorities (2021 Census) |- ! Local authority !! Population !! Per cent |- | London Borough of Tower Hamlets || 123,912 || 39.93% |- | Blackburn with Darwen || 54,146 || 34.99% |- | London Borough of Newham || 122,146 || 34.80% |- | Luton || 74,191 || 32.94% |- | London Borough of Redbridge || 97,068 || 31.29% |- | City of Bradford || 166,846 || 30.53% |- | Birmingham || 341,811 || 29.85% |- | Slough || 46,661 || 29.44% |- | Pendle || 24,900 || 26.00% |- | Metropolitan Borough of Oldham || 59,031 || 24.38% |- | Leicester || 86,443 || 23.45% |- | Manchester || 122,962 || 22.28% |- | London Borough of Waltham Forest || 60,157 || 21.61% |- | London Borough of Brent || 72,574 || 21.36% |- | City of Westminster || 40,873 || 20.01% |- | Bolton || 58,997 || 19.93% |- | Rochdale || 42,121 || 18.82% |- | London Borough of Ealing || 68,907 || 18.77% |- | London Borough of Enfield || 61,477 || 18.63% |- | Kirklees || 80,046 || 18.48% |- | London Borough of Hounslow || 48,028 || 16.67% |- | Preston || 23,825 || 16.12% |- | London Borough of Camden || 33,830 || 16.10% |- | London Borough of Harrow || 41,503 || 15.89% |- | Hyndburn || 12,049 || 14.65% |- |}
In the 2021 census for England and Wales, the main places of birth were the United Kingdom at 1,974,479 people (51.0% of the total Muslim population), South Asia at 993,415 (25.7%), Africa at 366,133 (9.5%), other parts of Europe at 262,685 (6.8%) and the Middle East at 231,261 (6.0%). Among individual countries outside of the UK, the countries of Pakistan; Bangladesh; Somalia; India; Iraq; Turkey; Afghanistan; Iran; Syria; and Italy made up the top ten most common countries of birth for Muslims residing in England and Wales.<ref>{{cite web |title=Country of birth (extended) and religion |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/RM031/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/2667ef12-ec2e-44e7-a356-aeca1205bf53#get-data |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> 59.7% of Muslims identified as either Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Indian, 6.2% were of other Asian heritage, 10.8% identified as Black, 7.2% identified as Arab, 5.9% were White, 3.7% were of Mixed heritage, and the remaining 6.6% identified with other ethnic groups.<ref name="RM031 21" />
The Muslim population of England and Wales has grown consistently since World War II. Sophie Gilliat-Ray attributes the recent growth to "recent immigration, the higher than average birth rate, some conversion to Islam".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gilliat-Ray|first1=Sophie|title=Muslims in Britain|date=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521536882|page=117}}, reported in {{cite web|last1=Field|first1=Clive|title=How Many Muslims?|url=http://www.brin.ac.uk/news/2010/how-many-muslims/|website=British Religion in Numbers|access-date=7 July 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407210240/http://www.brin.ac.uk/news/2010/how-many-muslims/|archive-date=7 April 2015}}</ref> In 2017, Pew Research Center projected the population of Muslims in the United Kingdom to grow to 6.56 million (12.7% of the population) by 2050 under a zero migration scenario, or to 13.48 million (17.2%) under a high migration scenario.<ref>{{cite web |title=Europe's Growing Muslim Population |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/11/FULL-REPORT-FOR-WEB-POSTING.pdf |publisher=Pew Research Centre |access-date=29 November 2017}}</ref>
Several large cities have one area that is a majority Muslim even if the rest of the city has a fairly small Muslim population. In addition, it is possible to find small areas that are almost entirely Muslim: for example, Savile Town in Dewsbury.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirklees-pct.nhs.uk/fileadmin/documents/meetings/march_07/KPCT-07-42%20Report%20estate%20strategy.doc |title=Development of an Estates Strategy |access-date=25 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929124958/http://www.kirklees-pct.nhs.uk/fileadmin/documents/meetings/march_07/KPCT-07-42%20Report%20estate%20strategy.doc |archive-date=29 September 2007}} paragraph 4.3</ref>
Initial limited mosque availability meant that prayers were conducted in small rooms of council flats until the 1980s when more and larger facilities became available. Some synagogues and community buildings were turned into mosques and existing mosques began to expand their buildings. This process has continued down to the present day with the East London Mosque recently expanding into a large former car park where the London Muslim Centre is now used for prayers, recreational facilities and housing.<ref name=BDUK>{{cite web |url=https://www.surrey.ac.uk/cronem/files/BE04B01Ed01.pdf|title=Bangladeshi Diaspora in the UK: Some observations on socio-culturaldynamics, religious trends and transnational politics|publisher=University of Surrey|access-date=3 June 2008|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111172532/http://www.surrey.ac.uk/cronem/files/BE04B01Ed01.pdf|archive-date=11 January 2012}}</ref><ref name=bdirect/> Most people regard themselves as part of the {{transliteration|ar|ummah}}, and their identity is based on their religion rather than their ethnic group.<ref name=cardiff>{{cite web |url=http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/resources/wrkgpaper-93.pdf |title=Genetics, Religion and Identity: A Study of British Bangladeshis – 2004–2007 |publisher=School of Social Sciences – Cardiff University – funded by the Economic and Social Research Council |access-date=15 September 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003105738/http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/resources/wrkgpaper-93.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2008}}</ref>
The 2001 census recorded that there were 179,733 Muslims who described themselves as 'white'.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} 65% of white Muslims described themselves as "other white", and would likely have originated from locations such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Adygea, Chechnya, Albania, Turkey, Bulgaria, the region of East Macedonia and Thrace in Northern Greece, and North Macedonia.{{Original research inline|date=June 2015}} The remainder of white Muslims are converts and mostly identified themselves as White British and White Irish.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
Islam is the third-largest religious group of British Indian people, after Hinduism and Sikhism.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D6891.xls|title=Home - Office for National Statistics |website=www.statistics.gov.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318182409/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D6891.xls|archive-date=18 March 2007}}</ref> 8% of UK Muslims are of Indian descent,{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} principally those whose origins are in Gujarat, West Bengal, Telangana and Kerala. Gujarati Muslims from the Surat and Bharuch districts started to arrive from the 1940s when India was under British colonial rule, settling in the towns of Dewsbury and Batley in Yorkshire and in parts of Lancashire. {| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed sortable" style="border:1px ; background:#FFFFFF; text-align:left; clear:both; font-size:100%; margin: 0px auto 0px auto;" |- ! Census Year !! Number of Muslims !! Population of England and Wales !! Muslim (% of population) !! Registered mosques !! Muslims per mosque |- | 1961 || 50,000 || 46,196,000 || 0.11<ref name=BRIN>{{cite web | url=http://www.brin.ac.uk/wp-content/documents/Hindu-Muslim-Sikhpopulation-1961-2001-Gale-Peach-estimates.xls | title=Hindu, Muslim and Sikh populations | work=brin.ac.uk/figures | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329101119/http://www.brin.ac.uk/wp-content/documents/Hindu-Muslim-Sikhpopulation-1961-2001-Gale-Peach-estimates.xls | archive-date=29 March 2013 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> || 7 || 7,143 |- | 1971 || 226,000 || 49,152,000 || 0.46<ref name=BRIN /> || 30 || 7,533 |- | 1981 || 553,000 || 49,634,000 || 1.11<ref name=BRIN /> || 149 || 3,711 |- | 1991 || 950,000 || 51,099,000 || 1.86<ref name=BRIN /> || 443 || 2,144 |- | 2001 || 1,600,000 || 52,042,000 || 3.07<ref name=BRIN /> || 614 || 2,606 |- | 2011 || 2,706,000 || 56,076,000 || 4.83<ref name="2011census">{{cite news |title=Datablog: UK Census: religion by age, ethnicity and country of birth|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/may/16/uk-census-religion-age-ethnicity-country-of-birth|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=5 July 2014|date=16 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921081230/http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/may/16/uk-census-religion-age-ethnicity-country-of-birth|archive-date=21 September 2013|last=Sedghi|first=Ami}}</ref>|| 1,500 || 1,912 |- | 2021 || 3,868,133 || 59,597,542 || 6.5<ref name=2021census/> || – || – |}
===South Asian=== {{unreferenced section|date=October 2022}}
====Pakistanis==== {{see also|British Pakistanis}} The single largest group of Muslims in the United Kingdom are of Pakistani descent. Pakistanis were one of the first South Asian Muslim communities to permanently settle in the United Kingdom, arriving in England first in the late 1940s. Immigration from Mirpur in Pakistan grew from the late 1950s, accompanied by immigration from other parts of Pakistan especially from Punjab, particularly from the surrounding Punjab villages of Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Sialkot, Jhelum, Gujar Khan and Gujrat, in addition to from the north-west Punjab including the chhachhi Pathans and Pashtuns from Attock District, and some from villages of Ghazi, Nowshera and Peshawar. There is also a fairly large Punjabi community from East Africa found in London. People of Pakistani extraction are particularly notable in West Midlands, West Yorkshire, London, Lancashire/Greater Manchester and several industrial towns such as Luton, Slough and High Wycombe in the Home Counties. There are smaller numbers of Sindhis in Greater London. Pakistanis were traditionally working class but are slowly progressing into a Metropolitan middle class.
Chain migration played a significant role, as many of the early migrants helped bring their family members to the UK. Today, the British Mirpuri diaspora is one of the largest Kashmiri communities outside of South Asia, with strong ties to cities like Bradford, Birmingham, and Manchester.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coming to Manchester: Stories of South Asian migration to Manchester – Race Archive |url=https://www.racearchive.org.uk/coming-to-manchester-stories-of-south-asian-migration-to-manchester/ |access-date=2024-09-29}}</ref>
====Bangladeshis==== {{see also|British Bangladeshis}} [[File:East London Mosque - panoramio.jpg|thumb|The East London Mosque was one of the first in Britain to be allowed to use loudspeakers to broadcast the {{transliteration|ar|adhan}}.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Eade|first1=John|editor1-last=Metcalf|editor1-first=Barbara Daly |title=Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe|date=1996|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=0520204042 |chapter-url=http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft2s2004p0&chunk.id=s1.12.69&toc.id=ch12&brand=ucpress|access-date=19 April 2015|chapter=Nationalism, Community, and the Islamization of Space in London|quote=As one of the few mosques in Britain permitted to broadcast calls to prayer (azan), the mosque soon found itself at the center of a public debate about "noise pollution" when local non-Muslim residents began to protest.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/makingmuslimspac0000unse}}</ref>]]
People of Bangladeshi descent are the second largest Muslim community (after Pakistanis), 15% of Muslims in England and Wales are of Bangladeshi descent, one of the ethnic groups in the UK with the largest proportion of people following a single religion, being 92% Muslim.<ref>{{cite web |title=Office for National Statistics (ONS) – ONS |url=https://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D6891.xls |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318182409/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D6891.xls |archive-date=18 March 2007 |work=statistics.gov.uk}}</ref> The majority of these Muslims come from the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. Many mosques opened by the British Bangladeshi community are often named after Shah Jalal and other Sufi saints who took part in the Islamic conquest of Sylhet in 1303. British Bangladeshi Muslims are mainly concentrated in London (Tower Hamlets and Newham), Luton, Birmingham and Oldham. The Bangladeshi Muslim community in London forms 24% of the Muslim population, larger than any other ethnic group.<ref name=cen>{{cite web|url=http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/publications/factsandfigures/DMAG-Briefing2004-16-2001CensusProfilesBangladeshisinLondon.pdf |title=2001 Census Profiles: Bangladeshis in London|publisher=Greater London Authority|access-date=1 August 2004|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407115423/http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/publications/factsandfigures/DMAG-Briefing2004-16-2001CensusProfilesBangladeshisinLondon.pdf|archive-date=7 April 2005}}</ref> Other smaller Bangladeshi Muslim communities are present in Newcastle upon Tyne, Bradford, Manchester, Sunderland, Portsmouth, and Rochdale.
There are groups which are active throughout Bangladeshi communities such as The Young Muslim Organisation. It is connected to the Islamic Forum Europe, associated with the East London Mosque and the London Muslim Centre – all of which have connections with the Bangladeshi political party, the {{transliteration|ar|Jamaat-e-Islami}}.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} Other large groups include another Sunni movement, the Fultoli (founded in Sylhet),<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.3390/rel10100572|doi-access=free|title=In Search of Sylhet—The Fultoli Tradition in Britain|year=2019|last1=Ahmed|first1=Abdul-Azim|last2=Ali|first2=Mansur |journal=Religions|volume=10|issue=10|page=572}}</ref> and the Tablighi Jamaat – which is a missionary and revival movement,<ref name=jamaat>{{Cite web|last1=M. Jawed Iqbal |author2=Mufti Ebrahim Desai |title=Inviting to Islam |publisher=Ask Imam |date=9 June 2007 |url=http://www.askimam.org/fatwa/fatwa.php?askid=02baa777b4211ddad49f0b5256de3934 |access-date=16 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115113221/http://www.askimam.org/fatwa/fatwa.php?askid=02baa777b4211ddad49f0b5256de3934 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |author2-link=Mufti Ebrahim Desai }}</ref> and avoids political attention. The Hizb ut-Tahrir calls for the Khilafah (caliphate) and influences by publishing annual magazines, and lectures through mainly political concepts,<ref name=hizbu>{{cite web|url=http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.info/english/constitution.htm |title=Draft Constitution by Hizb ut-Tahrir |publisher=The Media office of Hizb-ut-Tahrir |access-date=16 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108040710/http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.info/english/constitution.htm |archive-date=8 January 2016 }}</ref> and the other which is a movement within Sunni Islam is the Salafi – who view the teachings of the first generations after Muhammed as the correct teachings,<ref name=salaf>{{cite web |url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/048.sbt.html#003.048.819|title=Compendium of Muslim texts – ''Volume 3, Book 48, Number 819''|publisher=University of Southern California|access-date=16 August 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990501171136/http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/048.sbt.html#003.048.819|archive-date=1 May 1999}}</ref> and appeals to younger Muslims as a way to differentiate themselves towards their elders.<ref name=BDUK/><ref name='Next'>''The Next Attack'', By Daniel Benjamin Steven Simon, {{ISBN|0-8050-7941-6}} – Page 55</ref> All these groups work to stimulate Islamic identity among local Bengalis or Muslims and particularly focus on the younger members of the communities.<ref name=bdirect>{{cite web|url=http://www.bdirectory.co.uk/index.php?id=190l |title=bdirectory: Islamist politics among Bangladeshis in the UK |publisher=David Garbin – Cronem, University of Surrey |access-date=27 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112131826/http://www.bdirectory.co.uk/index.php?id=190l |archive-date=12 January 2009}}</ref><ref name=elm>{{cite web |url=http://www.eastlondonmosque.org.uk/ |title=East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre |publisher=East London Mosque |access-date=26 July 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726052924/http://www.eastlondonmosque.org.uk/ |archive-date=26 July 2008}}</ref><ref name=open>{{cite web |url=http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/bangladeshi_3715.jsp |title=Bangladeshis in east London: from secular politics to Islam |publisher=Delwar Hussain – openDemocracy: free thinking for the world |access-date=27 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830004653/http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/bangladeshi_3715.jsp |archive-date=30 August 2008}}</ref> The British Bangladeshi community has held a strong point in Islam, often opening large mosques such as East London Mosque and Brick Lane Masjid, as well as opening madrassas and Islamic TV channels.
====Indians==== There are large numbers of Gujarati Muslims in Dewsbury, Blackburn (including Darwen), Bolton, Preston, Nottingham, Leicester, Nuneaton, Gloucester and London (Newham, Waltham Forest and Hackney).{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}
===Middle Eastern=== ====Arabs==== {{see also|British Arabs}} [[File:Inside london central mosque.jpg|thumb|London Central Mosque interior]] People of Arab origin in Britain are the descendants of Arab immigrants to Britain from a variety of Arab states or entities, including Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. Most British Arabs are Sunni Muslim, although some – such as those of Iraqi and Lebanese origin – are Shi'ite. The main Arab Muslim communities in the UK live in the Greater London area, with smaller numbers living in Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham. There are also sizable and very long-established communities of Muslim Yemenis in the United Kingdom in among other places Cardiff and the South Shields area near Newcastle.
