MUSLIMS IN LONDON: NEW REPORT PUBLISHED
(24 October 2006)

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, today published a new report, 'Muslims in London'. The report draws on a range of data to illustrate the diversity of London’s Muslim communities and barriers faced by Muslims in everyday life. One in twelve Londoners is Muslim.

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone said: "London's future success and prosperity as a global city depends on our ability to welcome and respect people from all over the world. One in twelve Londoners is Muslim and the London’s Muslim communities, in all their diversity, must play an essential part in the life of our city.

However Muslims in London face serious discrimination and prejudice. London’s Muslims have the lowest rates of employment of all the faith groups. Only 15 per cent of Muslim women aged 25 and over work full time compared with 37 per cent of women in the general population. Muslims are disproportionately victims of religiously aggravated crime, more so than any other faith.

The report makes a number of recommendations for work by the Mayor, Government, Boroughs and public bodies including the MPS and LDA to; improve monitoring and research, investigate direct and indirect discrimination and improve the representation of Muslims in local, regional and national government.

The launch of ‘Muslims in London’ is timely given the current debates about Islam and Muslims, particularly in the media. I hope this report will increase understanding between communities and combat some of the ignorance, prejudice and Islamophobia stirred up by some sections of the media.

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "This is a ground-breaking report that brings together statistics and information from a variety of sources in a single, easily accessible volume. It also documents the needs of the community and identifies policy initiatives. The report is a role model for other major cities in the UK and even for mainland Europe. The MCB thanks Mayor Livingstone for this initiative and the GLA team that has done the hard work".

REPORT SUMMARY

* Muslims in London – One in twelve Londoners is Muslim (706,000). London is home to the UK’s largest Muslim community, with 607,000. 1-9 Londoners are Muslim, of which 40 per cent were born in the UK.

* Employment - Muslims have the lowest rates of employment and economic activity and the highest unemployment rate of all the faith groups. Only 42 per cent of Muslims aged 16-24 are economically active compared with 60% of the general population.

* Education - Muslims aged 16-24 have lower qualification levels compared with their peers in the general population.

* Housing - In the UK, a third of Muslims lived in households were overcrowded. In London, this figure rises to over 40 per cent.

* Crime - Muslims are disproportionately victims of religiously aggravated crime, more so than any other faith. In London there were over 1,000-reported faith hate crimes during 2005/06, an increase of 87 per cent over the 2004/05 figures (537).

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