Islamism - 7

[G.Subramaniam]

People with Muslim backgrounds are most concentrated in London (38% of the total UK Muslim population) and other large urban areas, including the West Midlands (14% of the Muslim population), the North West (13%), and Yorkshire and the Humber (12%). Within these areas, Muslims are highly concentrated spatially. Muslims make up 8% of the population of London overall, but 36% of the Tower Hamlets area and 24% of the Newham area population.

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70% of Muslims gave their national identity as British, English, Scottish, or Welsh; 91% of UK-born Muslims gave a British national identity.

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More than half of Muslim adults living in England and Wales in 2001 said their religion was important to their self-identity.

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Muslims are the second least-likely of all religious groups to have been born in the UK, with the majority being born outside the UK; 46% were born in the UK, 39% were born in Asia (Pakistan - 18%; Bangladesh - 9%; India - 3%), 9% were born in Africa (Somalia - 2%; Kenya - 1%), and 4% were born in Europe outside the UK (Turkey - 3%, former Yugoslavian countries - 1%).

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Muslims were more likely than all other groups of UK 16 to 24-year-olds to be living with a partner, either as a married or cohabiting couple (19% each).

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Among 45 to 54-year-olds, 17% described their marital status as divorced, separated or re-married.

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Muslims households were the least likely to be homeowners (52%) and are the most likely among all religious groups to be living in accommodation rented from the council or housing association (28%); 4% live rent-free.

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32% of Muslim households live in overcrowded accommodation. Average family size for a Muslim family is 3.8, which can contribute to overcrowding. 34% of Muslim households contained more than five people. 63% contained at least one dependent child, and 25% contained three or more dependent children.

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Unemployment rates were higher for Muslims than any other religion, for both men and women. Muslim male unemployment rate was 13% in 2004, and for women it was 18%.

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Muslims between the ages of 16 and 24 had the highest unemployment rates at 28%; 11% of Muslims over the age of 25 were unemployed.

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Muslims were most likely to be unavailable or not actively seeking work due to reasons such as disability, being a student, or looking after the family and home. 31% of working-age men were economically inactive, as were 69% of working-age women.

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With 34% of Muslims under the age of 16 in 2001, Muslims have the youngest age profile of all the religious groups in Great Britain. Less than one in ten were aged 65 or older.

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Muslim men outnumber women 52% to 48%.

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74% of Muslims are from an Asian ethnic background (Pakistani - 43%, Bangladeshi - 16%, Indian - 8%, Other Asian - 6%), Almost 1.2 million Asian Muslims were living in Great Britain in 2001. Another 11% were from a White ethnic background, including 4% of White British origin and 7% from another White background (including Turkish, Cypriot, Arab and Eastern European). 6% of Muslims were of Black African origin, mainly from North and West Africa.

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Muslims, both male and female, had the highest rates of reported ill health in 2000. Age-standardized rates of "not good" health were 13% for Muslim males and 16% for Muslim females.

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Muslims had the highest rates of disability, with 24% of females and 21% of males claiming a disability.

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Lone parent households are less common within Muslim communities, with around 50% of Muslim households headed by an individual who is part of a married couple.

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Muslim households were also more likely to contain more than one family, with 19% of all multiple family households Muslim.

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33% of working-age Muslims in Great Britain had no qualifications in 2004, which is the highest rate of any religious group. At 12%, they were also the least likely to have degrees or equivalent qualifications.

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Muslims who were born in the UK are more likely than Muslims born elsewhere to have a degree or equivalent qualification at any age. UK-born Muslims under the age of 30 were almost twice as likely to have degrees as those born elsewhere in 2004.

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371,000 school-aged (5 to 16 years old) Muslim children were in England in 2001, and by 2008 there were seven state-maintained Islamic schools catering to around 2,100 Muslim children.

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One-fifth of Muslims were self-employed n 2004.

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37% of Muslim men and over a quarter of Muslim women were working in the distribution, hotel and restaurant industry.

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One in seven Muslim men work in the transport and communication industry.

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Less than a third of Muslim men work in managerial or professional occupations, and almost one in ten worked as a taxi driver, cab driver or chauffeur in 2004.

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Between 16 and 20% of Muslim women work in sales and customer service jobs.

Raw Data: Post's 2008 Religious Freedom Report and NGOs --------------------------------------------- ----------

5.(SBU) The following are excerpted from Post's International Religious Freedom Report (IRFR) and reports or studies from various Muslim and migration/immigration NGO's. Citations are from the IRFR unless otherwise noted.

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The Government estimates the number of mosques in the UK to be around 1,000.

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A May 8, 2008, Religious Trends report states that more than 50% of Muslims regularly worship at mosques. (Embassy Comment: Religious Trends is a UK think tank that monitors a wide array of religious issues. Among other things, the 2008 report noted that while 43 million UK residents claimed to be Christians, less than 3 million (7%) regularly worship in churches. End Comment).

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The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reported a decrease in prosecutions over the previous reporting period for religiously-motivated incidents, with only 29 cases classified as religiously-aggravated offenses. Of the 23 cases in which the victim's religious affiliation is known, 17 were Muslim.

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In 2006, controversy arose after 100 Islamic private schools turned out to be "little more than places where the Koran is recited," the schools promised to upgrade their instruction and they are due for review in 2010.