====Kurds==== {{see also|British Kurds}} The UK has a significant Iraqi Kurdish population. Iraqi Kurds are mostly Sunni Muslims.<ref name="pewresearch.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/08/20/who-are-the-iraqi-kurds/|title=Who are the Iraqi Kurds?|date=20 August 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/religious-neutrality-iraqi-kurdistan_b_1587042|title=Religious Neutrality In Iraqi Kurdistan|first1=Mansfield|last1=Stephen|date=18 June 2012|website=HuffPost}}</ref>
According to the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Iraqi Kurds make up the largest group of Kurds in the country, exceeding the numbers from Turkey and Iran.<ref>{{cite book|last=Communities and Local Government|year=2009|title=The Iraqi Muslim Community in England: Understanding Muslim Ethnic Communities|url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/iraqicommunity|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120919132719/http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/iraqicommunity|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 September 2012|publisher=Communities and Local Government|isbn=978-1-4098-1263-0|page=35}}</ref>
The 2001 UK Census recorded 32,236 Iraqi-born residents,<ref name=OECD>{{cite web|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls |title=Country-of-birth database |publisher=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |access-date=3 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617032129/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls |archive-date=17 June 2009}}</ref> and the Office for National Statistics estimates that, as of 2009, this figure had risen to around 65,000.<ref name="2009 estimates">{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality-Oct08-Sep09.zip |title=Estimated population resident in the United Kingdom, by foreign country of birth (Table 1.3) |publisher=Office for National Statistics |date=September 2009 |access-date=8 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114061243/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality-Oct08-Sep09.zip |archive-date=14 November 2010}}</ref> According to estimates by the Iraqi embassy, the Iraqi population in the UK is around 350,000–450,000.<ref name=IOM>{{cite web|url=http://www.iomlondon.org/doc/mapping/IOM_IRAQ.pdf|title=Iraq: Mapping exercise|location=London|date=March 2007|access-date=3 July 2010|publisher=International Organization for Migration|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716163637/http://www.iomlondon.org/doc/mapping/IOM_IRAQ.pdf|archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref>
====Turks==== {{see also|British Turks}} thumb|upright|right|A Turkish girl in London
Turks in the United Kingdom represent a unique community in the country because they have emigrated not only from the Republic of Turkey but also from other former Ottoman regions; in fact, the majority of British Turks are Turkish Cypriots who migrated from the island of Cyprus from the British colonial period onwards. The second largest Turkish community descend from Turkey. There has also been ethnic Turkish migration waves from Arabic-speaking countries (such as Iraq<ref name="International Organization for Migration loc=5">{{cite web|author=International Organization for Migration|url=http://www.iomlondon.org/doc/mapping/IOM_IRAQ.pdf|title=Iraq: Mapping exercise|location=London|date=2007|access-date=3 July 2010|publisher=International Organization for Migration|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716163637/http://www.iomlondon.org/doc/mapping/IOM_IRAQ.pdf|archive-date=16 July 2011|page=5}}</ref> and Syria) as well as the Balkans (including Bulgaria,<ref name="HAC2011">{{citation |last=Home Affairs Committee |year=2011|title=Implications for the Justice and Home Affairs area of the accession of Turkey to the European Union|url=http://www.statewatch.org/news/2011/aug/eu-hasc-turkey-jha-report.pdf|page=Ev 34|publisher=The Stationery Office|isbn=978-0-215-56114-5}}</ref> Greece,<ref>{{citation |last=Şentürk|first=Cem|year=2008|title=West Thrace Turkish's Immigration to Europe |url=http://www.sosyalarastirmalar.com/cilt1/sayi2/sayi2pdf/senturk_cem.pdf|page=427|publisher=The Journal of International Social Research}}</ref> and Romania).<ref name="HAC2011"/> A report published by the Home Affairs Committee in 2011 claimed that there was 500,000 British Turks,<ref name="HAC2011"/> made up of approximately 150,000 Turkish nationals, 300,000 Turkish Cypriots, and the remainder from other countries.<ref name="TheGuardian">{{cite news|title=UK immigration analysis needed on Turkish legal migration, say MPs |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/aug/01/turkish-immigration-possibilities-assessed |first=Alan |last=Travis |work=The Guardian |date=1 August 2011 |access-date=1 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110802151021/http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/01/turkish-immigration-possibilities-assessed |archive-date=2 August 2011 |url-status=live |location=London}}</ref> {{As of|2013}}, there was a growing number of ethnic Turks from the modern diaspora in Western Europe; for example, Turks with German and Dutch citizenship (i.e. Turkish Germans and Turkish Dutch) had also immigrated to Britain in accordance with the freedom of movement under EU law.<ref name="EssexCountyCouncil">{{cite web|author=Essex County Council|title=An Electronic Toolkit for Teachers: Turkish and Turkish Cypriot Pupils|url=http://www.essex.gov.uk/Business-Partners/Partners/Schools/One-to-one-tuition/Documents/Turkish_Pupils%20an%20electronic%20toolkit.pdf|access-date=16 June 2011|archive-date=24 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124231212/http://www.essex.gov.uk/Business-Partners/Partners/Schools/One-to-one-tuition/Documents/Turkish_Pupils%20an%20electronic%20toolkit.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Suleymaniye Mosque London, E2.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Suleymaniye Mosque in Hoxton, London]] Turkish Cypriots first began to migrate to the United Kingdom in 1917.<ref>{{citation |year=2017|title=100 Years of Turkish Cypriot Migration to the UK|url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/A9OOnV9P/100-years-of-turkish-cypriot-migration-to-the-uk|publisher=V&A Museum|access-date=27 March 2019}}</ref> At the time, the British Empire had already annexed Cyprus and the residents of Cyprus became subjects of the Crown. Migration continued through the 1920s;<ref name="Yilmaz 2005 loc=153">{{cite book |last=Yilmaz|first=Ihsan|year=2005|title= Muslim Laws, Politics and Society in Modern Nation States: Dynamic Legal Pluralisms in England, Turkey and Pakistan|page=153|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|isbn=0-7546-4389-1}}.</ref> during the Second World War, the number of Turkish-run cafes increased from 20 in 1939 to 200 in 1945 – creating a demand for more Turkish Cypriot workers.<ref name="Ansari 2004 loc=151">{{cite book |last=Ansari|first=Humayun|year=2004|title= The Infidel Within: Muslims in Britain since 1800|page=151|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-685-2}}</ref> However, due to the Cyprus conflict, many Turkish Cypriots began to leave the island for political reasons in the 1950s,<ref name="Sonyel 2000 loc=147">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Sonyel|2000|loc=147}}</ref> with the numbers increasing significantly after the intercommunal violence of late 1963. With the subsequent division of the island in 1974 (followed by the declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983) an economic embargo against the Turkish Cypriots by the Greek Cypriot controlled Republic of Cyprus, caused a further 130,000 Turkish Cypriots to leave the Island for the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |author=BBC |title=Turkish today by Viv Edwards |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/turkish.shtml |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125093521/http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/turkish.shtml |archive-date=25 January 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Cassia|2007|loc=238}}</ref>
Migrant workers from the Republic of Turkey began to arrive in large numbers in the 1970s, followed by their family members in the late 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="Issa 2005 loc=8">{{cite book |last=Issa|first=Tözün|year=2005|title=Talking Turkey: the language, culture and identity of Turkish speaking children in Britain|page=8|publisher=Trentham Books|isbn=978-1-85856-318-3}}</ref> Many of these workers were recruited by Turkish Cypriots who had already established businesses such as restaurants.{{sfn|Yilmaz|2005|p=154}} These workers were required to renew their work permits every year until they became residents after living in the country for five years.<ref name="Issa 2005 loc=8"/> By the 1980s, intellectuals, including students, and highly educated professionals arrived in the country, most of which received support from the Turkish Cypriot community.<ref>{{cite web|last=Thomson|first=Mark|year=2006|title=Immigration to the UK: The case of Turks|url=http://www.eliamep.gr/en/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/migsys_uk_turks_eport_july_06.pdf|place=University of Sussex|publisher=Sussex Centre for Migration Research|page=19|access-date=27 March 2019|archive-date=16 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716230425/http://www.eliamep.gr/en/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/migsys_uk_turks_eport_july_06.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Mainland Turks settled in similar areas of London in which the Turkish Cypriots lived in; however, many have also moved to the outer districts, such as Essex.<ref name="Issa 2005 loc=8"/>
[[File:Aziziye Mosque.jpg|thumb|right|Aziziye Mosque in Stoke Newington, London]] The Turkish community have established several mosques in the country. The first was Shacklewell Lane Mosque, established by the Turkish Cypriot community in 1977.<ref name="Geaves 2001 loc=218">{{cite book |last=Geaves|first=Ron|year=2001|chapter=The Haqqani Naqshbandi: A Study of Apocalyptic Millennnialism within Islam|title=Faith in the Millennium|editor1-last=Porter|editor1-first=Stanley E.|editor2-last=Hayes|editor2-first=Michael A.|editor3-last=Tombs|editor3-first=David|page=218|publisher=Sheffield Academic Press|isbn=1-84127-092-X}}</ref> There are numerous other Turkish mosques in London, mainly in Hackney, including the Aziziye Mosque<ref>{{cite web|author=London Borough of Hackney|title=UK Turkish Islamic Association - Aziziye Mosque|url=http://www.hackney.gov.uk/servapps/CommunityDirectories/Details.aspx?OrgID=4342&Admin=0|access-date=20 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304000139/http://www.hackney.gov.uk/servapps/CommunityDirectories/Details.aspx?OrgID=4342&Admin=0|archive-date=4 March 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Suleymaniye Mosque.<ref>{{cite web|author=London Borough of Hackney|title=UK Turkish Islamic Cultural Centre / Suleymaniye Mosque|url=http://www.hackney.gov.uk/servapps/CommunityDirectories/Details.aspx?OrgID=3924&Admin=0|access-date=20 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304000110/http://www.hackney.gov.uk/servapps/CommunityDirectories/Details.aspx?OrgID=3924&Admin=0|archive-date=4 March 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Notable Turkish mosques outside London include Selimiye Mosque in Manchester, Hamidiye Mosque in Leicester, and Osmaniye Mosque in Stoke-on-Trent.<ref>{{citation|last1=Çoştu|first1=Yakup|last2=Turan|first2=Süleyman|year=2009|url=http://www.dinbilimleri.com/Makaleler/1338008509_09040378.pdf|title=İngiltere'deki Türk Camileri ve Entegrasyon Sürecine Sosyo-Kültürel Katkıları|journal=Dinbilimleri Akademik Araştırma Dergisi|volume=x|issue=4|page=45|access-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710130659/http://www.dinbilimleri.com/Makaleler/1338008509_09040378.pdf|archive-date=10 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Turks from the same districts from their homeland tend to congregate in the same quarters in the UK.<ref name="Yilmaz 2005 loc=155">{{Harvnb|Yilmaz|2005|loc=155}}.</ref> The majority live in capital city of London, particularly in Hackney, Haringey, Enfield, Lewisham, Lambeth, Southwark, Croydon, Islington, Kensington, Waltham Forest, and Wood Green.<ref name="Communities and Local Government 2009 loc=6">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Communities and Local Government|2009a|loc=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/05/26/turkish_london_feature.shtml |title=Turkish London |publisher=BBC London |date=August 2008 |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127121825/http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/05/26/turkish_london_feature.shtml |archive-date=27 January 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Outside London there are smaller Turkish communities in Birmingham, Hertfordshire, Luton, Manchester, Sheffield and the East Midlands.
===African=== thumb|A hijab-wearing British Horner Muslim woman next to another hijab-wearing British Muslim woman at an iftar event in the U.K.
====Maghrebis==== {{main|Maghreb}}
Although data is short, findings indicate Maghrebis make up a substantial community in Europe and the United Kingdom. Britain has long ties with Maghrebis, through contact with the Maghrebis. Nevertheless, Britain has a far lower count of Maghrebis in comparison to France, the Netherlands and Spain, where the majority of Muslims are Maghrebi.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=08-xgLnsgmwC&q=maghrebis+in+uk+islam&pg=PA93|title = Radical Islam and International Security: Challenges and Responses|isbn = 9780415444606|last1 = Inbar|first1 = Efraim|last2 = Frisch|first2 = Hillel|date = January 2008| publisher=Routledge }}</ref>
====Nigerians==== {{see also|British Nigerians}} A 2009 government paper estimated the Nigerian Muslim community at 12,000 to 14,000 people.<ref name="CLG">{{cite web|url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1203232.pdf |title=The Nigerian Muslim Community in England: Understanding Muslim Ethnic Communities |last=Change Institute |date=April 2009 |publisher=Communities and Local Government |pages=23–24 |access-date=7 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331163114/http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1203232.pdf |archive-date=31 March 2010 }}</ref> The community is concentrated in London.
Nigerian Muslims in the UK are represented by several community organizations including the Nigeria Muslim Forum.<ref name="Nimufouk">{{cite web|url=http://www.nmfuk.org/|title=Nigeria Muslim Forum – Nigeria Muslim Forum|work=nmfuk.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921104917/http://www.nmfuk.org/|archive-date=21 September 2011}}</ref>
====Horners==== {{see also|Horner Britons}} Horner Muslims in the UK refer to Muslims in the U.K. who have ancestry in Horn African countries such as Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, and to its broadest extent, includes the Atbai region of Sudan. Oromo Ethiopian immigrants to the UK are among the most evenly split ethnic groups, with roughly half of them being Christian and the other half being Muslim.<ref>Campbell, John R., and Solomon Afework. "Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants in Britain: Refugee organising, transnational connections and identity, 1950–2009." African Diaspora 8.1 (2015): 98-119.</ref><ref name="Census2001">{{cite web|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls |title=Country-of-birth database |publisher=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |access-date=25 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617032129/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls |archive-date=17 June 2009}}</ref><ref name="2008 estimates">{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality-Jan08-Dec08.zip |title=Table 1.3: Estimated population resident in the United Kingdom, by foreign country of birth, 60 most common countries of birth, January 2008 to December 2008 |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=4 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605092034/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality-Jan08-Dec08.zip |archive-date=5 June 2011}} Figure given is the central estimate. See the source for 95 per cent confidence intervals.</ref> A 2009 estimate by Somali community organisations puts the Somali population figure in the UK at 90,000 residents.<ref name="Dissanayake">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7747162.stm|title=British Somalis play politics from afar|last=Dissanayake|first=Samanthi|date=4 December 2008|work=BBC News|access-date=25 January 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217004847/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7747162.stm|archive-date=17 February 2009}}</ref> The first Somali immigrants were seamen and traders who arrived in small numbers in port cities in the late 19th century, although most Somalis in the UK are recent arrivals. Further more Somali European such as from Holland or Denmark have been emigrating in recent years.<ref name="Dissanayake"/> Established Somali communities are found in Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and London, and newer ones have formed in Leicester, Manchester and Sheffield.<ref name="Casciani">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5029390.stm|title=Somalis' struggle in the UK|last=Casciani|first=Dominic|date=30 May 2006|work=BBC News|access-date=25 January 2009}}</ref><ref name="Born abroad">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/born_abroad/countries/html/somalia.stm|title=Born abroad: Somalia|work=BBC News|access-date=25 January 2009|date=7 September 2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330212503/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/born_abroad/countries/html/somalia.stm|archive-date=30 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.liverpoolpct.nhs.uk/Library/Impact/IA0073.doc |title=Liverpool City Council/Liverpool PCT Equality Impact Assessment Template |access-date=6 November 2009|archive-date=6 November 2009 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20091106175846/http://www.liverpoolpct.nhs.uk/Library/Impact/IA0073.doc |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=FAEA>{{cite web|url=http://www.faea.es/english/oralidad.php |title=Integration of the Somali Community into Europe |publisher=Federation of Adult Education Associations |access-date=3 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216182416/http://faea.es/english/oralidad.php |archive-date=16 December 2009 }}</ref>
===White European=== thumb|A hijab-wearing Muslim woman at an AI summit meeting in the U.K. The history of native British Muslims has a long presence in the country. The earliest known Englishman to convert to Islam was John Nelson of the 16th century. Thomas Keith was a Scottish soldier who converted to Islam and became the governor of Medina.<ref>Burckhardt, John Lewis. Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys: Collected during His Travels in the East. London: H. Colburn and R. Bentley, 1831</ref> The pirate Jack Ward, one of the inspirations for Captain Jack Sparrow, converted to Islam in the early 1600s. Another famous convert was the Victorian explorer Richard Francis Burton who successfully completed a Hajj to Mecca in 1853, although later in life he declared himself an atheist. Abdullah Quilliam was a 19th-century Englishman who converted to Islam and built what is argued to be the first mosque in the country in Liverpool. He was known locally for his work advocating trade unionism and divorce law reform and persuaded more people in Liverpool to convert but they faced abuse from the wider society.<ref>{{cite news|title=The British Victorians who became Muslims|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-48069763|access-date=23 August 2022|newspaper=BBC|date=19 May 2019}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+Ethnic composition of British Muslims over time ! rowspan="2" |Ethnic group ! colspan="2" |1987 estimates<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Peach |first=Ceri |date=1990 |title=The Muslim population of Great Britain |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01419870.1990.9993680 |journal=Ethnic and Racial Studies |volume=13 |issue=3 |page=417 |doi=10.1080/01419870.1990.9993680 |issn=0141-9870|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ! colspan="2" |2021 census<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ethnic group and religion - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/create/filter-outputs/b0f5e61b-5c48-4a61-921f-a13781d87d45 |access-date=2024-06-15 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref> |- !Number !% out of total Muslims !Number !% out of total Muslims |- | | | | | |- !Asian !609,440 !84.9% !2,550,022 !65.9% |- |Indian |121,760 |17% |246,968 |6.4% |- |Bangladeshi |111,360 |15.5% |593,136 |15.3% |- |Pakistani |376,320 |52.5% |1,470,775 |38% |- |Chinese |– |– |1,890 |0% |- |Other Asian |– |– |237,253 |6.1% |- !Other ! ! !533,505 !13.8% |- |Arab |79,000 |11% |277,737 |7.2% |- |Other |– |– |255,768 |6.6% |- !Black ! ! !416,327 !10.8% |- |African |29,000 |4% |378,219 |9.8% |- |Caribbean |– |– |7,167 |0.2% |- |Other |– |– |30,941 |0.8% |- !White !– !– !226,233 !5.8% |- |White British |– |– |90,939 |2.4% |- |White Other |– |– |135,294 |3.5% |- !Mixed ! ! !142,045 !3.7% |- | | | | | |- !Total !717,440 !100% !3,868,132 !100% |}
==Branches== {{See also|Islamic schools and branches}} British Muslims follow a range of Islamic denominations and movements. A Techne UK survey commissioned by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) found that the majority identify with Sunni Islam. A large proportion within that grouping identify with non-denominational branches, and smaller proportions identifying with Deobandi, Barelvi and Salafi currents. This translates to 83.8% that identify with broader Sunni Islam.
