Islam in the United Kingdom
Islam has been present in the United Kingdom since its formation in 1707,[1] though it was not legally recognised until the Trinitarian Act in 1812. Today it is the second largest religion in the country with results from the United Kingdom Census 2011 suggesting that by 2011 the total Muslim population had reached 2.7 million, 4.8% of the total population.[2] The vast majority of Muslims in the United Kingdom live in England and Wales: of 1,591,000 Muslims recorded at the 2001 Census,[3] 1,536,015 were living in England and Wales,[4] where they formed 3% of the population in 2001; 42,557 were living in Scotland, forming 0.84% of the population;[5] and 1,943 were living in Northern Ireland.[6] In 2011, it was reported that United Kingdom has around 100,000 converts to Islam (gaining 40,000 since 2001) with 66% of them being women. The number of conversions seems to be increasing, in 2011 alone there were 5,200 converts for that year.[7]
History
2 Glynrhondda Street in Cathays, Cardiff, used first by Yemeni sailors, was registered as a mosque in 1860, and is still used as a mosque today. The Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking was the first purpose built mosque, built in 1889. In the same year Abdullah Quilliam installed a mosque in a terrace in Liverpool.[8] London, the country's capital saw its first mosque, The Fazl Mosque in 1924. It is commonly referred to as the London mosque. The growing number of Muslims has resulted in the establishment of more than 1,500 mosques as of 2007[update].[9] The majority of mosques are Sunni; in 2010, the affiliation of the mosques was, 44.6% Deobandi, 28.2% Barelvi and other Sufi, 5.8% Salafi, 2.8% Maudoodi-inspired; of the remainder many were part of other Sunni traditions or unaffiliated, while 4.2% were Shi'a (4%). The majority of mosque managers are of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin, with many Gujarati, and fewer Arab, Turkish and Somali managed entities.[10]
| Census Year | Number of Muslims '000 | Population of England and Wales '000 | Muslim (% of Total population) | Registered Mosques | Muslims per mosque |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 50 | 46,196 | 0.11[11] | 7 | 7,143 |
| 1971 | 226 | 49,152 | 0.46[11] | 30 | 7,533 |
| 1981 | 553 | 49,634 | 1.11[11] | 149 | 3,711 |
| 1991 | 950 | 51,099 | 1.86[11] | 443 | 2,144 |
| 2001 | 1,600 | 52,042 | 3.07[11] | 614 | 2,606 |
| 2011 | 2,869 | 62,369 | 4.80[12] | 1,500 | 1,912 |
Associations
The Association of British Muslims is the oldest organisation of British Muslims, created in 1889 as the English Islamic Association by Abdullah Quillam.[13] [8] United Kingdom-wide Islamic organisations include the British Muslim Forum, the Muslim Association of Britain. the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK, the Islamic Society of Britain, the Muslim Council of Britain, the United Kingdom Islamic Mission (UKIM), the Sunni Dawat-e-Islami, the World Islamic Mission, the Sufi Muslim Council, the Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board, Minhaj-ul-Quran UK, the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK, the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain and the Muslim Educational Trust.[13]
Identity
- Around 81% of Muslims think of themselves as Muslim first. Muslims living in Muslim-majority countries also tend to think of themselves as Muslim first rather than identifying with nationalism (for example 87% of Pakistanis identify themselves as Muslim first rather than Pakistani).[14] However around 83% of Muslims are proud to be a British citizen, compared to 79% of the general public, 77% of Muslims strongly identify with Britain while only 50% of the wider population do, 86.4% of Muslims feel they belong in Britain, slightly more than the 85.9% of Christians, 82% of Muslims want to live in diverse and mixed neighbourhoods compared to 63% of non-Muslim Britons.[15]
