European launch of "Muslims in Europe":
A report on 11 EU Cities

City Hall, London, 15 December 2009

"British Muslims are the 'most patriotic and best integrated' in Europe" was one big headline, "Muslims face 'alarming, growing discrimination in Europe'" another major message the media took away from the launch of the Open Society Institute's (OSI) "Muslims in Europe" report on 15 December in London. And thirdly: "Most of Europe's Muslims want to live in mixed communities, not segregated neighbourhoods".

The report constitutes the comparative analysis of data gathered from 11 cities in seven European countries. It points out common trends and offers recommendations at the local, national, and international levels, including to the European Union (EU) and to international organisations. While not representative of the situation of all Muslims in these cities, this report does capture a snapshot of the experiences of Muslim communities in select neighbourhoods in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Antwerp, Berlin and Hamburg, Copenhagen, Leicester and Waltham Forest–London, Marseille and Paris, and Stockholm.

While the aims and objectives of the OSI's At Home in Europe Project converge closely with the objectives of Our Shared Europe, the OSI and the British Council launched the report at a joint event at City Hall.

Followed by introductions by Richard Barnes, Deputy Mayor of London, Nazia Hussain, Director of the At Home in Europe Project, and Prof Michael Hardy, the British Council's Head of Intercultural Dialogue, five panelists discussed the main findings of the report with moderator Razia Iqbal, Arts correspondent for BBC News: Valerie Amiraux, the specialist in religious pluralism and Muslim populations in Europe, Malika Hamidi, Vice President of the European Muslim Network (EMN) and spokeswoman of the International Study Group of reflection on Women in Islam (GIERFI), Maurice Irfan Coles, Chief Executive of the School Development Support Agency, Anshuman Mondal, Subject Leader/ Reader in English at Brunel University and author of Young British Muslim Voices, and Ziauddin Sardar, Equalities Commissioner, journalist, writer and Professor of Postcolonial Studies at City University.

Some of the key findings of the report are:

• The research challenges the myth of segregation and alienation and reveals a much more positive picture of integration at the local level. The majority of Muslims and non-Muslims identify strongly with the city and the country where they live. Sixty-one per cent of Muslims have a strong sense of belonging to the country and 72 per cent have a strong sense of belonging to the city. In Antwerp, for example, over 90 per cent of respondents expressed a “very strong” or “fairly strong” sense of local belonging.
• However, 50 per cent of all Muslim respondents who identify themselves with the country where they live believe that they are not seen as belonging to that country by the wider society.
• The needs and experiences of Muslims and non-Muslims are largely the same. Across all 11 cities surveyed, daily concerns centre around the need for better quality of education, improved housing, cleaner streets, and tackling antisocial behaviour and crime.
• Muslims want to live in mixed, not segregated, neighbourhoods across the cities studied. Muslim parents are concerned about the impact of segregation on their children and discrimination in accessing housing which limits their choice of residential location. They are concerned that urban renewal programmes in some cities, aimed at creating more mixed neighbourhoods, are displacing the most disadvantaged people.
• Muslims who are eligible to vote are active in local civic and political life. The majority of Muslims who are eligible to vote did vote in local and national elections. Younger Muslims are more likely to feel they can influence decisions at local levels than older Muslims: 56 per cent of those under 20 believe they can affect decisions at the local level.
• Political parties based on ethnic and religious identities have not gained the support of Muslim voters—increasing numbers of Muslims are standing for political office in mainstream parties but they face additional scrutiny and questions due to their background.

More information on "Muslims in Europe": A report on 11 EU Cities and the full document is available online at http://www.soros.org/initiatives/home/articles_publications/publications/muslims-europe-20091215

Selected media coverage European Muslims prefer mixed areas - survey (BBC News) British Muslims feel the most patriotic in Europe, survey claims (Guardian) Muslims face 'alarming, growing discrimination in Europe' (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) UK Muslims are Europe’s most patriotic (Sunday Times) British Muslims most patriotic in Europe (Telegraph)