The survey also recorded a minority identifying with Shi'a denominations and a small proportion identifying with other sects or preferring not to state a denomination.<ref name="IIFLTechneUK2024">{{cite report |title=The social contribution of British Muslims |publisher=Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) |date=March 2024 |url=https://iifl.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/The-social-contribution-of-British-Muslims.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
{{Bar box | title=Denominational self-identification among British Muslims (IIFL/Techne UK), 2024<ref name="IIFLTechneUK2024" /> | titlebar=#ddd | float=right | bars= {{Bar percent|Non-denominational Sunni|green|48.1}} {{Bar percent|Other Sunni|olivedrab|16.8}} {{Bar percent|Shia|lime|7.5}} {{Bar percent|Deobandi|darkseagreen|6.9}} {{Bar percent|Salafi|darkolivegreen|6.6}} {{Bar percent|Barelvi|lightgreen|5.4}} {{Bar percent|Other denomination/sect (non-Sunni, non-Shia)|red|2.2}} {{Bar percent|Preferred not to say|silver|6.3}} }}
===Mosque affiliation=== A directory-based statistical summary by MuslimsInBritain.org (''UK Mosque Statistics / Masjid Statistics'', as at 16 September 2017) analysed 1,934 active masjids and prayer rooms in the United Kingdom and categorised each site by its dominant "theme" or affiliation (noting that many congregations are doctrinally diverse and that classification can be approximate).<ref name="MiBMasjidStats2017">{{cite report |last=Naqshbandi |first=Mehmood |title=UK Mosque Statistics / Masjid Statistics (as at 16 Sep 2017) |publisher=MuslimsInBritain.org |date=2017 |url=https://www.muslimsinbritain.org/resources/masjid_report.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
In that summary, the largest shares of masjids/prayer facilities were associated with Deobandi networks (41.2%) and Barelvi networks (23.7%), followed by Salafi congregations (9.4%). Non-denominational prayer rooms and similar facilities accounted for 7.4%. Shi'a facilities comprised several categories - Twelver and other Shi'a (3.1%), Ismaili (2.3%) and Bohra (0.5%), totalling 5.9%, while smaller categories included "other Sufi" (4.1%), Arabic or African mainstream Sunni (3.1%) and Maudoodi-inspired "Islamic Movement" (2.6%).<ref name="MiBMasjidStats2017" /> ===Sunni=== Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam in the United Kingdom. According to the survey commissioned by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL), around 83.8% identified with Sunni Islam (including those who described themselves as non-denominational Sunni).<ref name="IIFLTechneUK2024">{{cite report |title=The social contribution of British Muslims |publisher=Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) |date=March 2024 |url=https://iifl.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/The-social-contribution-of-British-Muslims.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
Most UK mosques are Sunni. A directory-based analysis by MuslimsInBritain.org categorised masjids and prayer rooms by their dominant "theme" or affiliation and reported that the largest shares were associated with Deobandi networks (41.2%), Barelvi networks (23.7%) and Salafi congregations (9.4%), alongside smaller Sunni categories.<ref name="MiBMasjidStats2017">{{cite report |last=Naqshbandi |first=Mehmood |title=UK Mosque Statistics / Masjid Statistics (as at 16 Sep 2017) |publisher=MuslimsInBritain.org |date=2017 |url=https://www.muslimsinbritain.org/resources/masjid_report.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
===Shia===
thumb|A group of Shia Muslims perform a mourning ritual (matam) on Westminster Bridge during a procession in commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Musa Kazim. Shi'a Islam forms a minority of British Muslims. In 2015, ''The Economist'' described Britain as having "400,000-odd" Shi'a Muslims.<ref name="Ramadandingdong">{{cite news |title=Ramadan ding-dong: Foreign conflicts stoke sectarian squabbles among British Muslims |url=https://www.economist.com/britain/2015/06/27/ramadan-ding-dong |access-date=10 February 2026 |newspaper=The Economist |date=27 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628020338/http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21656232-foreign-conflicts-stoke-sectarian-squabbles-among-british-muslims-ramadan-ding-dong |archive-date=28 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> More recent survey evidence suggests a similar minority share, the IIFL survey found that 7.5% identified with Shi'a Islam.<ref name="IIFLTechneUK2024">{{cite report |title=The social contribution of British Muslims |publisher=Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) |date=March 2024 |url=https://iifl.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/The-social-contribution-of-British-Muslims.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> In the same survey, 2.4% identified as Twelver and 2.6% as Ismaili (shares of all British Muslim respondents).<ref name="IIFLTechneUK2024" />
Shi'a communities and institutions are most visible in major urban areas, particularly London, alongside other large cities with established Muslim populations. Prominent Shi'a centres in London include the Husaini Islamic Centre (Hujjat) in Stanmore (Harrow),<ref>{{cite web |title=Contact Us |publisher=The KSIMC of London (Hujjat, Stanmore) |url=https://hujjat.org/contact/ |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> the Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale,<ref>{{cite web |title=Islamic Centre of England (Location) |publisher=Islamic Centre of England |url=https://ic-el.uk/locations/islamic-centre-of-england/ |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> and the Imam Khoei Islamic Centre in Queens Park (Brent).<ref>{{cite web |title=Community Directory: Imam Khoei Islamic Centre |publisher=London Borough of Brent |url=https://www.brent.gov.uk/neighbourhoods-and-communities/community-directory/imam-khoei-islamic-centre-al-khoei-islamic-centre |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> Other Shi'a mosques include Al Masjid ul Husseini in Northolt (Ealing).<ref>{{cite web |title=Al Masjid ul Husseini (Northolt, Ealing, London) |publisher=MuslimsInBritain.org |url=https://mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/show-mosque.php?id=1546 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
Public commemorations are held annually, most notably during Ashura and Arba'een. In London, an Ashura Day procession has been policed in central areas, with the Metropolitan Police and BBC London News reporting rolling road closures for a procession from Marble Arch to Whitehall/Westminster (July 2024).<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Police notice of Ashura Day procession (July 2024) |publisher=Metropolitan Police (X/Twitter) |url=https://x.com/metpoliceuk/status/1813592526483579071 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BBC London News report of Ashura Day road closures (July 2024) |publisher=BBC London News (X/Twitter) |url=https://x.com/BBCLondonNews/status/1813611237705502919 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> An annual Arba'een procession has also been organised in London, beginning at Marble Arch.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arbaeen Procession in London (Marble Arch) |publisher=Arbaeen UK |url=https://www.arbaeenuk.org/ |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> Ashura processions and related mourning rituals have also been documented in other cities, including Birmingham and Manchester.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Astor |first=Avi |title=The "publicness" of urban religious rituals |journal=Culture and Religion |date=2025 |doi=10.1080/14755610.2025.2507886 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14755610.2025.2507886 |access-date=10 February 2026|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Shia Muslims of Manchester participate in an Ashura procession (October 2015) |publisher=Getty Images |url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/editorial-images/news/event/shia-muslims-of-manchester-participate-in-an-ashura-procession/587444499 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
A directory-based statistical summary by MuslimsInBritain.org categorised masjids and reported that Shi'a facilities comprised 3.1% Twelver/other Shi'a, 2.3% Ismaili and 0.5% Bohra (5.9% in total).<ref name="MiBMasjidStats2017">{{cite report |last=Naqshbandi |first=Mehmood |title=UK Mosque Statistics / Masjid Statistics (as at 16 Sep 2017) |publisher=MuslimsInBritain.org |date=2017 |url=https://www.muslimsinbritain.org/resources/masjid_report.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
=== Ahmadiyyat === {{main|Ahmadiyya in the United Kingdom}}
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC) established itself in the UK in 1912 and is thus the longest-standing Muslim community in the UK. The UK and worldwide headquarters of the AMC are currently situated on the grounds of 'The Blessed Mosque' (Masjid Mubarak), inaugurated on 17 May 2019 by Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the fifth caliph of the Ahmadiyya movement,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pressahmadiyya.com/press-releases/2019/05/head-ahmadiyya-muslim-community-opens-new-central-mosque-islamabad-tilford-uk/|title=Head Of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Opens New Central Mosque In Islamabad, Tilford, UK|date=19 May 2019|website=Press & Media Office|access-date=4 April 2020}}</ref> in Tilford, Surrey. The AMC also has the largest Muslim youth organisation, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya) in the UK (membership of 7,500) and the largest Muslim women's organisation, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Association ({{transliteration|ar|Lajna Ima'illah}}), in the UK (membership of 10,000).<ref>{{cite book|title=Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosques Around The World - A Pictorical Presentation|date=2008|publisher=Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; Khilafat Centenary Edition|isbn=978-1882494514|page=253}}</ref>
In 2014, on the 125th anniversary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the group published an advertisement in ''Luton on Sunday''. After Dr. Fiaz Hussain, coordinator of the Preservation of Finality of Prophethood Forum (PFPF), lodged a written complaint stating the Ahmadiyya community should not be called "Muslim" due to its rejection of certain Islamic principles,<ref>{{cite news|author=Asif Arif|title=Lettre ouverte aux éditeurs du "Luton on Sunday"|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/asif-arif/lettre-ouverte-aux-editeurs-du-luton-on-sunday_b_5109357.html|work=Huffington Post (France)|date=8 April 2014|access-date=10 April 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414060009/http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/asif-arif/lettre-ouverte-aux-editeurs-du-luton-on-sunday_b_5109357.html|archive-date=14 April 2014}}</ref> the paper received a delegation of "Community Leaders" and soon issued an apology, disassociating itself from the advertisement. Tell MAMA responded, labeling attempts to intimidate or discriminate against Ahmadiyya Muslims "as anti-Muslim in nature."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Luton on Sunday 'Shuffle' and Impacts on anti-Muslim hate|date=9 April 2014|work=Tell Mama|url=http://tellmamauk.org/the-luton-on-sunday-shuffle-and-impacts-on-anti-muslim-hate/|access-date=10 April 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413130030/http://tellmamauk.org/the-luton-on-sunday-shuffle-and-impacts-on-anti-muslim-hate/|archive-date=13 April 2014}}</ref>
==Society==
===Economics=== British Muslims participate across the UK economy as employees, public-sector workers, professionals, entrepreneurs, consumers, donors and volunteers. Measuring "religion" in economic datasets is often difficult because many administrative and labour-market sources do not routinely record it; as a result, much of the most comparable evidence comes from Census outputs, regulators' equality monitoring releases, and research studies.<ref name="ONS_DiversityLabourMarket_2021">{{cite web |title=Diversity in the labour market, England and Wales: Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/diversityinthelabourmarketenglandandwales/census2021 |access-date=10 February 2026 |publisher=Office for National Statistics}}</ref><ref name="ONS_ReligionHousingWorkEdu_2021">{{cite web |title=Religion by housing, health, employment, and education, England and Wales: Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/articles/religionbyhousinghealthemploymentandeducationenglandandwales/census2021 |access-date=10 February 2026 |publisher=Office for National Statistics}}</ref>
A 2013 report published by the Muslim Council of Britain highlighted the scale of British Muslims' economic contribution to the United Kingdom. It reported that the UK was home to approximately 2.78 million Muslims, with an estimated £31 billion annual contribution to the national economy. In London, there were around 13,400 Muslim-owned businesses, accounting for just over 33.6% of small and medium-sized enterprises in the capital and supporting more than 70,000 jobs. The study also estimated the presence of around 10,000 Muslim millionaires in the UK, with £3.6 billion in liquid assets among the richest individuals, and placed British Muslim consumer spending power at approximately £20.5 billion.<ref name="MCB-MuslimPound-2013">{{cite report |url=https://www.mcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/The-Muslim-Pound-FINAL.pdf |title=The Muslim Pound: How British Muslims and the Muslim World add enduring value to Britain's prosperity |author=Muslim Council of Britain |date=2013 |publisher=Muslim Council of Britain |pages=6–7 |access-date=11 February 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250420113133/https://www.mcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/The-Muslim-Pound-FINAL.pdf |archive-date=20 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=30 October 2013 |title=London's Mecca rich: the rise of the Muslim multi-millionaires |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/londons-mecca-rich-the-rise-of-the-muslim-multi-millionaires-splashing-their-cash-8913153.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029014653/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/londons-mecca-rich-the-rise-of-the-muslim-multi-millionaires-splashing-their-cash-8913153.html |archive-date=29 October 2017 |access-date=2 May 2018 |website=standard.co.uk}}</ref>
A 2024 report by Equi estimated that British Muslims generate at least £70 billion per year for the UK economy, attributing this to workforce income (around £42 billion), Muslim-owned business output (around £24.7 billion), and charitable giving plus the estimated value of volunteer time (around £2.4 billion combined).<ref name="Equi_EconContribution_2024">{{cite report |last=Siyech |first=Mohammed Sinan |title=The Economic Contribution of British Muslims to the UK's Growth and Prosperity, and the Risk of Exodus |publisher=Equi |date=September 2024 |url=https://equi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Equi-Economic-Contribution-Report.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
====Economic activity and employment==== ONS analysis of Census 2021 data for England and Wales reported lower employment and higher economic inactivity among people identifying as Muslim (ages 16–64) than the overall population. The same analysis linked these patterns to the group's younger age structure, with higher shares in full-time education and higher reported inactivity because of looking after home or family, particularly among women.<ref name="ONS_DiversityLabourMarket_2021" /><ref name="ONS_ReligionHousingWorkEdu_2021" />
{| class="wikitable" |+Economic activity indicators (England and Wales, ages 16–64; Census 2021)<ref name="ONS_ReligionHousingWorkEdu_2021" /><ref name="ONS_DiversityLabourMarket_2021" /> ! Indicator ! Muslim ! Overall population |- |In employment |51.4% |70.9% |- |Economically inactive (total) |41.9% |24.7% |- |Unemployed |6.7% |4.4% |- |Economically inactive: looking after home or family |16.1% |5.8% |- |Economically inactive: student |13.8% |7.3% |- |Looking after home or family (female) |27.3% |7.8% |}
Alongside these structural factors, parliamentary and academic research has described a "Muslim penalty" in employment outcomes in the UK, including evidence of discrimination affecting recruitment and progression and of occupational mismatch (including over-qualification) for some groups; constrained access to stable employment has also been discussed as one driver (among others) of higher self-employment in parts of the population.<ref name="WEC_EmploymentOpps_2016">{{cite report |title=Employment opportunities for Muslims in the UK |publisher=House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee |date=11 August 2016 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmwomeq/89/89.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Khattab |first=Nabil |title=Ethno-religious identities and persisting penalties in the UK labour market |journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |date=2015 |doi=10.1080/1369183X.2015.1021584}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Sweida-Metwally |first=Samir |title=Does the Muslim penalty in the British labour market dissipate after accounting for so-called "sociocultural attitudes"? |journal=Ethnic and Racial Studies |date=2022 |doi=10.1080/01419870.2022.2097887}}</ref>
====Occupational structure and professional work====
Among UK-born Muslims in England and Wales who were in employment at the time of Census 2021, younger cohorts were more likely than their White British counterparts to be working in the three highest occupational groups (managers, directors and senior officials; professional occupations; and associate professional and technical occupations). The combined share in these categories was 53.7% for UK-born Muslims aged 25–34, compared with 50.5% for UK-born White British of the same age band. This difference was most pronounced among women: 56.4% of UK-born Muslim women aged 25–34 in employment were in these higher-skilled occupations, compared with 52.4% of White British women, while the corresponding figures for men were 51.4% and 48.6% respectively.<ref name="ONS_ReligionOcc_Census2021_XLSX">{{cite web |title=Religion by economic activity status and occupation, England and Wales: Census 2021 (dataset download) |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=%2Fpeoplepopulationandcommunity%2Fculturalidentity%2Freligion%2Fdatasets%2Freligionbyeconomicactivitystatusandoccupationenglandandwalescensus2021%2Fcurrent%2Freligionbyeconomicactivitystatusandoccupationcensus2021englandandwales.xlsx |access-date=10 February 2026 |publisher=Office for National Statistics}}</ref><ref name="ONS_EthnicOcc_Census2021">{{cite web |title=Occupation by ethnic group (RM104), Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/RM104/editions/2021/versions/2 |access-date=10 February 2026 |publisher=Office for National Statistics}}</ref>
In the 35–49 age group, the combined share in these three occupational categories was similar between UK-born Muslims (about 52%) and White British (about 54%), with near parity among women and a modestly lower share among Muslim men than White British men.<ref name="ONS_EthnicOcc_Census2021" />
{| class="wikitable" |+UK-born Muslims in higher-skilled occupations (England and Wales; employed residents only; Census 2021)<ref name="ONS_ReligionOccupationXLSX" /> ! Age group ! Managers, directors and senior officials ! Professional occupations ! Associate professional and technical ! Total (three groups) |- |25–34 |8.4% |30.3% |15.0% |53.7% |- |35–49 |13.5% |25.5% |12.9% |51.9% |}
Where religion is recorded through equality monitoring, published data also show comparatively high Muslim representation in several regulated professions, particularly in parts of healthcare and pharmacy (coverage varies by regulator and declaration rates).<ref name="ONS_DiversityLabourMarket_2021" />
