Difference does not have to undermine cohesion

Abdal Hakim Murad

Yesterday a report on this programme told us a little-known fact about British Muslims. We may not always be happy here, but we overwhelmingly identify with the UK.

A new survey by the Gallup organisation has revealed that Muslims are much more likely than the general population to have confidence in British institutions such as the judiciary, the political process, the media and the police. Overall, a whopping seventy-seven percent of UK Muslims say that they identify with the UK, compared to only fifty percent of the general population.

All this, it seems to me, makes the debate about multiculturalism much more interesting. Politicians fret about social cohesion, and worry that our national identity is at risk. Some commentators mistrust religious and ethnic minorities, with their continuing desire to be distinctive. Yet if the concern - surely a very legitimate one - is about our sense of belonging, the Gallup poll suggests that the Muslim minority is more part of the solution than part of the problem. Difference does not have to undermine cohesion.

Still, we Muslims need to think about how our religious identity, which for most of us seems to support a strong national solidarity and loyalty, is one sort of genuinely British identity. Clearly, one important part of being British is that there is no single way of being British. And no less clearly, the culture of young British Muslims is distinctive, but is unmistakeably indigenous, and usually strongly regional as well. Pilgrims in Mecca, a city where the English language was never heard only a couple of generations ago, can now be heard speaking with the most perfect Glaswegian, Liverpudlian, or North London accents.

When we visit Mecca, we feel very different to pilgrims from Yemen, or Turkey, or Bangladesh. But back in Britain, we do not feel identical to some supposed single national culture. The UK is more interesting than that. Just as we celebrate diverse regional identities, political views, and lifestyle choices, so too do we support the flourishing of communities for which religious faith is vital.

Such subcultures contribute to a vibrant national conversation. But in a curious way they can also help to challenge the erosion of tradition. The same Gallup poll showed that Muslims are socially very conservative. Only three percent of Muslims approve of sex outside marriage, compared to 82 percent of the population at large. Ironically, on such issues it is possible that Muslims are closer than many other communities to values that were once central to our nation.

You do not believe, the Prophet says, until you love for your neighbours what you love for yourself. For me, that means more than sharing an occasional cup of sugar. It means affirming what is best in their own heritage. Religion, at its best, allows us to be different, while helping others to be true to themselves.

You can listen at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/thought/