Ibn_hassan
Servant of Allah
Today's ICM poll comes in the wake of Rt Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali's provocative claim that Islamic extremism in Britain had created no-go areas. This claim, made in an article in The Sunday Telegraph, pushed Muslim integration to the top of the political agenda in the UK.
ICM is a UK based public opinion researcher based in the UK which conducts surveys for various newspapers, including The Guardian, The News of the world, The Scotsman and the .
The poll found that the majority of British people believe that Muslims need to do more to integrate into society.
However, the population is divided about whether the breakdown between communities has reached such a level that there are "no-go areas" for non-Muslims. The ICM poll shows 35 per cent agreeing with the bishop, 38 per cent disagreeing, and the rest unsure.
More than half - 56 per cent - were critical of the failure of Islamic communities to integrate into society. Only one in four felt that they had been successful.
Bishop Nazir-Ali expressed concern that attempts had been made in some areas to impose an Islamic character, for example by amplifying the call to prayer from mosques.
Nevertheless, only in three of those questioned in the poll said that they would be unhappy to have a mosque built in their neighbourhood compared with a quarter who would support such a move.
Although 51 per cent agreed that the Muslim community enriched Britain and was not a threat, 37 per cent disagreed.
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said that the poll results showed a widespread feeling that the Government had failed. "This demonstrates that the Government's actions, both to control immigration and to advance integration, are believed to have failed by the vast majority of the population," he said.
Church leaders in communities with large concentrations of Muslims said that Christians were being targeted. An east London vicar who had delivered Christmas leaflets in his parish said he was told to stay away from "Muslim areas".
He said: "Despite this being a mixed area, where Muslims make up only about 15 per cent of the population, I was told that the leaflets were offensive and could make people angry."
Another churchman said his path had been blocked by Muslim youths as he drove through a district of Oldham, Lancashire, last year. "They wanted to know why I was coming into 'their' area," he said.
However, a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said that research showed that 81 per cent of people say that they feel that people from different backgrounds get on well together in their local areas.
"People of all faiths make a huge contribution to British life. Community cohesion is key to maintaining harmonious communities. That is why our strategy puts an emphasis on promoting integration and shared British values."
ICM is a UK based public opinion researcher based in the UK which conducts surveys for various newspapers, including The Guardian, The News of the world, The Scotsman and the .
The poll found that the majority of British people believe that Muslims need to do more to integrate into society.
However, the population is divided about whether the breakdown between communities has reached such a level that there are "no-go areas" for non-Muslims. The ICM poll shows 35 per cent agreeing with the bishop, 38 per cent disagreeing, and the rest unsure.
More than half - 56 per cent - were critical of the failure of Islamic communities to integrate into society. Only one in four felt that they had been successful.
Bishop Nazir-Ali expressed concern that attempts had been made in some areas to impose an Islamic character, for example by amplifying the call to prayer from mosques.
Nevertheless, only in three of those questioned in the poll said that they would be unhappy to have a mosque built in their neighbourhood compared with a quarter who would support such a move.
Although 51 per cent agreed that the Muslim community enriched Britain and was not a threat, 37 per cent disagreed.
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said that the poll results showed a widespread feeling that the Government had failed. "This demonstrates that the Government's actions, both to control immigration and to advance integration, are believed to have failed by the vast majority of the population," he said.
Church leaders in communities with large concentrations of Muslims said that Christians were being targeted. An east London vicar who had delivered Christmas leaflets in his parish said he was told to stay away from "Muslim areas".
He said: "Despite this being a mixed area, where Muslims make up only about 15 per cent of the population, I was told that the leaflets were offensive and could make people angry."
Another churchman said his path had been blocked by Muslim youths as he drove through a district of Oldham, Lancashire, last year. "They wanted to know why I was coming into 'their' area," he said.
However, a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said that research showed that 81 per cent of people say that they feel that people from different backgrounds get on well together in their local areas.
"People of all faiths make a huge contribution to British life. Community cohesion is key to maintaining harmonious communities. That is why our strategy puts an emphasis on promoting integration and shared British values."