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+Representation in occupations (selected professional registers and workforce datasets) !Occupation !% of total workforce |- |Optometrists |21%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Equality, Diversity and Inclusion annual report 2022-23 {{!}} GeneralOpticalCouncil |url=https://optical.org/en/publications/equality-and-diversity/equality-diversity-and-inclusion-annual-report-2023/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=optical.org}}</ref> |- |Licensed Doctors |18.8%<ref>{{Cite web |title=The state of medical education and practice in the UK: workforce report 2023 |url=https://www.gmc-uk.org/about/what-we-do-and-why/data-and-research/the-state-of-medical-education-and-practice-in-the-uk/workforce-report |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=General Medical Council (GMC)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Protected characteristics - GDE |url=https://gde.gmc-uk.org/the-register/register-summary/protected-characteristics |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=gde.gmc-uk.org}}</ref> |- |Pharmacists |18.6%<ref>{{Cite web |title=GPhC registers data {{!}} General Pharmaceutical Council |url=https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/about-us/publications-and-insights/research-data-and-insights/gphc-registers-data |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=pharmacyregulation.org}}</ref> |- |Orthoptists |15.0%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diversity data: orthoptists - October 2023 |url=https://www.hcpc-uk.org/resources/data/2023/diversity-data-orthoptists-2023/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=The HCPC}}</ref> |- |Dentists |13.4%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Registration reports |url=https://www.gdc-uk.org/about-us/what-we-do/the-registers/registration-reports |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=General Dental Council}}</ref> |- |Biomedical Scientists |10.0%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diversity data: biomedical scientists - January 2024 |url=https://www.hcpc-uk.org/resources/data/2024/diversity-data-biomedical-scientists-2024/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=The HCPC}}</ref> |- |Radiographers |9.0%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diversity data: radiographers - March 2023 |url=https://www.hcpc-uk.org/resources/data/2023/diversity-data-radiographers-2023/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=The HCPC}}</ref> |- |NHS |7.1%–10%<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 June 2024 |title=NHS Workforce Statistics - March 2024 |url=https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/march-2024 |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=Digital NHS}}</ref> |- |Lawyers |8%<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 July 2024 |title=Diversity in law firms' workforce |url=https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/equality-diversity/diversity-profession/diverse-legal-profession/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=www.sra.org.uk}}</ref> |- |Neurosurgeon Consultant |8.0%<ref>{{Cite web |last=SBNS |title=Equity Diversity & Inclusion |url=https://www.sbns.org.uk/about-us/edi.html |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=Society of British Neurological Surgeons}}</ref> |- |Prosthetists / Orthotists |6.0%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diversity data: prosthetists / orthotists - November 2023 |url=https://www.hcpc-uk.org/resources/data/2023/diversity-data-prosthetists-orthotists-2023/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=The HCPC}}</ref> |- |Civil Service |5%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civil Service statistics: 2023 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2023 |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=GOV.UK}}</ref> |- |Midwives |2.9%<ref name="nmc.org.uk">{{Cite web |title=Our latest equality and diversity data and reports - The Nursing and Midwifery Council |url=https://www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-and-updates/our-latest-equality-and-diversity-data-and-reports/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=www.nmc.org.uk}}</ref> |- |Police Officers |2.5%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2023 (second edition) |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2023/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2023#annex-a-additional-analysis-of-police-officer-numbers-by-protected-characteristics |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=GOV.UK}}</ref> |- |Nurses |2.4%<ref name="nmc.org.uk"/> |- |Armed Forces |0.6%<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics: April 2024 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-april-2024/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-april-2024#religion |access-date=10 February 2026 |website=GOV.UK}}</ref> |}
====Ethnicity and inference==== Because religion is not consistently recorded outside the census and some EDI sources, some analysis uses ethnicity as a partial proxy in contexts where particular ethnic groups are predominantly Muslim. ONS multivariate tables for England and Wales (Census 2021) show that the Muslim population is ethnically diverse, with large shares recorded in Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black African groups, alongside Arab, "White other" and other ethnic categories.<ref name="ONS_RM031">{{cite web |title=Ethnic group by religion (RM031), Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/RM031 |access-date=10 February 2026 |publisher=Office for National Statistics}}</ref> Research overviews of British Muslim communities also describe major populations with family origins in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia, alongside Turkish-heritage communities and others.<ref name="CREST_Communities_2018">{{cite report |title=British Muslims: Demography and communities |publisher=Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST) |date=2018 |url=https://crestresearch.ac.uk/download/2331/18-011-01-british-muslims-communities.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
===Education=== Around 32.3% of Muslims in the UK held degree-level qualifications, according to the 2021 UK Census. This is higher than White British (31%) and Christians (31.6%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=England and Wales Census 2021 - Religion by highest qualification level - UK Data Service CKAN |url=https://statistics.ukdataservice.ac.uk/dataset/england-and-wales-census-2021-religion-by-highest-qualification-level |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=statistics.ukdataservice.ac.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Religion by housing, health, employment and education, England and Wales: Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/articles/religionbyhousinghealthemploymentandeducationenglandandwales/census2021/pdf |website=Office for National Statistics |publisher=ONS |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> In contrast, a higher proportion of Muslims in the UK held no qualifications (25%), in comparison with White British (18.3%) and Christians (20.8%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=England and Wales Census 2021 - Religion by highest qualification level - UK Data Service CKAN |url=https://statistics.ukdataservice.ac.uk/dataset/england-and-wales-census-2021-religion-by-highest-qualification-level |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=statistics.ukdataservice.ac.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Religion by housing, health, employment and education, England and Wales: Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/articles/religionbyhousinghealthemploymentandeducationenglandandwales/census2021/pdf |website=Office for National Statistics |publisher=ONS |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
Higher education administrative statistics show that the proportion of UK higher education students reporting a Muslim religious belief has increased in recent years (rising from around 10% in 2019/20 to around 14% by 2023/24).<ref>{{cite web |title=UK, 2023/24 – Higher Education Student Statistics: student numbers and characteristics |url=https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/20-03-2025/sb271-higher-education-student-statistics/numbers |website=Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) |publisher=HESA |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> Longitudinal cohort research found that around 53% of British Muslim young people were in higher education by age 19, compared with 38% of White students, with a further small share having applied but not yet enrolled.<ref>{{cite web |title=Muslim Families' Educational Experiences in England and Wales |url=https://www.docs.hss.ed.ac.uk/education/creid/reports/32_mfees_finalrpt.pdf |website=Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity, University of Edinburgh |date=2013 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> A separate analysis of the same cohort reported that about 51% of Muslim young people had applied to university by age 18 and roughly 42% were studying for a degree by age 20, with participation rates higher among Muslim women than Muslim men.<ref>{{cite web |title=Young English Muslims chase their dreams |url=https://nextstepsstudy.org.uk/young-english-muslims-chase-their-dreams/ |website=Next Steps (LSYPE) Study |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
Based on official England GCSE (KS4) statistics, we can construct a clear ethnicity-based proxy for a large share of Muslim pupils by combining results for Pakistani and Bangladeshi students, who together make up a substantial portion of the Muslim school-age population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethnic group by religion (RM031) |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/RM031 |website=Office for National Statistics |publisher=ONS |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> When their outcomes are averaged on a pupil-weighted basis, this proxy group outperforms White British pupils across the main attainment measures — including overall progress through secondary school, total GCSE points scored, and the likelihood of achieving strong passes in English and maths.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pupil progress between 11 and 16 years old (Progress 8) |url=https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education-skills-and-training/11-to-16-years-old/pupil-progress-progress-8-between-ages-11-and-16-key-stage-2-to-key-stage-4/latest |website=Ethnicity facts and figures |publisher=UK Government |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GCSE results (Attainment 8) |url=https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education-skills-and-training/11-to-16-years-old/gcse-results-attainment-8-for-children-aged-14-to-16-key-stage-4/latest/ |website=Ethnicity facts and figures |publisher=UK Government |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GCSE English and maths results (grade 5 or above in both subjects) |url=https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education-skills-and-training/11-to-16-years-old/a-to-c-in-english-and-maths-gcse-attainment-for-children-aged-14-to-16-key-stage-4/latest |website=Ethnicity facts and figures |publisher=UK Government |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> The same datasets also show a consistent gender pattern within these cohorts, where girls achieve higher results than boys, supporting the broader observation that Muslim female pupils tend to outperform Muslim males at GCSE level.<ref>{{cite web |title=GCSE results by ethnicity and gender |url=https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education-skills-and-training/11-to-16-years-old/gcse-results-attainment-8-for-children-aged-14-to-16-key-stage-4/latest/ |website=Ethnicity facts and figures |publisher=UK Government |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
Media reporting on England's secondary school performance tables noted that four Islamic faith schools were ranked among the national top ten for Progress 8 scores, with Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School ranked first nationally on that measure.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.trtworld.com/article/12730295 |title=Muslim faith schools lead the pack in UK top schools list |website=TRT World |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
There are about 184 Muslim faith schools in the UK in total, of which around 30 are state-funded and about 150 are independent (private) schools.<ref>{{cite web |title=Factsheet: Faith schools in the UK |url=https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/factsheets/faith-schools-in-the-uk/ |website=Religion Media Centre |date=15 November 2018 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> Separately, media reporting based on a ''Sunday Times'' analysis has highlighted that some non-Muslim state schools—particularly Church of England and Roman Catholic schools in areas with large Muslim catchments—have intakes in which Muslim pupils outnumber Christian pupils, illustrating how local demographics can produce very high Muslim enrolment even where a school is not formally designated as Islamic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Muslims outnumber Christians at over 30 church schools |url=https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/muslims-outnumber-christians-at-over-30-church-schools |website=Premier Christian News |date=5 February 2017 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
===Politics=== {{multiple image | perrow = 2 | total_width = 270 | image1 = Sajid Javid Official Cabinet Portrait, September 2021 (cropped).jpg | caption1 = Sajid Javid, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer | image2 = Sadiq Khan 2020.png | caption2 = Sadiq Khan, the current Mayor of London | image3 = Official portrait of first minister Humza Yousaf, 2023 (cropped).jpg | caption3 = Humza Yousaf, the former First Minister of Scotland | image4 = Anas Sarwar MSP.jpg | caption4 = Anas Sarwar, the current Leader of the Scottish Labour Party }}
[[File:Baroness Uddin.png|thumb|upright|Pola Uddin, Baroness Uddin was the first Muslim woman to sit in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.]] Muslims are playing an increasingly prominent role in political life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/alwaleed/muslims-in-britain/conference|title=Muslims and Political Participation in Britain: Conference 2012|date=24 July 2012|work=ed.ac.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222140030/http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/alwaleed/muslims-in-britain/conference|archive-date=22 February 2014}}</ref> Nineteen Muslim MPs were elected in the December 2019 general election,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Zatat|first=Narjas|title=A record number of British-Muslim MPs were elected to parliament in 2019. Here they are...|url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/12/19/a-record-number-of-muslim-mps-in-uk-parliament|access-date=28 April 2021|website=alaraby|date=18 December 2019 }}</ref> and there are nineteen Muslim peers in the House of Lords.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}
The majority of British Muslims vote for the Labour Party,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/most-uk-muslims-will-vote-labour-1.562656/|title=Most UK Muslims will vote Labour|author=David Sapsted|work=thenational.ae|date=25 February 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222010507/http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/europe/most-uk-muslims-will-vote-labour|archive-date= 2014-02-22}}</ref> however there are some high-profile Conservative Muslims, including former Minister for Faith and Communities and former Co-chairman and the Conservative Party Sayeeda Warsi,<ref>{{cite news |title=Junior Ministerial reshuffle rolling blog |first=Tim |last=Montgomerie |url=http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2012/09/junior-ministerial-reshuffle-rolling-blog.html |newspaper=ConservativeHome |date=4 September 2012 |access-date=6 September 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907014806/http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2012/09/junior-ministerial-reshuffle-rolling-blog.html |archive-date=7 September 2012 }}</ref> described by ''The Guardian'' as a 'rising star' in the Tory party.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jan/31/tory-party-rising-stars-fading | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Nicholas | last=Watt | title=Tory party: the rising stars and those fading fast | date=31 January 2013 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104014814/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jan/31/tory-party-rising-stars-fading | archive-date=4 January 2017 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> Warsi, who was the first Muslim to serve in a British cabinet, was appointed by David Cameron in 2010 as a minister without portfolio. She was made a senior minister of state in 2012. In August 2014 she resigned over the government's approach to the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28656874 |title=Baroness Warsi quits as Foreign Office minister over Gaza |publisher=BBC |date=5 August 2014 |access-date=5 August 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805091721/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28656874 |archive-date=5 August 2014 }}</ref>
Muslim political parties in Britain have included the People's Justice Party (UK), a Pakistani and Kashmiri party that won city council seats in Manchester in the 2000s,<ref name="PrasadToughJustice">{{cite news|last1=Prasad|first1=Raekha|title=Tough Justice|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2002/jun/19/localgovernment.guardiansocietysupplement|access-date=15 May 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 June 2002|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414010451/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2002/jun/19/localgovernment.guardiansocietysupplement|archive-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> and the unsuccessful Islamic Party of Britain, an Islamist party in Bradford in the 1990s.<ref name=wings>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TbYTAAAAIBAJ&pg=6294,61245|title=British Islamic Party spreads its wings|last=Dabrowska|first=Karen|date=16 November 1989|work=New Straits Times|access-date=10 February 2010|location=Malaysia|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818075634/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TbYTAAAAIBAJ&pg=6294,61245|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2023, the Electoral Commission rejected an application to set up a new political party named 'Party of Islam'.<ref>{{cite news |title='Party of Islam' has bid to become new UK political party rejected |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/party-of-islam-application-electoral-commission-rejected-140549589.html |work=Yahoo! News |date=30 October 2023}}</ref>
In the 2017 general election, 15 Muslim MPs (12 Labour and 3 Conservative) were elected, up from 13 Muslim MPs in 2015 general election.<ref name="muslimnews.co.uk">{{Cite web|title=Record number of Muslim MPs elected|url=https://muslimnews.co.uk/newspaper/home-news/record-number-muslim-mps-elected/|access-date=28 April 2021|website=The Muslim News}}</ref> In the 2019 general election, a record number of 19 Muslim MPs were elected (15 Labour and 4 Conservative).<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 December 2019|title=Fears of Islamophobia in the UK even as record number of Muslim MPs elected|url=https://arab.news/ykbht|access-date=28 April 2021|website=Arab News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/general-election-2019-new-conservative-mps-shifts-balance-party-youth-brexit-1341878|title=General Election 2019: new intake of Conservative MPs shifts the balance of the party in favour of youth|date=15 December 2019|website=The Independent|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref>
Survey data analysed by UK in a Changing Europe showed that Labour (72 per cent) led Conservatives (11 per cent) by 61 points amongst Muslim voters in 2019. Further analysis showed that many minorities were "necessity liberals" who voted for Labour not because they were social liberals, but because Labour represented a broader political package and distrusted the Conservatives on identity matters. British Pakistani and British Bangladeshi voters in particular, by a margin of 20–30 points, believed that LGBT rights had gone too far.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kanagasooriam |first1=James |title=Non-white Britain is more diverse than ever |url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/non-white-britain-is-more-diverse-than-ever-db3bf6bcl |access-date=17 January 2024 |work=The Times |date=3 January 2024}}</ref>
At the 2024 general election, 24 Muslim MPs were elected including a record four independent pro-Palestinian MPs. All of the elected independent MPs were endorsed by The Muslim Vote, a pressure group set up in December 2023 in response to the Gaza war. Polling by Savanta found that 44 per cent of Muslim voters ranked the matter among their top five issues compared to 12 per cent of non-Muslims.<ref>{{cite news |title=Muslim voters credited for election of five independent pro-Palestinian MPs |url=https://hyphenonline.com/2024/07/05/muslim-voters-credited-for-election-of-five-independent-pro-palestinian-mps-shockat-adam-iqbal-mohamed-adnan-hussain-ayoub-khan-uk-election/ |work=Hyphen |date=5 July 2024}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="vertical-align:top" |- ! colspan="7" |Muslim MPs by election 1997–2024 |- ! Election ! colspan=1 style="text-align:center"|Labour ! Conservative ! Scottish National Party ! Other ! Total ! % of Parliament |- style="text-align:center" |- style="text-align:center" | align=left|1997<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/304006.stm|title = BBC News | UK Politics | Vindication for UK's first Muslim MP}}</ref> | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | '''1''' | style="text-align:center"|'''0.15''' |- style="text-align:center" | align=left|2001<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/mps-struggle-to-recognise-muslims-in-the-commons-xrxnqsznw9q|title = MPS 'struggle to recognise Muslims in the Commons'}}</ref> | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | '''2''' | style="text-align:center"|'''0.31''' |- style="text-align:center" | align=left|2005<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1489493/Islamic-reaction-too-small-to-hurt-Blair.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1489493/Islamic-reaction-too-small-to-hurt-Blair.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Islamic reaction too small to hurt Blair|date=7 May 2005 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | '''4''' | style="text-align:center"|'''0.62''' |- style="text-align:center" | align=left|2010<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2010/05/muslim-majority-labour-england|title = Rejoice! The number of Muslim MPS has doubled| date=9 June 2021 }}</ref> | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | '''8''' | style="text-align:center"|'''1.23''' |- style="text-align:center" | align=left|2015<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/uk-news/record-13-muslim-mps-elected-8-them-women-1505297|title=Record of 13 Muslim MPS elected, 8 of them women|date=10 May 2015 }}</ref> | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | '''13''' | style="text-align:center"|'''2.00''' |- style="text-align:center" | align=left|2017<ref name="muslimnews.co.uk"/> | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | '''15''' | style="text-align:center"|'''2.31''' |- style="text-align:center" | align=left|2019<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ummid.com/news/2019/december/15.12.2019/record-number-of-muslims-win-in-uk-2019-elections.html|title=Record number of Muslims win in UK 2019 Elections}}</ref> | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | '''19''' | style="text-align:center"|'''2.92''' |- style="text-align:center" | align=left|2024<!-- The source claims that Munira Wilson of the Liberal Democrats is a Muslim, however she was only raised a Muslim and "is now a committed Christian".--><ref>{{cite news |title=Record number of 25 Muslims elected to UK Parliament amid rising Islamophobia |url=https://muslimmirror.com/eng/record-number-of-25-muslims-elected-to-uk-parliament-amid-rising-islamophobia/ |work=Muslim Mirror |date=9 July 2024}}</ref> | 18 | 2 | 0 | 4 | '''24''' | style="text-align:center"|'''3.69''' |- style="text-align:center" |} A February 2024 poll showed that 14% of Muslim voters voted for the Green Party and 38% no longer supported the Labour Party.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Adu |first=Aletha |date=5 February 2025 |title=British Muslims losing trust in Labour over its handling of Israel-Gaza war |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/05/british-muslims-losing-trust-in-labour-over-its-handling-of-israel-gaza-war |access-date=25 January 2026 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250711064752/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/05/british-muslims-losing-trust-in-labour-over-its-handling-of-israel-gaza-war |archive-date=11 July 2025}}</ref> In September 2024, Sky News reported that Green Party's anti-Gaza war stance has attracted a significant amount of Muslim voters who previously voted for Labour Party.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barker-Singh |first=Serena |date=8 September 2024 |title=Green Party's Gaza stance won over Muslim voters – now they hope their progressive policies will keep them |url=https://news.sky.com/story/green-partys-gaza-stance-won-over-muslim-voters-now-they-hope-their-progressive-policies-will-keep-them-13211572 |access-date=25 January 2026 |work=Sky News |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260113103120/https://news.sky.com/story/green-partys-gaza-stance-won-over-muslim-voters-now-they-hope-their-progressive-policies-will-keep-them-13211572 |archive-date=13 January 2026}}</ref> When Green Party politician Mothin Ali was elected as Leeds City Council member, ''The Daily Telegraph'' noted that he called his victory a "win for the people of Gaza" and chanted ''takbir''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Turner |first=Camilla |date=4 May 2025 |title=Victorious Leeds Green Party councillor shouts 'Allahu Akbar' after 'win for Gaza' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/04/green-party-mothin-ali-allahu-akba-leeds-gipton-harehills/ |work=The Daily Telegraph }}</ref> In October 2025, unnamed Green Party members told ''Hyphen'' that the party has seen an increase in Muslim voters since Mothin Ali was elected to be its deputy leader. Faaiz Hasan, a member of "Muslim Greens" group within the party, said the party is becoming popular in communities with high amount of Muslims, like Barking and Dagenham.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Javed |first=Saman |date=13 October 2025 |title=Will the Greens and Your Party take Labour's Muslim voters? |url=https://hyphenonline.com/2025/10/13/labour-muslim-voters-green-party-your-party-new-left/ |access-date=25 January 2026 |website=Hyphen Online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260105012306/https://hyphenonline.com/2025/10/13/labour-muslim-voters-green-party-your-party-new-left/ |archive-date=5 January 2026}}</ref>
