A major new survey backed by a Birmingham MP shows one in four British Muslims does not believe in extremism.
The study, involving over 3,000 Muslims, finds over half of British Muslims want to “fully integrate” with society. British Muslims broadly have same concerns as the rest of society.
Attitudes towards many issues, such as the NHS, unemployment and immigration, are broadly in line with the rest of the population, the survey by ICM and Policy Exchange, the right-of-centre think tank, shows.
Birmingham Perry Barr MP Khalid Mahmood, who helped organise the survey, said British Muslims were amongst the country’s most loyal, patriotic and law-abiding citizens.
He said: “In an era in which intolerance and bigotry pose a growing challenge to our society, it cannot be stressed enough that most British Muslims want to integrate with their non-British neighbours.”
The research finds that 53% wanted to “fully integrate with non-Muslims in all aspects of life”.
But he also warned that a “readiness to believe in conspiracy theories and the mentality of victimhood” was holding British Muslims back.
The study finds many believed conspiracy theories about the WTC attacks in the US, such as the theory that the US orchestrated the attacks itself.
According to the think-tank, 31% of Muslims thought the US government was behind the 9/11 attacks and 7% blamed Jews, while only 4% believed al-Qaida was responsible.
It finds that 26% of Muslims did not believe in extremism and 48% would not turn to the police if someone close to them became involved with people linked to Syrian terrorism.
