Author: Tufyal Choudhury, The Eumap Project
Genre: Religion
Publisher: Central European Uni Press
Release Date: 18 May 2005
Format: Paperback
Pages: 343
This report focuses on four key policy areas: Discrimination, Education, Criminal Justice, and the Labour market where it believes Muslims-specific issues should be addressed by Government and other key institutions. It highlights the high increase in Islamophobia, especially post September 11, the difficulties and discrimination that those who ‘appear’ as Muslims face in the Labour Market, the perceived unfairness of police stop-and-searches and highly publicised anti-terrorist arrests. Due to the newly available data on religion from the last census (2001), this report was able to identify and screen out muslim-specific issues regarding the labour market and discrimination. Until now, the statistics developed has been an estimation of Muslims based on the previously available data on ethnicity. This new data has led to a shocking exposure of an increase in Islamophobia in the UK. For example, eighty percent of UK Muslims have reported being victims of Islamophobia since September 11 and more than a third complain of being singled out by authorities while using UK airports.
The report then summarises each section by recommending useful policies the government and other crucial institutions can undertake to tackle this growing problem of Islamophobia and to help British Muslims in integrating well into all spheres of the community. At the Educational level for example, some of the many recommendations include: Improved structures by the Department of Education and Skills for consultation with Muslims on matters of educational policy and practice, establishment of National guidelines on ways to meet the distinctive needs of Muslim pupils and a system of student loans that does not involve Muslim students in Higher Education being required to act against Islamic rules on paying and receiving interest.
Anyone willing to have a good understanding of the current issues affecting Muslims in the UK will find this report indispensable.