===Law=== {{main|Sharia}}
{{see also|Islamic Sharia Council|Muslim Arbitration Tribunal}} thumb|upright|Public demonstration in the United Kingdom for sharia, October 2009 The first sharia court, also known as sharia councils, began operating in the United Kingdom in 1982, and the number in operation has grown to 85 by 2024. A ''The Times'' investigation has found that there are a growing number of Muslims from across Europe and North America seeking the services of British sharia courts, with the UK now dubbed as the 'western capital' for sharia courts.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kennedy |first1=Dominic |title=How the UK became 'western capital' for sharia courts |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/sharia-law-courts-uk-marriages-divorce-zs76vq2c9 |work=The Times |date=18 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ehsan |first1=Rakib |title=Sharia courts exploit Britain's rich traditions of religious freedom |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/20/sharia-courts-exploit-britains-traditions-religious-freedom/ |work=The Telegraph |date=20 December 2024}}</ref>
Although sharia is not part of the British legal system, several British establishment figures have supported its use in areas of dispute resolution in Islamic communities. For example, in February 2008 Rowan Williams the Archbishop of Canterbury (the head of the Church of England) lectured at the Royal Courts of Justice on Islam and English law. In this lecture he spoke of the possibility of using sharia in some circumstances:
{{blockquote|[...] it might be possible to think in terms of{{nbsp}}[...] a scheme in which individuals retain the liberty to choose the jurisdiction under which they will seek to resolve certain carefully specified matters, so that 'power-holders are forced to compete for the loyalty of their shared constituents'.|Rowan Williams, 2008<ref name=rwsharia>{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Rowan|title=Civil and Religious Law in England: a religious perspective|url=http://rowanwilliams.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/1137/archbishops-lecture-civil-and-religious-law-in-england-a-religious-perspective|access-date=8 November 2014|date=7 February 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108054552/http://rowanwilliams.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/1137/archbishops-lecture-civil-and-religious-law-in-england-a-religious-perspective|archive-date=8 November 2014}}</ref>}}
Several months later, Lord Phillips, then Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales supported the idea that sharia could be reasonably employed as a basis for "mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution", and explained that "It is not very radical to advocate embracing sharia law in the context of family disputes, for example, and our system already goes a long way towards accommodating the archbishop's suggestion."<ref>{{cite news|title=Sharia law 'could have UK role'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7488790.stm|work=BBC News|access-date=4 June 2008|date=4 July 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921024521/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7488790.stm|archive-date=21 September 2008}}</ref>
In March 2014, The Law Society issued guidance on how to draft sharia-compliant wills for the network of sharia courts which been established to deal with disputes between Muslim families.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10716844/Islamic-law-is-adopted-by-British-legal-chiefs.html|title=Islamic law is adopted by British legal chiefs|date=22 March 2014|work=Telegraph.co.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227191352/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10716844/Islamic-law-is-adopted-by-British-legal-chiefs.html|archive-date=27 December 2017}}</ref> The guidance was withdrawn later in 2014 following criticism by solicitors and by Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary.<ref>{{cite news|title=Law Society withdraws guidance on sharia wills|last1=Bowcott|first1=Owen|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/nov/24/law-society-withdraws-guidance-sharia-wills|access-date=8 December 2014|work=The Guardian|date=24 November 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202214926/http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/nov/24/law-society-withdraws-guidance-sharia-wills|archive-date=2 December 2014}}</ref>
In its 2017 manifesto, UKIP pledged to abolish the existence of sharia courts in the UK.<ref>{{cite news |title=General election 2017: UKIP manifesto to pledge a burka ban |date=24 April 2017 |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39682939?ocid=socialflow_facebook&ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=facebook |access-date=23 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527091610/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39682939?ocid=socialflow_facebook&ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=facebook |archive-date=27 May 2017 }}<br />– {{cite news |title=Ukip to campaign to ban burqa and sharia courts, says Paul Nuttall |author=Elgot, Jessica |date=23 April 2016 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/23/ukip-to-campaign-to-ban-burka-and-sharia-courts-says-paul-nuttall?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Facebook |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=23 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424003019/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/23/ukip-to-campaign-to-ban-burka-and-sharia-courts-says-paul-nuttall?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Facebook |archive-date=24 April 2017}}</ref>
In 2016–2018 an independent panel commissioned by the UK government investigated the practices of sharia councils operating in England and Wales. The councils have no legal status and no legal jurisdiction in the UK. Estimates for their number range between 30 and 85. The investigation found that most people consulting the councils are women seeking an Islamic divorce. The review concluded that "there is unanimous agreement among the sharia councils themselves that discriminatory practices do occur in some instances within the councils in England and Wales" and made legislative and administrative recommendations to remedy the abuses. The panel was not aware of any sharia councils operating in Scotland.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/678478/6.4152_HO_CPFG_Report_into_Sharia_Law_in_the_UK_WEB.pdf |title= The independent review into the application of sharia law in England and Wales |date=February 2018|via=www.gov.uk}}</ref>
According to Kaveri Qureshi, while women educate themselves and follow Islamic norms and values referring to colonial era Islamic advice literature about marriage not for continuation but to end their marriages and for justification of remarriages contrary to original intention of authors of the literature.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Qureshi|first=Kaveri|date=2 January 2018|title=Marriage, the Islamic advice literature and its women readers|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/20581831.2018.1455341|journal=Contemporary Levant|volume=3|issue=1|pages=32–43|doi=10.1080/20581831.2018.1455341|hdl=20.500.11820/3fc50ac1-565b-453b-8375-0818d44506d8 |s2cid=149478769 |issn=2058-1831|hdl-access=free|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
===Media and culture=== {{see also|List of Islamic television and radio stations in the United Kingdom}}
There are several Islamic television channels operating in the UK, including British Muslim TV, Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International (MTA International),<ref name="MTAchannel">{{cite web |title=MTA International |url=https://www.mta.tv |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203061858/http://www.mta.tv/ |archive-date=3 February 2007}}</ref><ref name="islamchannel">{{cite web|url=http://www.islamchannel.tv/aboutus.aspx |title=About Islam Channel |work=Islam Channel website |access-date=10 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129074555/http://www.islamchannel.tv/aboutus.aspx |archive-date=29 January 2010 }}</ref> Ummah Channel,<ref name="ummahchannel">{{cite web|url=http://media247.co.uk/bizasia/newsarchive/2009/08/ummah_channel_r.php |title=Ummah Channel replaces 9X on Sky EPG |editor-last=Baddhan |editor-first=Lakhvinder |date=12 August 2009 |work=BizAsia.co.uk |publisher=Biz Asia |access-date=10 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091214070614/http://media247.co.uk/bizasia/newsarchive/2009/08/ummah_channel_r.php |archive-date=14 December 2009 }}</ref> Ahlebait TV, and Fadak.
British Muslims are represented in various media positions across different organisations. Notable examples include Mehdi Hasan, the political editor of the UK version of ''The Huffington Post''<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/ |title=Mehdi Hasan |work=Huffington Post |access-date=23 March 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402065544/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/ |archive-date=2 April 2013 }}</ref> and the presenter of Al Jazeera English shows ''The Café'' and ''Head to Head'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Mehdi Hasan – Profile |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/profile/mehdi-hasan.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707023722/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/profile/mehdi-hasan.html |archive-date=7 July 2013 |access-date=23 March 2013 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref> Mishal Husain, a British news presenter for the BBC, currently appearing on BBC World News and BBC Weekend News, Rageh Omaar, special correspondent with ITV and formerly Senior Foreign Correspondent with the BBC and a reporter/presenter for Al Jazeera English,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.itv.com/news/meet-the-team/rageh-omaar/ |title=Rageh Omaar |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=itv.com |access-date=16 November 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116084734/http://www.itv.com/news/meet-the-team/rageh-omaar/ |archive-date=16 November 2013}}</ref> and Faisal Islam, economics editor and correspondent for ''Channel 4 News''.<ref name=Channel4>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/authors/faisal+islam/105950#bio |title=Faisal Islam |publisher=Channel4.com |access-date=13 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629062040/http://www.channel4.com/news/authors/faisal%20islam/105950#bio |archive-date=29 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2013, there were 40 Muslim players in the English Premier League, up from one in 1992. Man of the Match awardees were awarded bottles of champagne, which is forbidden in Islam, and after Muslim player Yaya Toure refused the award, champagne was phased out for small trophies instead. Children playing football have been seen falling to their knees as if in prayer after scoring a goal, a common practice of Muslim footballers.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/23159023| location=| work=BBC| title=Premier League: How Muslims are changing English football culture| date=5 July 2013| access-date=17 August 2022}}</ref>
===Associations=== * Ahmadiyya Muslim Association<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.loveforallhatredfornone.org/|title=Love for All, Hatred For None- An official website of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK|website=www.loveforallhatredfornone.org|access-date=7 July 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711064714/http://www.loveforallhatredfornone.org/|archive-date=11 July 2016}}</ref> * Association of British Muslims, the oldest organisation of British Muslims, created in 1889 as the ''English Islamic Association'' by Abdullah Quilliam.<ref name="BBC_Quilliam_firstUKmosque">{{cite news|first=Louise |last=Sardais |title=The 'little mosque' |date=August 2003 |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/liverpool/article_1.shtml |access-date=17 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208104122/http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/liverpool/article_1.shtml |archive-date=8 February 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AOBM_selfhistory">{{cite web |last=Rosser-Owen |first=David |title=History |publisher=Association of British Muslims |date=30 April 2010 |url=http://aobm.org.uk/main/?page_id=30 |access-date=17 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211075506/http://aobm.org.uk/main/?page_id=30 |archive-date=11 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> * Association of Muslim Lawyers * British Muslim Forum * Civil Service Islamic Society * Daru-Al-Moameneen * Islamic Forum of Europe * Islamic Party of Britain * Islamic Society of Britain * Minhaj-ul-Quran UK * Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board * Muslim Association of Britain * Muslim Council of Britain * Muslim Educational Trust * Muslim Parliament of Great Britain * Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK * Muslim Safety Forum * New Crescent Society, a British Muslim organisation focused on local crescent-moon sighting and the Islamic calendar * Sufi Muslim Council * The Young Muslims UK * UK Islamic Mission * World Islamic Mission * Young Muslim Organisation
===Proselytisation=== {{See also|Conversion to Islam in prisons}} An estimated 5,200 Britons convert to Islam each year, with around 100,000 converts reported by 2013. For men, prisons have been a notable setting for conversions. Approximately 18% of the British prison population, or over 14,000 prisoners, are Muslims, disproportionately higher than the general population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Table 1.5: Prison population by religion and sex|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1131446/Population_31Dec2022.ods |website=gov.uk |publisher=Ministry of Justice |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref> The proportion of Muslims in the UK prison population rose from 8% in 2002 to 15% in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04334/SN04334.pdf|title=Briefing Paper Number SN/SG/04334UK - Prison Population Statistics|last=Allen & Watson|date=20 April 2017|publisher=House of Commons Library|page=14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329021406/http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04334/SN04334.pdf|archive-date=29 March 2017|url-status=live|access-date=25 March 2017}}</ref> According to the UK prison officers' union in 2013, some Muslim prisoners in the UK had allegedly forcibly converted fellow inmates to Islam in prisons.<ref>{{cite news |last=Withnall |first=A. |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-s-jails-facing-growing-problem-of-forced-conversion-to-islam-officers-warn-8892645.html |title=Britain's jails facing 'growing problem' of forced conversion to Islam, officers warn |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=20 October 2013}}</ref> There have been multiple cases of non-Muslim prisoners threatened with violence<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ford |first=Richard |date=7 June 2019 |title=Muslim gangs 'beat prisoners' who will not convert to Islam |newspaper=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/muslim-gangs-beat-prisoners-who-will-not-convert-to-islam-gcb8nb2md |access-date=23 April 2022 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> with "convert or get hurt" being a commonly used phrase by Muslim gangs according to an independent report published by the government.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bloom |first1=Colin |title=Does government 'do God?' An independent review into how government engages with faith |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1152684/The_Bloom_Review.pdf |website=gov.uk |publisher=Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities |access-date=26 April 2023}}</ref> A 2010 report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons stated that 30% of the Muslim prisoners interviewed had converted to Islam while in prison, some of whom were "convenience Muslims" who adopted the religion in order to get benefits available only to Muslims.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Whitehead|first1=Tom|title=Prisoners converting to Islam for 'perks'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/7808783/Prisoners-converting-to-Islam-for-perks.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/7808783/Prisoners-converting-to-Islam-for-perks.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=8 May 2018|work=Daily Telegraph|date=8 June 2010|location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Other reasons why inmates may convert include wanting protection in wings where Muslim gangs are prevalent, the ability to go to chapel, and access to different foods. Around one in five Muslim prisoners in the UK are now white.<ref>{{cite news |title=One in five Muslim prisoners is white as 'gangs drive conversions' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/19/one-five-muslim-prisoners-white-islamic-gangs-conversions/ |work=The Telegraph |date=19 March 2024}}</ref>
Mosques in the country are sometimes seen as ethnic clubs which are not welcoming of new converts but there have also been recent convert-led mosques.<ref name=economist>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21578099-british-strand-islam-emerging-more-people-become-converts-changing-my-religion |title=A British strand of Islam is emerging as more people become converts|publisher=The Economist|date=18 May 2013|access-date=27 July 2022}}</ref> A study in 2023 found that amongst some schools, there were tensions between Hindu and Muslim pupils. Hindu students were labelled as "kaffirs" and threatened to either convert or face "hell for disbelievers".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Johnston |first1=Neil |title=Muslim pupils tell Hindu classmates to convert to Islam to avoid bullying |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/18/muslim-pupils-hindu-convert-islam-bullying/ |work=The Telegraph |date=18 April 2023}}</ref>
===Extremist ideology=== {{See also|Terrorism in the United Kingdom#Islamist|United Kingdom and the Islamic State}}
