Faith strongly associated with cultural heritage for most British Muslims: survey

• 71% British Muslims think UK media negatively portrays them.
• Researcher say insights crucial for fostering cultural awareness.
• 39% of Muslims in UK describe themselves as Pakistani.

LONDON: Most British Muslims agree that their faith is bound up with their cultural heritage, research from the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) shows.

The nationally representative survey, conducted by Whitestone Insight, suggests that 60% of British Muslims agree with the statement “my faith is bound up with my cultural heritage”, with this figure rising to 68% of Exclusivist Muslims — those who say that Islam is the one true faith.

Further research from IIFL revealed that British Muslims come from a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, with 39% of Muslims in the UK describing themselves as Pakistani, 14% as Bangladeshi, 10% as Black African, 9% as Arab and 9% as Indian.

The survey also found that, across religious groups, British Muslims were the most likely to agree with the statement “my faith will shape the way I vote in the general election”, with 51% agreeing compared to just 20% of Christians and 31% of Hindus.

Further research revealed that British Muslims are concerned with the media negatively portraying Muslims, with many interviewees raising concerns over the representation being "unflattering caricatures of Muslims in the media, which may play a part in feeding existing forms of anti-Muslim hatred and prejudice".

The survey found British Muslims are concerned with the media portraying some faiths in a more negative light than others. It suggested that 71% of British Muslims agree with the statement “the media have appeared to present some religions more negatively than others in the last four weeks”.

Commenting on the findings, Rania Mohiuddin-Agir — a mixed-heritage Muslim woman living in Britain and research associate for IIFL — said: "In the age of globalisation, interconnectedness, and mobility, the facets of our identity that ground us appear to be intrinsically linked. Taking into account the impact faith has on the daily lives of British Muslims, this statistic highlights two very important points.

“First, it showcases certain vulnerability with the way something as deeply personal as faith can be exposed to external influences in the form of cultural heritage, community identity, and possibly even societal pressures.

“Second, it emphasises the range of variation amongst British Muslims and the impossibility of identifying a single community group of ‘British Muslims’. A multicultural Muslim society brings with it varying understandings of Islam and Islamic practices. So much so that across the United Kingdom, Muslims tend to celebrate Eid on different days depending on which Muslim country they align their calendar with.”

She said such insights were crucial for fostering cultural awareness and promoting inclusive dialogues.

Mohiuddin-Agir added: “There is no questioning the impact media coverage has on perceptions. A considerable majority of Muslims finding the media to contain this kind of bias is worrisome — as this might be foreshadowing rising mistrust towards media outlets. This fosters breeding grounds for a new reliance on ‘new age’ media, influencers, and unfortunately, especially in the case of certain cultural communities, word of mouth and ‘WhatsApp’ reporting, none of which are bound by the rules, regulations, and ethical commitments of mainstream media organs.

“Longer term research will reveal whether this is an incidental phenomenon, or whether the British Muslim community has had an awakening towards media portrayal, and will continue to critically engage with the media until it becomes more inclusive and balanced in its rhetoric. Nonetheless, this is an important alert media organs need to consider.”