Young British Muslims: why both Nigel Farage and Angela Rayner get them wrong

 Nigel Farage hopes to replace the Conservative Party after the election, but one of many problems with this scenario is his claim that “a growing number” of British Muslims, especially the young, “do not subscribe to British values”. Islamism, or in my view Islamo-fascism, is and will continue to pose one of the highest threats to this country. But one thing that will most certainly render young Muslims more susceptible to the extremist narrative is statements that negatively stereotype and homogenise Muslim communities.

Meanwhile the Labour Party’s continued relationship with anti-Western Islamist movements puts it at the other end of the spectrum. Between the contrasting approaches of Labour and Nigel Farage, a counter-extremism crisis lies ahead.

Whilst Farage is busy reducing all Muslim males to extremists, Labour has been working to fulfill extremist demands. Angela Rayner is filmed sitting with Muslim men (no women) and making promises over Gaza, including recognition of a Palestinian state. Some will argue that this indicates compassion and an understandable concern for Gazans, and I myself hold that a two state solution is a must, but there is a wider context. Labour has a sorry history of leaning on those with a self-loathing of the West and dark fantasies of crippling institutional phobias of one thing or another.

Whilst an immediate ceasefire in Gaza is, in my view, imperative, this is not because I think that Israel is engaged in genocide, let alone that there is an evil Western plot to eradicate Islam. Like many people I simply want to see human suffering in Gaza stopped. In my view, Israeli military strategy has been hideously directed. But this is not the thinking of MuslimVoteUK and their ilk. Many of the groups that are backing such initiatives and driving Islamist thinking in the UK believe in antisemitic conspiracy theories and hope for an Islamic revival that will overthrow the “evil” Western hegemony. Israel’s very existence in “Muslim lands” is cause for their outrage.

For Labour, it is pandering to this lobby that is the heart of the issue. Under Jeremy Corbyn, Labour consistently aligned itself with those who have little love for Western society and its success. As a result of this psychology and a desire to gain votes in the Muslim communities, Labour has effectively backed Islamism. Labour has adopted the Islamist definition of Islamophobia that could act to freeze critique of Islam. That, arguably, would mean re-introducing blasphemy laws into this country. In some constituencies Labour has turned a blind eye to sectarianism that sees Muslim minorities persecuted by extremists, for the sake of the voting support of the extremist lobby. Some Labour councillors themselves have been seen engaging in hate campaigns against Muslims they deem to be “heretics.” Labour has made friends with Islamists and accepted them into their party.

Now to Mr Farage. His assertion that young Muslims are pro-Jihad comes from a recent J.L Partners survey of 1,000 British Muslims, commissioned by the Henry Jackson Society. That poll did not attempt to qualify what the question meant by “Jihad”. Jihad has a dual meaning in Islam, one “spiritual”, that means the inner struggle against the temptations of the devil, and the other “physical”, that means to engage in a defensive war against that which threatens Islam. Whilst Jihad of the soul is a key tenet of Islam across all sects, physical Jihad depends on circumstances. Views about whether it is imperative and in what context widely differ across sects. Therefore with no qualification to this question, the answer given is utterly moot.

Most Muslims in this country are not anti-British, as Farage claims. According to a Policy Exchange study that relied on ICM polling of a 3,000-strong Muslim sample, 56% of young British Muslims felt they had a strong sense of belonging to Britain. This was 1% more than the general population sample. In another ICM poll of 1,000 British Muslims for Channel Four, 69% said that they had respect for the late Queen Elizabeth and 94% of Muslims disagreed that Muslims should live separately from non-Muslims.

Alas, methodological differences and differences in phraseology can wildly impact polling results, making broad conclusions almost impossible.  On the topic of Sharia, national surveys by reputable polling agencies give dramatically differing results. In the 2016 Policy Exchange ICM survey, younger Muslims were relatively less likely to favour the provisions of Sharia law. Only 1% of respondents were in favour of a “fully separate Islamic area in Britain, subject to Sharia Law and government”. And the percentage of those favouring full integration “in all aspects of life” was highest among the youngest cohort. However, the Channel Four ICM poll found that 30% of Muslim respondents wanted to live under Sharia. Once again this was an issue of definition. “Sharia” can mean merely buying from Halal butchers and using Sharia compliant financial systems. Unless the question specified Taliban-style chopping off hands and stoning adulterers, it is very unlikely that 30 per cent of British Muslims had that kind of “Sharia” in mind.

A consistent finding across UK polls is strong opposition to insulting the Prophet Mohammed. According to the J.L Partners poll, 52% believe no image of Mohammed should ever be shown. This result is consistent with the ICM survey, which found that 69% thought those who insulted Islam should be prosecuted.

British schools have been intimidated by those who hold extreme anti-blasphemy attitudes. Recent examples include a teacher forced into hiding and an autistic boy receiving death threats for dropping a Quran. There have been at least nine cases of those who call for the death of blasphemers being given entry into the UK to preach. Protests outside school gates have seen schools temporarily closed. Some have accused the Department for Education of not doing enough or failing to speak out proactively to protect secularism within schools. Extreme anti-blasphemy attitudes in Britain are heavily influenced by Pakistan’s capital punishment for blasphemy and increasing societal violence towards blasphemers. Preventing hate preachers gaining visas, shutting down charities who espouse extreme anti-blasphemy beliefs and ensuring the robust defense of secular schooling are imperatives for the next government.

Recently, a post-October 7th spike in conversions to Islam could spell a rise in political Islam. Islamism, a politicised version of Islam grounded in opposition to the West, tends to be deeply conspiratorial and holds regressive and hateful views towards other sects of Islam, LGBT communities and women. Anti-establishment youth caught up in online conspiratorial thinking is particularly vulnerable to Islamist influence. This may account for the J.L Partners poll finding that one in four British Muslims do not believe that Hamas committed rape and murder, with 18-34 year old Muslims being the most likely to sympathise with Hamas (53%).

Islam itself is a faith that provides many with moral direction, life purpose and spiritual fulfillment, according to a recent Whiststones poll commissioned by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life. Anti-Western, anti-liberal politics, with Islam tagged on, can become a dangerous form of fascism that has the ability to create deep fissures in multicultural Britain. It runs counter to key freedoms and undermines our liberal democracy. Tackling these attitudes through education and an unapologetic defense of liberalism should be an ongoing priority for any British government. Indeed we should also take confidence from the 49% of Muslims who believe that more should be done to tackle Islamist extremism, with the younger respondents especially likely to agree that Muslims should be the ones doing more. Despite this clear Muslim support for tackling Islamist extremism, society often cowers at the task. Labour in particular fears that calling it out is to attack all Muslims.

Nigel Farage is right, there is a problem, but the problem is not Muslims as a whole. It is a politicised, extreme form of Islam that is appealing to frustrated, anti-establishment young Muslims. Neither the Faragist Right nor the Labour Left seem to be able to tell the difference.

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