In June 2017, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, said that difficult conversations are needed, starting with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states that have funded and fuelled extremist ideology, and has also urged an immediate halt to UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia.<ref name=jihad1>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-05/corbyn-says-difficult-talks-needed-with-saudis-gulf-states/8588452 |title=London Bridge attack: Jeremy Corbyn says Britain needs to have 'difficult' talks with Saudi Arabia |date=5 June 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606034540/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-05/corbyn-says-difficult-talks-needed-with-saudis-gulf-states/8588452 |archive-date=6 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="bbc.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40496778|title=Saudi Arabia has 'clear link' to UK extremism, report says|date=5 July 2017|work=BBC|access-date=5 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705075344/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40496778|archive-date=5 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=jihad2>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-saudi-arabia-extremist-funding-terrorism-gulf-states-qatar-isis-al-qaeda-labour-a7773451.html |title=Jeremy Corbyn calls for 'difficult conversations' with Saudi Arabia and Gulf states over extremism funding |date=5 June 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827145753/http://www.independent.co.uk/News/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-saudi-arabia-extremist-funding-terrorism-gulf-states-qatar-isis-al-qaeda-labour-a7773451.html |archive-date=27 August 2017}}</ref> Tom Brake, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, has said that Saudi Arabia provides funding to hundreds of mosques in the UK, espousing a very hardline Wahhabist interpretation of Islam.<ref name=jihad3>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/31/sensitive-uk-terror-funding-inquiry-findings-may-never-be-published-saudi-arabia |title='Sensitive' UK terror funding inquiry may never be published |date=1 June 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606011232/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/31/sensitive-uk-terror-funding-inquiry-findings-may-never-be-published-saudi-arabia |archive-date=6 June 2017}}</ref> In July 2017, a report by the Henry Jackson Society, a neo-conservative<ref name="georgetownuniversity">''[https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-henry-jackson-society/ Factsheet: Henry Jackson SocietyCTSHEET]''. 13 June 2018. Georgetown University. Bridge Initiative Team. Retrieved 17 February 2020.</ref><ref name="tg">Griffin, T., Aked, H., Miller, D., & Marusek, S. (2015). ''[https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/the-henry-jackson-society-and-the-degeneration-of-british-neocons The Henry Jackson Society and the degeneration of British neoconservatism]'': Liberal interventionism, Islamophobia and the 'War on Terror'. Glasgow: Public Interest Investigations. Retrieved 17 February 2020.</ref> think tank, claimed that Middle Eastern nations are financially supporting mosques and educational institutions linked to spreading extremist material with "an illiberal, bigoted Wahhabi ideology".<ref name="bbc.com"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/03/theresa-may-report-foreign-funding-extremists-saudi-arabia|title=Theresa May sitting on report on foreign funding of UK extremists|author=Elgot, Jessica|date=4 July 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=5 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170711160033/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/03/theresa-may-report-foreign-funding-extremists-saudi-arabia|archive-date=11 July 2017}}</ref> The report said that the number of Salafi and Wahhabi mosques in Britain had increased from 68 in 2007 to 110 in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://themarketmogul.com/extremism-report-puts-saudi-arabia-and-british-pm-may-on-the-spot-strengthens-qatar-in-gulf-crisis/|title=Saudi Arabian Extremism in the UK: Inside the Henry Jackson Report|author=Dorsey, James M|date=6 July 2017|work=The Market Mogal|access-date=7 July 2017|archive-date=3 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503181123/https://themarketmogul.com/extremism-report-puts-saudi-arabia-and-british-pm-may-on-the-spot-strengthens-qatar-in-gulf-crisis/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2017, Gilles de Kerchove reported that the UK had the highest number of Islamist radicals in the EU, with estimates ranging between 20,000 and 25,000. Of these, 3,000 were considered a direct threat by MI5, and 500 were under constant surveillance.<ref name="independent.co.uk">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/islamist-extremists-uk-highest-number-europe-25000-terror-threat-eu-official-isis-islam-britain-a7923966.html|title=Britain has more Islamist extremists than any other EU country|date=1 September 2017|website=The Independent|access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref> Among those identified by security services but not seen as an immediate threat were the perpetrators of three ISIS-linked attacks in 2017, which resulted in 35 deaths.<ref name="independent.co.uk"/><ref name="The Telegraph">{{cite news |last1=Hashmi |first1=Zeeshan |title=Why more British Muslims are fighting for ISIL than the Army |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11439401/Why-more-British-Muslims-are-fighting-for-ISIL-than-the-Army.html |work=The Telegraph |date=28 February 2015}}</ref> Between 2011 and 2014, more British Muslims traveled to Syria to join ISIS and Al-Nusra Front than enlisted in the British Armed Forces,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weaver |first1=Mary Anne |title=Her Majesty's Jihadists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/magazine/her-majestys-jihadists.html |work=The New York Times |date=14 April 2015}}</ref> with around 1,500 joining these groups compared to 220 who enlisted in the military.<ref>{{cite news |title=Man guilty over Muslim soldier beheading plot |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578753/Man-guilty-over-Muslim-soldier-beheading-plot.html |work=The Telegraph |date=15 February 2008}}</ref><ref name="The Telegraph"/><ref name="independent.co.uk"/>
Political scientists Olivier Roy and Gilles Kepel offer differing perspectives on the roots of radical Islamist terrorism. Roy argues that many individuals are drawn to fundamentalist Islam only after becoming radicalized,<ref name=jihad4>{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/it-s-not-islam-that-drives-young-europeans-to-jihad-terrorism-expert-says-1.5477000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120024719/https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/it-s-not-islam-that-drives-young-europeans-to-jihad-terrorism-expert-says-1.5477000|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 January 2018|title=It's Not Islam That Drives Young Europeans to Jihad, France's Top Terrorism Expert Explains|last=Lerner|first=Davide|date=20 August 2017|work=Haaretz|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> while Kepel suggests that certain ideologies, like Salafism, may lead individuals to violence. Roy also noted that restrictive policies like France's burkini ban might provoke religious violence,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/london-gave-shelter-to-radical-islam-and-now-it-s-paying-the-price-1.5482356|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207195144/https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/london-gave-shelter-to-radical-islam-and-now-it-s-paying-the-price-1.5482356|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 February 2018|title=London Gave Shelter to Radical Islam and Now It's Paying the Price, French Terrorism Expert Says|last=Lerner|first=Davide|date=14 June 2017|work=Haaretz|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> but Kepel countered that the UK has experienced jihadist attacks despite having no such policies.<ref name=":0" />
A 2020 report indicated that British Muslims share similar concerns with the general population regarding Muslim extremism, with 63% expressing some level of worry. British Muslims were also slightly more likely (66%) than others (63%) to report individuals to the Prevent programme if concerned about radicalization, and 80% supported Prevent once they understood its goals.<ref name="extremismcommission.blog.gov.uk">{{cite web |title=Lead Commissioner's statement on Crest report: Listening to British Muslims: policing, extremism and Prevent |url=https://extremismcommission.blog.gov.uk/2020/03/02/lead-commissioners-statement-on-crest-report-listening-to-british-muslims-policing-extremism-and-prevent/ |publisher=Commission for Countering Extremism |access-date=2 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="CONTEST2023">{{cite web |title=CONTEST: The United Kingdom's Strategy for Countering Terrorism 2023 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1171084/CONTEST_2023.pdf |website=gov.uk |publisher=Home Office |access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref> Additionally, as of 2023, Muslim extremism represents a significant portion of MI5's caseload and related arrests, with nine-tenths of the individuals on its watchlist linked to this type of extremism.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mendick |first1=Robert |title=Stabbing suspect was assessed by anti-terror programme |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/22/number-people-mi5-terror-suspect-watch-list-doubled-year/ |work=The Telegraph |date=23 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="CONTEST2023"/><ref name="extremismcommission.blog.gov.uk"/>
In March 2024, Communities Secretary Michael Gove announced that five organisations would be assessed against the government's new definition of extremism. Three of these organisations, named as Cage, Muslim Association of Britain, and Muslim Engagement and Development, were of concern due to their Islamist orientation and views.<ref>{{cite news |title=Michael Gove names far-right and Islamist groups which could fall under fresh extremism definition |url=https://news.sky.com/story/michael-gove-names-far-right-and-islamist-groups-which-could-fall-under-fresh-extremism-definition-13094384 |access-date=14 March 2024 |work=Sky News}}</ref> The latter two groups threatened to sue after the announcement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gove faces legal action threats after suggesting Muslim groups are extremist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/14/gove-says-three-muslim-led-groups-and-two-far-right-to-be-assessed-for-extremism |work=The Guardian |date=14 March 2024}}</ref>
====Antisemitism==== {{See also|Antisemitism in Islam|Antisemitism in the United Kingdom}} British Muslim journalist Mehdi Hasan has argued that "anti-Semitism isn't just tolerated in some sections of the British Muslim community; it's routine and commonplace".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hasan |first=Mehdi |title=The shocking rise of antisemitism among British Muslims |magazine=New Statesman |date=2013-05-15 |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/05/shocking-rise-antisemitism-among-british-muslims |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref> Quantitative research has reported higher prevalence of some antisemitic attitudes among British Muslims than among the general public. The Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), drawing on a 2016 nationally representative survey of 5,446 adults, reported that a higher share of Muslim respondents endorsed at least one antisemitic attitude than the population average, and found associations between higher levels of religiosity and endorsement of some antisemitic stereotypes.<ref>{{cite report |title=Antisemitism in contemporary Great Britain: A study of attitudes towards Jews and Israel |publisher=Institute for Jewish Policy Research |date=2017 |url=https://www.jpr.org.uk/documents/JPR.2017.Antisemitism_in_contemporary_Great_Britain.pdf |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref> Other polling has suggested more mixed attitudes: a 2020 survey commissioned by Hope not Hate reported that 45% of British Muslims held a favourable view of British Jews, while 18% held an unfavourable view.<ref>{{cite news |title=Minorities still believe in tolerant Britain |newspaper=The Times |date=2020-05-23 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/minorities-still-believe-in-tolerant-britain-6hr9khbd8 |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title=Counting Religion in Britain, No. 270 (summary of Hope not Hate/Survation BAME poll) |publisher=British Religion in Numbers |date=2020 |url=https://www.brin.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/270-What-do-BAME-Britons-think.pdf |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref>
Following the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack and the subsequent Israel–Hamas war, UK public debate intensified around antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and the boundaries between hate speech and political expression about Israel and Palestine. The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded a record annual total of 4,298 antisemitic incidents in 2023 and reported that incident levels remained elevated in 2024 (3,556) and 2025 (3,700), with many incidents referencing Israel/Palestine or the war while also evidencing anti-Jewish motivation or targeting.<ref>{{cite report |title=Antisemitic Incidents Report 2025 |publisher=Community Security Trust |date=2026 |url=https://cst.org.uk/public/data/file/c/4/CST%20Incidents%20Report%202025.pdf |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref> Over the same period, monitoring organisations reported sharp increases in anti-Muslim hate, which they linked in part to the conflict and related online and offline hostility.<ref>{{cite report |title=The New Norm of Anti-Muslim Hate |publisher=Tell MAMA |date=2025-02-19 |url=https://tellmamauk.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/TheNewNormofAnti-MuslimHate-TellMAMAReport2025.pdf |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Israel-Gaza war fuels record level of anti-Muslim hatred in Britain, monitoring group says |agency=Reuters |date=2025-02-19 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/israel-gaza-war-fuels-record-level-anti-muslim-hatred-britain-monitoring-group-says-2025-02-19/ |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref>
Large pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the UK after October 2023 prompted scrutiny of protest slogans and symbols. In October 2023, Home Secretary Suella Braverman wrote to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner stating that chants such as "from the river to the sea" could, depending on context, be interpreted as expressing a violent desire to eliminate Israel and might amount to a racially aggravated public order offence, while also emphasising that policing decisions must be evidence-led.<ref>{{cite web |title=Letter from the Home Secretary to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (10 October 2023) |website=GOV.UK |date=2023-10-10 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-the-home-secretary-to-the-commissioner-of-the-metropolitan-police/letter-from-the-home-secretary-to-the-commissioner-of-the-metropolitan-police |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref> Civil liberties groups have argued that the phrase is not, by itself, unlawful and that criminality depends on context (e.g., threats, harassment, or incitement), warning that overly broad interpretations risk chilling lawful protest and expression.<ref>{{cite web |title=Is "from the river to the sea" illegal? |website=Liberty |date=2023 |url=https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/advice_information/is-from-the-river-to-the-sea-illegal/ |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref>
Human rights organisations have also criticised what they describe as an expanding use of counter-terrorism and antisemitism frameworks to restrict Palestinian solidarity activism. Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), among others, argued that measures taken in several Western countries—including the UK—risked conflating non-violent political advocacy with extremism, and that accusations of antisemitism were sometimes applied in ways that undermined freedom of expression and assembly; these claims have been disputed by government and some Jewish communal organisations, who argue that robust enforcement is necessary given heightened antisemitic threats.<ref>{{cite report |title=Solidarity as a Crime: Voices for Palestine Under Fire |publisher=International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) |date=2025-10-07 |url=https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/fidh_report_on_palestinian_solidarity_under_fire.pdf |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Right to protest is under sustained attack in the west, report finds |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2025-10-14 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/14/right-to-protest-criminalisation-west-fidh-report-palestine |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref>
These debates intensified after the UK government proscribed the direct-action group Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 in July 2025. In February 2026, the High Court ruled that the proscription decision was unlawful and disproportionate, but left the ban temporarily in place pending further proceedings and a government appeal; civil liberties groups welcomed the ruling, while ministers defended the original proscription as a response to serious criminal damage and intimidation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Britain's High Court says government acted illegally in outlawing protest group Palestine Action |agency=Associated Press |date=2026-02-13 |url=https://apnews.com/article/2fbb7f5e2e090881193b9328323d2ec4 |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=UK Palestine Action ban ruled unlawful, in humiliating blow for ministers |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2026-02-13 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/13/uk-ban-palestine-action-unlawful-high-court-judges-rule |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=UK: High Court rules ban on Palestine Action under terrorism legislation unlawful |website=Amnesty International UK |date=2026-02-13 |url=https://www.amnesty.org.uk/latest/uk-court-draws-line-in-the-sand-against-misuse-of-terrorism-powers/ |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref>
In March 2024, the Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden ordered the suspension of the Civil Service Muslim Network (CSMN) pending an investigation into allegations that webinars and related activity included antisemitic tropes and political activism aimed at influencing government policy on Israel/Palestine.<ref>{{cite news |title=Civil Service Muslim Network suspended over Israel-Gaza comments |website=Civil Service World |date=2024-03-18 |url=https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/civil-service-muslim-network-suspended-over-palestine-row |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref> In a September 2024 parliamentary answer, the government stated that the CSMN had voluntarily suspended activity earlier in the year and had since resumed with senior sponsors appointed to ensure compliance with relevant guidance on impartiality.<ref>{{cite web |title=Civil Servants — Written question 5035 |website=UK Parliament (Questions–Statements) |date=2024-09-18 |url=https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-09-10/5035 |access-date=2026-02-18}}</ref>
==Relations with wider society==
===Attitudes of British Muslims=== Recent survey research indicates that many British Muslims place strong emphasis on religious identity, while levels of belonging and perceived safety have varied across studies and over time. A 2025 study by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL), based on a national survey of British Muslims, found that a majority of respondents prioritised a Muslim identity over a British identity when asked which described them "first and foremost", with notable variation by age group; the report linked identity patterns partly to experiences of prejudice and exclusion.<ref>{{cite report |title=Belonging, Belief & Britishness: Exploring the British Muslim Experience on Their Own Terms |publisher=Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life |date=March 2025 |url=https://iifl.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Report_Belonging-Belief-and-Britishness_Institute-for-Impact-of-Faith-in-Life.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
Earlier polling in the mid-2010s reported high levels of national attachment among British Muslims. A 2016 ICM poll found that 86% of British Muslims said they felt a strong sense of belonging to Britain,<ref>{{cite news |title=British Muslims feel strong sense of belonging to Britain, poll finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/11/british-muslims-strong-sense-of-belonging-poll-homosexuality-sharia-law |work=The Guardian |date=11 April 2016 |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> while a 2016 Policy Exchange survey reported that 93% expressed a strong attachment to Britain.<ref>{{cite report |title=Unsettled Belonging: A Survey of Britain's Muslim Communities |publisher=Policy Exchange |date=December 2016 |url=https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/PEXJ5037_Muslim_Communities_FINAL.pdf |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> By contrast, a 2026 survey by Muslim Census reported that 51.9% of respondents said they "strongly" felt they belonged in the UK, with a further proportion selecting less emphatic options; 71.9% said they felt safe in their local area, while 11% disagreed.<ref>{{cite report |title=The Crisis of Belonging: Inside the Lives of British Muslims |publisher=Muslim Census |date=13 February 2026 |url=https://muslimcensus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Muslim-Census-The-Crisis-of-Belonging-Report.pdf |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Only half of British Muslims feel they belong in UK, suggests new report |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2026-02-12/only-half-of-british-muslims-feel-they-belong-in-uk-suggests-new-report |website=ITV News |date=12 February 2026 |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> Analysts have noted that differences in question wording, sampling methods and response scales make direct comparison between surveys difficult.
