Deeply Embedded

Imran Mulla writes:

New polling has revealed that British Muslims are more pro-democracy than the public at large and overwhelmingly feel they belong to the UK.

The findings cast doubt on widespread claims by politicians from across different parties that many British Muslims are unintegrated and oppose British values.

The "nationally representative survey of Muslims" was commissioned by the transatlantic Concordia Forum think tank in October 2025 and conducted by Opinium.

It finds that 85 percent of British Muslims support democracy as "the best system of government", compared with 71 percent of the general population.

It also finds that 94 percent of British Muslims support "equal treatment under the law for all faiths and none", compared with 80 percent of the general population.

The polling suggests high levels of integration, with 93 percent of Muslims reporting they "feel they belong to the UK". Seven in 10 Muslims said they "feel completely or mostly loyal to the UK", whereas only half of the British public at large do so.

The study further undermines widespread claims that Muslims live "parallel lives" apart from the rest of the country.

Eight in 10 Muslims report frequent interactions with non-Muslims "at least weekly", with 38 percent saying they "have personally or through family served in public service roles".

Muslims are more supportive of "equal legal rights" for LGBTQ+ people than the general public, with 70 percent saying they support them, as compared with 66 percent of the population at large.

Ninety percent of Muslims say "taking a stand against all forms of bigotry, including antisemitism, is important".

And 74 percent of Muslims believe Islam is "broadly compatible with western values".

'They feel they belong here'

Muddassar Ahmed, founder and president of the Concordia Forum, said: "Community cohesion is too important to be reduced to suspicion or headlines.

"The evidence shows that the overwhelming majority of British Muslims believe in democracy, equality under the law, and a shared future in Britain. They feel they belong here and interact daily with people from other backgrounds."

This week, the Labour government launched a new social cohesion strategy that warned: "Insufficient focus on our shared responsibility to support integration has, in some parts of the country, led to the creation of social silos with people living largely separate, parallel lives from mainstream UK customs and culture."

And it comes just weeks after Reform UK accused Muslims of "sectarianism" and electoral fraud in the Gorton and Denton by-election, which it lost to the Green Party.

Reform politicians repeated claims that there were high rates of "family voting" in the multicultural seat, in which one in four voters is Muslim. "Family voting" refers to the illegal practice of voters conferring, colluding or directing each other on voting at the polling station.

The party's leader, Nigel Farage, linked these claims to Muslims, saying: "This is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the integrity of the democratic process in predominantly Muslim areas."

Reform's losing candidate Matt Goodwin said that "Islamists and woke progressives came together to dominate the constituency".

Speaking about the findings of the new poll, Ahmed said: "Any serious conversation about cohesion must acknowledge both the challenges and the strengths in our society. 

"The reality is that millions of British Muslims are deeply embedded in the civic life of this country and share the same democratic values as their fellow citizens."

He added: "Cohesion cannot be built by focusing only on fear or division. It is built by strengthening belonging, encouraging interaction between communities, and recognising the millions of people who are already contributing positively to British society every day."