- On religious issues 36% of 16-24 year olds believe if a Muslim converts to another religion they should be punished by death, compared to 19% of 55+ year old Muslims. 59% of Muslims would prefer to live under British law, compared to 28% who would prefer to live under sharia law. 61% think homosexuality is wrong and should be illegal.[16][17][18][19] However, a greater proportion of Muslims (47% - slightly higher than the 46.5% of Christians who agreed with the statement) than other religions said they are proud of Britain's stance on gay rights, with less than 11% disagreeing.[20] The majority of British Muslims have strongly conservative views on issues relating to extra-marital and/or homosexual sexual acts compared with their European Muslim counterparts - who are markedly more liberal.[21] British Muslims appear to be significantly more tolerant than the rest of the UK population when it comes to accepting other religions (around 97% do not feel other religions are a threat to the British Muslim way of life).[22]
Discrimination
The emergence of the English Defence League has resulted in demonstrations in British cities with large Muslim populations.[23][24][25][26][27]
See also
- John Nelson (earliest known British citizen who converted to Islam; lived during the 16th Century)
- William Henry Quilliam (notable convert that revived interest in Islam amongst the Victorians - also built the first mosque in Britain as well as Islamic center)
- Robert of St. Albans (12th Century English knight of the Knight's Templar who converted to Islam and participated in the crusades)
References
| Islam by country |
|---|
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 Islam portal |
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- ^ Acts of Union 1707 www.parliament.uk, accessed 10 February 2011
- ^ http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rpt-religion.html
- ^ Muslims in Europe: Country guide bbc.co.uk, accessed 16 January 2009
- ^ KS07 Religion: Key Statistics for urban areas, results by population size of urban area
- ^ ANALYSIS OF RELIGION IN THE 2001 CENSUS: Summary Report, Scottish Executive
- ^ Northern Ireland Census 2001 Key Statistics
- ^ BBC muslim conver report
- ^ a b Sardais, Louise (2003-08). "The 'little mosque'". BBC. Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Dominic Casciani (29 November 2007) The battle over mosque reform BBC News (BBC). Retrieved on 2009-05-03.
- ^ UK Masjid Statistics Muslims In Britain (2010-08-18). Mehmood Naqshbandi. Retrieved on 2010-09-12.
- ^ a b c d e "Hindu, Muslim and Sikh populations". http://www.brin.ac.uk/figures.
{{cite web}}: External link in|work= - ^ "How Many Muslims? British Religion in Numbers". Brin.ac.uk. 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
- ^ a b Rosser-Owen, David (2010-04-30). "History". Association of British Muslims. Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Muslims in Europe: Economic Worries Top Concerns About Religious and Cultural Identity" (PDF). http://pewglobal.org.
{{cite web}}: External link in|work= - ^ "Muslims are well-integrated in Britain – but no one seems to believe it; Leon Moosavi | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk". Guardian. 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
- ^ "radical islam" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-11-16.
- ^ Wilson, Graeme (2007-01-29). "Young, British Muslims 'getting more radical'". Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
- ^ Stephen Bates and agencies (2007-01-29). "More young Muslims back sharia, says poll; UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
- ^ [1] 2011 Reviews on Homosexuality
- ^ "Poll says Muslims are 'proud' of Britain's gay rights". http://www.pinknews.co.uk.
{{cite web}}: External link in|work= - ^ [2] 2011 Reviews on Homosexuality
- ^ Green, Chris (8 May 2009). "Patriotic, respectful and homophobic: a portrait of British Muslims' state of mind". The Independent. London.
- ^ Committee, Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government; (Na), Not Available (2010-03-30). Preventing violent extremism: sixth report of session 2009-10. ISBN 9780215545466. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- ^ Allen, Chris (2010). "Fear and Loathing: the Political Discourse in Relation to Muslims and Islam in the British Contemporary Setting" (PDF). Politics and Religion. 4: 221–236. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
- ^ Garland, Jon (2010). "'No Surrender to the Taliban': Football Hooliganism,Islamophobia and the Rise of the English Defence League" (PDF). Papers from the British Criminology Conference. 10: 19–35. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ 7:41AM GMT 14 Dec 2010 (14 December 2010). "Telegraph.co.uk". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Helen Carter (21 October 2010). "Guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2011.