A separate 2024 IIFL survey reported that large majorities of British Muslim respondents viewed Britain as a country offering good opportunities to progress in life and supported greater efforts to improve interfaith relations, alongside high reported levels of charitable giving and community participation.<ref>{{cite report |title=The social contribution of British Muslims |publisher=Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life |date=February 2024 |url=https://iifl.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/The-social-contribution-of-British-Muslims.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
Polling during the Israel–Hamas war period indicated that the conflict became a highly salient political issue for many British Muslims. A Savanta poll of British Muslim voters reported that the Gaza conflict ranked among the most important election issues for a large share of respondents, and that many said they would consider supporting independent candidates based on positions related to the conflict.<ref>{{cite web |title=UK General Election 2024: Muslim Voting Intention Poll |url=https://hyphenonline.com/2024/06/11/poll-most-voters-concerned-about-the-crisis-in-gaza-would-consider-voting-independent-muslim-vote-uk-election/ |website=Hyphen |date=11 June 2024 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gaza conflict ranks amongst most important election issues for British Muslims |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2024-06-11/gaza-conflict-ranks-amongst-most-important-election-issues-for-british-muslims |website=ITV News |date=11 June 2024 |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> A 2024 poll of UK Muslims published by the Henry Jackson Society, based on fieldwork by J.L. Partners, also reported strong pro-Palestinian sympathies among respondents when asked to choose between parties to the conflict, with results varying significantly by age and education level.<ref>{{cite report |title=British Muslim and general public attitudes polling |publisher=Henry Jackson Society |date=March 2024 |url=https://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/HJS-Deck-200324-Final.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
====Extremism, social attitudes and family norms==== Reviews of British survey data have found that only a small minority of Muslims express sympathy for terrorism, and that large majorities report concern about extremism. An Ipsos MORI review of multiple UK surveys reported that across studies only a "tiny percentage" of Muslim respondents showed support or sympathy for terrorist violence; it cited a 2016 study in which 90% of Muslim respondents condemned threatening or committing terrorist actions and 2% expressed sympathy, compared with 84% condemnation and 4% sympathy in a general-population comparison sample.<ref>{{cite report |title=A review of survey research on Muslims in Britain |publisher=Ipsos MORI |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2018-03/a-review-of-survey-research-on-muslims-in-great-britain-ipsos_0.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title=Unsettled Belonging: A Survey of Britain's Muslim Communities |publisher=Policy Exchange |date=December 2016 |url=https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/PEXJ5037_Muslim_Communities_FINAL.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> Research for the Commission for Countering Extremism by Crest Advisory (2020) found that most British Muslim respondents said they were worried about Islamist extremism and that majorities expressed conditional or full support for the Prevent programme after a neutral description, with most also saying they would report concerns about radicalisation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Executive summary: Listening to British Muslims on policing, extremism and Prevent |publisher=Crest Advisory |date=2 March 2020 |url=https://www.crestadvisory.com/post/executive-summary-listening-to-british-muslims-on-policing-extremism-and-prevent |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
On social and family issues, survey reviews indicate that British Muslims are, on average, more likely than the general population to express socially conservative views on some questions, though attitudes vary by age and gender. The Ipsos MORI review reported that close to half of Muslim men and around one third of Muslim women agreed with the statement that "wives should always obey their husbands", and noted generational differences with younger Muslims tending to hold more liberal views on several topics than older cohorts. The same review also found that a majority of Muslims disagreed that homosexuality should be legal in Britain, with 38% strongly disagreeing and 14% tending to disagree, compared to 8% who strongly agreed and 10% who tended to agree. By contrast, 73% of the overall adult population, and 67% of Christians, supported legality in a comparable control sample. Younger Muslims were more likely to express supportive views, with 28% of those aged 18-24 and 23% of those aged 25-34 agreeing that homosexuality should be legal.<ref>{{cite report |title=A review of survey research on Muslims in Britain |publisher=Ipsos MORI |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2018-03/a-review-of-survey-research-on-muslims-in-great-britain-ipsos_0.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> Some more recent polls have also reported sizeable minorities supporting religion-accommodating public policy measures, though results differ depending on methodology and question wording.<ref>{{cite report |title=British Muslim and general public attitudes polling |publisher=Henry Jackson Society |date=March 2024 |url=https://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/HJS-Deck-200324-Final.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
Research on domestic violence and abuse in UK Muslim communities has largely been based on qualitative and service-provider studies rather than single-question attitude polling. This literature highlights barriers to reporting and help-seeking, including stigma, family pressure, and the ways religious language may be used both to justify abuse and to support survivors.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Chowdhury |first=Rahmanara |title=The Role of Religion in Domestic Violence and Abuse in UK Muslim Communities |journal=Oxford Journal of Law and Religion |date=2023 |url=https://academic.oup.com/ojlr/article-pdf/12/2/178/58184956/rwad008.pdf |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
====Longitudinal survey findings==== Large UK longitudinal datasets have also been used to analyse outcomes and experiences among Muslims over time. Studies using the UK Household Longitudinal Study (''Understanding Society'') have reported evidence of a persistent "Muslim penalty" in unemployment and economic inactivity compared with otherwise similar non-Muslims, even after adjusting for demographic and educational factors.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Does the Muslim penalty in the British labour market dissipate after accounting for sociocultural attitudes? |journal=Ethnic and Racial Studies |date=2017 |url=https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/does-the-muslim-penalty-in-the-british-labour-market-dissipate-af/ |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> Other analyses using the same dataset have found lower average mental wellbeing among some Muslim-origin groups compared with the non-religious, alongside evidence that more frequent religious attendance is associated with higher wellbeing across groups.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Religious affiliation, religiosity and wellbeing in the UK |journal=Journal of Religion and Health |date=2022 |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8751808/ |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
===Attitudes towards British Muslims===
The British media has been criticised for propagating negative stereotypes of Muslims and fueling Islamophobic prejudice.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Richardson|first=John E.|title=(Mis)representing Islam: the racism and rhetoric of British broadsheet newspapers|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|year=2004|isbn=90-272-2699-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WanqiF2XULsC}}</ref> In 2006, several British cabinet ministers were criticised for helping to "unleash a public anti-Muslim backlash" by blaming the Muslim community over issues of integration despite a study commissioned by the Home Office on white and Asian-Muslim youths demonstrating otherwise: that Asian-Muslim youths "are in fact the most tolerant of all" and that white youths "have far more intolerant attitudes," concluding that the attitudes held by members of the white community was a greater "barrier to integration."<ref>{{Cite web|title=White pupils less tolerant, survey shows|author=Vikram Dood|work=The Guardian|date=21 October 2006|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/21/schools.religion|access-date=4 April 2010 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Muslim students 'more tolerant'|work=BBC News|date=11 October 2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/6033155.stm|access-date=5 April 2010}}</ref>
In January 2010, the British Social Attitudes Survey found that the general public "is far more likely to hold negative views of Muslims than of any other religious group," with "just one in four" feeling "positively about Islam," and a "majority of the country would be concerned if a mosque was built in their area, while only 15 per cent expressed similar qualms about the opening of a church."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Britain divided by Islam, survey finds|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=11 January 2010|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6965276/Britain-divided-by-Islam-survey-finds.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114211350/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6965276/Britain-divided-by-Islam-survey-finds.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 January 2010|access-date=4 April 2010 | location=London}}</ref> The "scapegoating" of British Muslims by the media and politicians in the 21st century has been compared in the media to the rise of antisemitism in the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6832035.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510093750/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6832035.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 May 2011|title=Login}}</ref>
A 2013 survey by YouGov indicated that immigrants from Muslim countries were perceived as integrating less well into British society than immigrants from other countries, with 71% of respondents believing migrants from Muslim countries were not integrating well.<ref name=state_of_mind>{{cite news | url=http://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/06/04/beyond-woolwich-british-attitudes-integration/ | location=London | work=YouGov | first=Joel | last=Rogers | title=Beyond Woolwich: British attitudes to integration | date=4 June 2013 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016132003/http://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/06/04/beyond-woolwich-british-attitudes-integration/ | archive-date=16 October 2014 | df=dmy-all}}</ref> Another YouGov poll conducted in 2015 found that 55% of the British public believed there was a fundamental clash between Islam and the values of British society. Only 22% believed British values and Islam were generally compatible.<ref>{{cite web |title=The majority of voters doubt that Islam is compatible with British values |url=https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/11949-majority-voters-doubt-islam-compatible-british-val |publisher=YouGov |access-date=30 March 2015}}</ref>
In 2015, in light of a growing number of radicalised British Muslims joining ISIS to fight in Syria, a Survation poll for Sky News found that 70% of non-Muslims in the UK believed that British Muslims were not doing enough to integrate into British society, 44% became more suspicious of Muslims and only 30% believed that the values of British society were compatible with Islam. When British Muslims were asked the same questions, over four in five believed that Islamic values were compatible with British society and 71% believed that British Muslims were doing enough to integrate into British society.<ref>{{cite news |title=British Muslims: Is the divide increasing? |url=https://www.survation.com/british-muslims-is-the-divide-increasing/ |work=Survation |date=13 April 2015}}</ref>
In polling conducted by ComRes in 2016, only 28% of those surveyed believed that Islam was compatible with British values. 72% agreed with the statement that "most people in the UK have a negative view of Islam" and 43% believed that Islam was a negative force in the UK. Younger people were more likely to say they have a better understanding of Islam and hold less negative views.<ref>{{cite news |title=UK attitudes towards Islam 'concerning' after survey of 2,000 people |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-36346886 |work=BBC News |date=23 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ahmadi Muslims – Perceptions of the Caliphate |url=http://www.comres.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Ahmadi-Muslims_Perceptions-of-the-Caliphate.pdf |publisher=ComRes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607190319/http://www.comres.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Ahmadi-Muslims_Perceptions-of-the-Caliphate.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2016}}</ref>
A survey conducted in 2017 by Chatham House revealed widespread opposition to Muslim immigration across the UK. 47% were opposed to further Muslim immigration meanwhile 23% disagreed with stopping further migration from mainly Muslim countries. This opposition figure was lower than in other European countries, Austria: 65%; Belgium: 64%; France: 61%; Germany: 53%; Italy: 51%, and lower than the European average of 55%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/what-do-europeans-think-about-muslim-immigration|title=What Do Europeans Think About Muslim Immigration?|website=chathamhouse.org|date=7 February 2017|access-date=2 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310181445/https://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/what-do-europeans-think-about-muslim-immigration|archive-date=10 March 2018}}</ref>
In 2019, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 78% of Britons had a favourable view of Muslims, while 18% had an unfavourable view of Muslims. This was the most favourable in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/10/14/minority-groups/|title=EUROPEAN PUBLIC OPINION THREE DECADES AFTER THE FALL OF COMMUNISM - 6. Minority groups|date=14 October 2019|access-date=26 September 2021|website=Pew Research Center|last1=Wike|first1=Richard|last2=Poushter|first2=Jacob|last3=Silver|first3=Laura|last4=Devlin|first4=Kat|last5=Fetterolf|first5=Janell|last6=Castillo|first6=Alexandra|last7=Huang|first7=Christine}}</ref>
A 2021 study published by the University of Birmingham found that Muslims are the British public's second 'least liked' group, after Gypsy and Irish Travellers with 25.9% of the British public holding negative views towards Muslims and 23.5% holding a positive view.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Murray |first1=Jessica |title=Middle-class Britons more likely to be biased about Islam, finds survey |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/25/middle-class-britons-more-likely-to-be-biased-about-islam-finds-survey |work=The Guardian |date=25 January 2022}}</ref> People from middle and upper-class backgrounds were more likely to hold prejudiced views about Islam compared to those from working-class backgrounds. 71% of respondents named Islam as having a more negative impact on society compared to other religions with 18.1% of those surveyed supported banning all Muslim migration to the UK.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Dinner Table Prejudice: Islamophobia in Contemporary Britain |url=https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/documents/college-artslaw/ptr/90172-univ73-islamophobia-in-the-uk-report-final.pdf |publisher=University of Birmingham |access-date=18 April 2023}}</ref>
In 2025, a study by the Commission for Countering Extremism with polling conducted by Ipsos found that 38 per cent of Britons felt they had to hold back on expressing their views about Islamic topics. This was the highest figure across all religions, and about twice as high as the comparative figure for Christianity. In the study, Muslims surveyed were more likely than the overall population to think that people should be careful not to offend when talking about Islamic topics (71 per cent compared to 31 per cent overall).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hymas |first1=Charles |title=Talking freely about Islam 'feared more than any other religion' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/16/talking-freely-islam-feared-more-any-other-religion-poll-uk/ |work=The Telegraph |date=16 July 2025}}</ref> Islam was also the only religion asked about where more people thought that the religion was protected too much, with 39 per cent believing it was protected "too much" and 18 per cent believing it was protected "too little".<ref>{{cite web |title=CCE Freedom of Expression Survey Findings Report |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68776afd39d0452326e28f2d/190625+FoE+Survey+FINAL.pdf |publisher=Commission for Countering Extremism |access-date=17 July 2025}}</ref>
===Islamophobia=== {{main|Islamophobia in the United Kingdom}}
{{See also|English Defence League|Muslim patrol incidents in London}} A survey conducted in 2024 by Opinium for ''Hope not Hate'' found that 30 per cent of the British public believed that Islam was a threat to the British way of life and the existence of 'no-go' zones for non-Muslims in European cities. Members of the Conservative party were more likely to hold these views, with 58% believing Islam was a threat and 52% believing in the existence of 'no-go' zones.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stacey |first1=Kiran |title=More than half of Tory members in poll say Islam a threat to British way of life |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/28/more-than-half-of-tory-members-in-poll-say-islam-a-threat-to-british-way-of-life |work=The Guardian |date=28 February 2024}}</ref>
There have been cases of threats,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/4674273.stm Muslims threatened after bombings] BBC News 12 July 2005</ref> one fatal attack,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Islamophobia blamed for attack|author=Vikram Dood|work=The Guardian|date=13 July 2005|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jul/13/race.july7|access-date=4 April 2010|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829064429/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jul/13/race.july7|archive-date=29 August 2013}}</ref> and non-fatal attacks on Muslims and on Muslim targets, including attacks on Muslim graves<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/6109056.stm Muslim graves damaged in cemetery] BBC News, 2 November 2006</ref> and mosques.<ref name=arabicnews>{{Cite news|title=Muslim teenager stabbed during attack on UK mosque |publisher=Arabic News |date=3 October 2006 |url=http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/061003/2006100304.html |access-date=4 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107111929/http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/061003/2006100304.html |archive-date=7 November 2011}}</ref> In January 2010, a report from the University of Exeter's European Muslim Research Centre noted that the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes has increased, ranging from "death threats and murder to persistent low-level assaults, such as spitting and name-calling," for which the media and politicians have been blamed with fuelling anti-Muslim hatred.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Media and politicians 'fuel rise in hate crimes against Muslims'|author=Vikram Dood|work=The Guardian|date=28 January 2010|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jan/28/hate-crimes-muslims-media-politicians|access-date=4 April 2010|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909084305/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jan/28/hate-crimes-muslims-media-politicians|archive-date=9 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Muslims in the UK: beyond the hype|author1=Jonathan Githens-Mazer|author2=Robert Lambert|work=The Guardian|date=28 January 2010|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/jan/28/muslims-media-hate-crimes|access-date=4 April 2010|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909073146/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/jan/28/muslims-media-hate-crimes|archive-date=9 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first1=Jonathan |last1=Githens-Mazer |first2=Robert |last2=Lambert |title=Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: a London Case Study |publisher=University of Exeter |url=http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/emrc/publications/Islamophobia_and_Anti-Muslim_Hate_Crime.pdf |access-date=8 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528190239/http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/emrc/publications/Islamophobia_and_Anti-Muslim_Hate_Crime.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2013}}</ref> However, Met Police figures showed an 8.5 per cent fall in anti-Muslim crimes between 2009 and 2012, with a spike in 2013 due to the murder of Lee Rigby.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/andrew-gilligan/10108098/Muslim-hate-monitor-to-lose-backing.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Andrew | last=Gilligan | title=Muslim hate monitor to lose backing | date=9 June 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425052735/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/andrew-gilligan/10108098/Muslim-hate-monitor-to-lose-backing.html | archive-date=25 April 2018 | df=dmy-all}}</ref> In the four months following the 2023 Israel-Gaza conflict, Tell MAMA reported a more than three-fold increase in Islamophobic incidents to 2,010, with Muslim women targeted in two-thirds of incidents.<ref>{{cite news |title=Anti-Muslim cases surge in UK since Hamas attacks, charity finds |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-68374372 |work=BBC News |date=22 February 2024}}</ref>
The emergence of the English Defence League resulted in demonstrations in English cities with large Muslim populations.<ref name=PVE2010>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XUdbVsADpfgC&q=%22English+Defence+League&pg=PA94 |title=Preventing violent extremism: sixth report of session 2009–10 |date= 30 March 2010|publisher=The Stationery Office |access-date=17 September 2011|isbn=9780215545466}}</ref><ref name=Allen>{{cite journal|last=Allen|first=Chris|title=Fear and Loathing: the Political Discourse in Relation to Muslims and Islam in the British Contemporary Setting|journal=Politics and Religion Journal|year=2010|volume=4|issue=2 |pages=221–236|doi=10.54561/prj0402221a |s2cid=55206236 |url=http://www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/images/pdf_files/srpski/godina4_broj2/8%20chris%20allen%20vol.iv%20no.2.pdf|access-date=8 June 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715102515/http://www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/images/pdf_files/srpski/godina4_broj2/8%20chris%20allen%20vol.iv%20no.2.pdf|archive-date=15 July 2011}}</ref><ref name=Garland2010>{{cite journal |last1=Garland |first1=Jon |author2=Treadwell, James |title='No Surrender to the Taliban': Football Hooliganism, Islamophobia and the Rise of the English Defence League |journal=Papers from the British Criminology Conference |year=2010 |volume=10 |pages=19–35 |url=http://www.britsoccrim.org/volume10/2010_Garland_Treadwell.pdf |access-date=8 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722095205/http://www.britsoccrim.org/volume10/2010_Garland_Treadwell.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/8200443/English-Defence-League-says-Pastor-Terry-Jones-will-not-speak-at-rally.html |title=Telegraph.co.uk |publisher=Telegraph.co.uk |date=14 December 2010 |access-date=17 September 2011 |location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128111049/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/8200443/English-Defence-League-says-Pastor-Terry-Jones-will-not-speak-at-rally.html |archive-date=28 January 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Helen Carter |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/oct/21/inquiry-police-anti-fascist-protester |title=Guardian.co.uk |date=21 October 2010 |access-date=17 September 2011 |location=London |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917123755/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/oct/21/inquiry-police-anti-fascist-protester |archive-date=17 September 2013}}</ref> The EDL was a right wing, anti Islam<ref name= Allen/><ref name=Garland2010/><ref name=PVE2010 /><ref name="Telegraph-Terry-Jones">{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8200443/English-Defence-League-says-Pastor-Terry-Jones-will-not-speak-at-rally.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=English Defence League says Pastor Terry Jones will not speak at rally | date=14 December 2010 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812215455/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8200443/English-Defence-League-says-Pastor-Terry-Jones-will-not-speak-at-rally.html | archive-date=12 August 2017 | df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Helen Carter |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/oct/21/inquiry-police-anti-fascist-protester |title=Inquiry: Police, anti-fascist protester |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=21 October 2010 |access-date=17 September 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917123755/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/oct/21/inquiry-police-anti-fascist-protester |archive-date=17 September 2013}}</ref> street protest movement which opposed what it considers to be a spread of Islamism, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in the United Kingdom.<ref name="BBC 20091012">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8303786.stm|title=Under the skin of English Defence League|last=O'Brien|first=Paraic|date=12 October 2009|publisher=BBC Newsnight|access-date=21 October 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015132422/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8303786.stm|archive-date=15 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author= Maryam Namazie |location= UK |url= https://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/jul/05/sharia-law-religious-courts |title= Sharia, Law, religious courts |work= The Guardian |date= 5 July 2010 |access-date= 17 September 2011 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130915145636/http://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/jul/05/sharia-law-religious-courts |archive-date= 15 September 2013 |df= dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = English Defence League's Bradford march banned by Theresa May | url = http://www.metro.co.uk/news/838670-english-defence-leagues-bradford-march-banned-by-theresa-may | newspaper = Metro | access-date = 7 November 2011 | quote = The right-wing campaign group, which claims to be taking a stand against what it sees as the rise of radical Islam in England, had planned to march through the streets of Bradford on 28 August. | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121006084801/http://www.metro.co.uk/news/838670-english-defence-leagues-bradford-march-banned-by-theresa-may | archive-date = 6 October 2012 | df = dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Violence erupts at far-right march in Birmingham | url = http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-protest-arrests-idUKTRE5842L620090905 | work = Reuters | date = 5 September 2009 | access-date = 7 November 2011 | quote = A little-known nationalist group calling itself the English Defence League met in the town centre to protest against what they see as Islamic militancy in Britain | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120726091046/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/09/05/uk-britain-protest-arrests-idUKTRE5842L620090905 | archive-date = 26 July 2012 | df = dmy-all}}</ref> The EDL has been described by The Jewish Chronicle as Islamophobic.<ref>[http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/68801/britain%E2%80%99s-fascists-a-right-state Britain's fascists in a right state] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719014338/http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/68801/britain%E2%80%99s-fascists-a-right-state |date=19 July 2012}}. Retrieved 15 June 2012.</ref> The group has faced confrontations with various groups, including supporters of Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and Anonymous.<ref>Gunning (2010){{Broken anchor|date=2024-12-28|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=#Gunning|reason= }}: p 151–152</ref>{{full citation needed|date=January 2019}}<ref>Morey, Peter; Yaqin, Amina. (2011). [https://books.google.com/books?id=46v5uCV9JBYC&pg=PA215 ''Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation After 9/11'']. Harvard University Press. p. 215.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/may/28/anonymous-edl-supporters-information Anonymous-linked groups publish EDL supporters' personal information] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628002349/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/may/28/anonymous-edl-supporters-information |date=28 June 2017 }}. Retrieved 2 June 2013.</ref>
===Relations between Muslims and Sikhs=== {{See also|Sikhism in the United Kingdom#Controversies|Islam and Sikhism}} Most British Muslims, particularly those of South Asian descent, share cultural traditions, histories, and ethnic ties with the British Sikh community, as well as with British Hindus.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Gurharpal |last2=Tatla |first2=Darshan Singh |title=Sikhs in Britain: The making of a community |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5O0bZmta-QC&q=muslims&pg=PA1 |publisher=Zed Books |access-date=November 2, 2024 |date=2006|isbn=978-1-84277-717-6 }}</ref> The majority of Sikhs oppose strongly anti-Muslim groups like the BNP and EDL, and the anti-Muslim campaigns of the BNP have been condemned by all leading Sikh organizations.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite news |last1=Jhutti-Joha |first1=Jagbir |last2=Hundal |first2=Sunny |title=The changing nature of activism among Sikhs in the UK today |newspaper=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/dec/23/race.politics |access-date=November 2, 2024 |page=16 |date=2019}}</ref><ref name="Hindu and Sikh extremists in link w">{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Paul |title=Hindu and Sikh extremists in link with BNP |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/dec/23/race.politics |newspaper=The Observer |date=23 December 2001 |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref> However, it has been reported that some extremists from the Sikh community have aligned themselves with the BNP.<ref name="Hindu and Sikh extremists in link w"/> It has also been noted that some Sikhs adopted prevalent racial prejudices in the West, leading to a variant of Islamophobia within the Sikh community that mirrors broader Islamophobic discourse.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sian |first1=Katy Pal |title=Losing My Religion |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17448727.2013.774707 |journal=Sikh Formations |access-date=November 2, 2024 |date=May 10, 2013|volume=9 |pages=39–50 |doi=10.1080/17448727.2013.774707 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="theguardian.com"/>
In 2018, Sikh Youth UK's report claimed similarities between the exploitation of young Sikh women and the Rotherham scandal.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Layton|first=Josh|date=3 December 2018|title=Sikh girls 'abused by grooming gangs for decades'|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/sikh-girls-abused-grooming-gangs-15492360|access-date=28 April 2021|website=BirminghamLive}}</ref> However, a 2019 critique from two Sikh academics and a UK government report found the allegations to be false and misleading, lacking solid data and promoting historical tensions "designed to whip up fear and hate".<ref name="CockbainTufail2020">{{Cite journal|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0306396819895727|doi = 10.1177/0306396819895727|title = Failing victims, fuelling hate: Challenging the harms of the 'Muslim grooming gangs' narrative|year = 2020|last1 = Cockbain|first1 = Ella|last2 = Tufail|first2 = Waqas|journal = Race & Class|volume = 61|issue = 3|pages = 3–32|s2cid = 214197388}}</ref><ref name="Jagbir Jhutti-Johal; Sunny Hundal (August 2019)p15">Jagbir Jhutti-Johal; Sunny Hundal (August 2019). ''[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/841033/the-changing-nature-of-activism-among-sikhs-in-the-uk-today-221019.pdf The changing nature of activism among Sikhs in the UK today]''. The Commission For Countering Extremism. University of Birmingham. p. 15. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20200217022921/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/841033/the-changing-nature-of-activism-among-sikhs-in-the-uk-today-221019.pdf WayBackMachine Link]''. Retrieved 17 February 2020.</ref> Research by Katy Sian of the University of York further debunked these claims, attributing them to extremist Sikh groups.<ref>Katy Sian (17 October 2017). ''[https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/patriarchy-islamophobia-misogyny-challenging-politics-sikh-youth-uk/ Patriarchy, Islamophobia and Misogyny: On challenging the politics of Sikh Youth UK]''. Ceasefire Magazine. Retrieved 14 March 2020.</ref><ref name=Forced>{{cite journal | title = 'Forced' conversions in the British Sikh diaspora |first = Katy P. |last = Sian |date = 6 July 2011 | journal = South Asian Popular Culture | volume = 9 | issue = 2 | pages = 115–130 | doi=10.1080/14746681003798060|s2cid = 54174845 |url = https://pure.manchester.ac.uk/ws/files/22953295/POST-PEER-REVIEW-PUBLISHERS.PDF }}</ref>
During the 2024 United Kingdom riots, the Sikh community, along with the Hindu and Jewish communities, released statements condemning the Islamophobic rioting.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vurli |first1=Aurélien |title=Anti-immigrant riots in the UK: religious leaders advocate for social cohesion |url=https://international.la-croix.com/world/anti-immigrant-riots-in-the-uk-religious-leaders-advocate-for-social-cohesion |website=La croix international |access-date=November 2, 2024 |date=August 9, 2024 |archive-date=23 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250723064339/https://international.la-croix.com/world/anti-immigrant-riots-in-the-uk-religious-leaders-advocate-for-social-cohesion |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=WILLIAMS |first1=HATTIE |title=Unite against rioters from the far right, faith leaders urge |url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2024/9-august/news/uk/unite-against-rioters-from-the-far-right-faith-leaders-urge |website=Church Times |access-date=November 2, 2024 |date=August 5, 2024}}</ref>
==Notable British Muslim figures== {{Main list|List of British Muslims }} ===Business and finance=== * Sir Anwar Pervez – businessman; founder of Bestway Group * Mohsin Issa – businessman; co-founder of EG Group * Zuber Issa – businessman; co-founder of EG Group * Mahmud Kamani – businessman; co-founder and executive vice-chair of Boohoo Group * Umar Kamani – businessman; co-founder of PrettyLittleThing * Asif Aziz – property developer; founder of Criterion Capital * Aneel Mussarat – property developer; founder of MCR Property Group * Sultan Choudhury – Islamic finance executive; former chief executive of Al Rayan Bank
===Media and entertainment=== * Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), musician * Riz Ahmed, actor and musician * Mishal Husain, journalist and broadcaster * Fatima Manji, Channel 4 News presenter * Mehdi Hasan, journalist and political commentator * Nadiya Hussain, television presenter and author * Adil Ray, comedian and actor * Guz Khan, comedian and actor * Asim Chaudhry, comedian, writer and actor * Adeel Akhtar, actor * Central Cee, rapper
===Politics and public life=== * Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London * Humza Yousaf, former First Minister of Scotland * Sayeeda Warsi, former Cabinet Minister and life peer * Anas Sarwar, Leader of Scottish Labour * Shabana Mahmood, Home Secretary and Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood * Nusrat Ghani, Member of Parliament * Waqar Azmi, adviser and campaigner on intercultural dialogue * Mothin Ali, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and Leeds City Councillor * Shaista Gohir, crossbench peer and women's rights advocate * Nazir Afzal, Former Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England
===Sports=== * Mo Farah, long-distance runner and four-time Olympic gold medallist * Moeen Ali, England cricketer * Adil Rashid, England cricketer * Amir Khan, professional boxer and former world champion * Naseem Hamed, former world champion boxer * Hamzah Sheeraz, professional boxer * Adam Azim, professional boxer * Ramla Ali, Somali-British professional boxer and Olympian * Hamza Choudhury, professional footballer * Omar Richards, professional footballer * Zesh Rehman, former professional footballer * Djed Spence, professional footballer
===Religion and scholarship=== * Abdal Hakim Murad (Timothy Winter), Islamic scholar; Dean of Cambridge Muslim College * Ibrahim Mogra, imam and interfaith activist * Ajmal Masroor, imam and broadcaster * Haitham al-Haddad, imam and speaker * Riyadh ul Haq, Islamic scholar * Abdul Qayum, Chief Imam of East London Mosque * Maleiha Malik – academic (law and religion) * Tariq Modood – sociologist of religion and multiculturalism (not a cleric but very influential) * Salman Sayyid – political theorist
===Philanthropy and community leadership=== * Muhammad Abdul Bari, community leader; former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain * Zara Mohammed, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain * Iqbal Sacranie, businessman and community leader; former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain * Hany El Banna, founder of Islamic Relief Worldwide
==Notable mosques== {{see also|List of mosques in the United Kingdom|:Category:Mosques in the United Kingdom}} The following are among the most well-known and architecturally or historically notable mosques in the United Kingdom:<ref name="british-mosques-overview">{{cite web |title=Mosques in Britain overview |url=https://www.muslimsinbritain.org/ |website=Muslims in Britain |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref>
* Bradford Grand Mosque – Large purpose-built mosque in West Yorkshire.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bradford Grand Mosque |url=https://mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/show-mosque.php?id=201 |website=Muslims in Britain |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> * Birmingham Central Mosque – Major mosque and Islamic centre in Birmingham.<ref>{{cite web |title=Birmingham Central Mosque |url=https://centralmosque.org.uk |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> * East London Mosque – Prominent mosque complex in Whitechapel, London.<ref>{{cite web |title=East London Mosque |url=https://eastlondonmosque.org.uk |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> * London Central Mosque – Landmark mosque in Regent's Park, London.<ref>{{cite web |title=London Central Mosque |url=https://iccuk.org |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> * Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif – Purpose-built mosque in Birmingham.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ghamkol Sharif Mosque |url=https://gsmosque.org |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> * Markazi Masjid, Dewsbury – European centre of the Tablighi Jamaat.<ref>{{cite web |title=Markazi Masjid Dewsbury |url=https://mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/show-mosque.php?id=700 |website=Muslims in Britain |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> * Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking – The first purpose-built mosque in Britain.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shah Jahan Mosque |url=https://shahjahanmosque.org.uk |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> * Cambridge Central Mosque – Eco-designed mosque and Cambridge's first purpose-built mosque.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cambridge Central Mosque |url=https://cambridgecentralmosque.org |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> * Masjid-e-Vali, Blackburn – Large recently developed mosque in Lancashire.<ref>{{cite web |title=Masjid-e-Vali Blackburn |url=https://www.masjidevali.co.uk |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> * South Lakes Islamic Centre, Cumbria – Notable mosque serving the Lake District region.<ref>{{cite web |title=South Lakes Islamic Centre |url=https://southlakesislamiccentre.org.uk |access-date=18 February 2026}}</ref> * Green Lane Masjid – Large mosque and community centre in Birmingham. * Glasgow Central Mosque – Prominent mosque and Islamic centre in Scotland. * Leeds Grand Mosque – Major mosque serving Leeds and West Yorkshire. * Finsbury Park Mosque – Well-known mosque in North London. * Al-Rahma Mosque (Liverpool) – Large mosque and community complex in Liverpool.
<gallery widths=200 heights=200> File:Suffa Tul Islam Central Mosque (8080678934).jpg|Bradford Grand Mosque File:Birmingham Central Mosque.jpg|Birmingham Central Mosque File:East London Mosque - panoramio.jpg|East London Mosque File:London Central Mosque from Hanover Gate, October 2023.jpg|London Central Mosque File:Ghamkol Sharif Mosque, Golden Hillock Road - geograph.org.uk - 7949282.jpg|Ghamkol Sharif Mosque File:Markazi Masjid - junction of Pentland Street & South Street (geograph 3932877).jpg|Markazi Masjid, Dewsbury File:Shah Jahan Mosque, Oriental Road, Maybury, Woking (June 2015) (7).JPG|Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking File:Cmglee Cambridge Mosque front.jpg|Cambridge Central Mosque </gallery>
==See also== {{Portal|Islam|United Kingdom}} * The Muslim Vote * Islam in England * Islam in London * Islam in Birmingham * Islam in Northern Ireland * Islam in Scotland * Islam in Wales * Islam in the Republic of Ireland * Islam in Europe * Islam in France * List of British Muslims * Muslims in Western Europe * Religion in Europe * Religion in the United Kingdom
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * {{citation |last=Cassia|first=Paul Sant|year=2007|title= Bodies of Evidence: Burial, Memory, and the Recovery of Missing Persons in Cyprus|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1-84545-228-5}} * {{citation |last=Communities and Local Government |year=2009a |title=The Turkish and Turkish Cypriot Muslim Community in England: Understanding Muslim Ethnic Communities |url=https://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1203710.pdf |publisher=Communities and Local Government |isbn=978-1-4098-1267-8 |access-date=2 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012220300/http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1203710.pdf |archive-date=12 October 2010 |url-status=dead}} * {{citation |last=Sonyel |first=Salahi R. |year=2000 |url=https://sam.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Salahi-Sonyel.pdf |title=Turkish Migrants in Europe |journal=Perceptions |publisher=Center for Strategic Research |volume=5 |issue=Sept.–Nov. 00 |pages=146–153 |access-date=8 August 2019 |archive-date=10 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310100923/http://sam.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Salahi-Sonyel.pdf |url-status=dead}}
==Further reading== * Koenig, Matthias. "Incorporating Muslim migrants in Western nation states—a comparison of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany." in Marian Burchardt & Ines Michalowski, eds., ''After Integration'' (Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2015) pp. 43–58. * Lewicki, Aleksandra, and Therese O'Toole. "Acts and practices of citizenship: Muslim women's activism in the UK. ''Ethnic and Racial Studies'' 40#1 (2017): 152-171. * Lewicki, Aleksandra. ''Social Justice Through Citizenship?: The Politics of Muslim Integration in Germany and Great Britain'' (Springer, 2014). * Lewis, Valerie A., and Ridhi Kashyap. "Piety in a Secular Society: Migration, Religiosity, and Islam in Britain." ''International Migration'' 51#3 (2013): 57–66. * Model, Suzanne, and Lang Lin. "The cost of not being Christian: Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims in Britain and Canada." ''International Migration Review'' 36#4 (2002): 1061–1092. * Peach, Ceri, and Richard Gale. "Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs in the new religious landscape of England." ''Geographical Review'' 93#4 (2003): 469–490. * Asbali, Nadeine ''[https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/veiled-threat Veiled Threat: On being visibly Muslim in Britain]'' (Biteback Publishing, 2024)
==External links== {{commons category}} {{wikiquote}} * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/uk_1.shtml BBC: Islam and Britain Before the 20th Century] * [https://www.mcb.org.uk Muslim Council of Britain] * Hassan Mahamdallie [https://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=288&issue=113 "Muslim working class struggles"], ''International Socialism'', 4 January 2007 * [https://www.MuslimsInBritain.org Muslims In Britain, Guide and Directory]
{{Islam in Europe}} {{Mosques in the United Kingdom}}
Category:Islam in the United Kingdom