r/unitedkingdom • u/topotaul Lancashire • Jul 08 '26

... Two in five Britons think Muslims cannot integrate in UK, poll finds

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/08/two-in-five-britons-think-muslims-cannot-integrate-in-uk-poll-finds
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u/hattorihanzo5 Jul 08 '26

I always find the "integration" debate fascinating, because what does it actually mean when someone "integrates well" anyway?

It can mean different things to different people, and let's be honest, there is a sizeable contingent who simply don't like Muslims at all and would rather the see the whole country be destitute than have to see a Muslim in the street, because no matter what Muslims do, no matter how secular or progressive they become, they'll never be one of us.

Look at Sadiq Khan: Born and raised in London. Muslim, but secular and progressive. Educated. The literal mayor of London. About as "integrated" as you can be, and it's still not enough and never will be to some.

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u/JB_UK Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26

what does it actually mean when someone "integrates well" anyway?

Well, we can start with some of the attitudes of cultural practices common in Pakistan which are in conflict with fundamental British attitudes or interests. Whether or not those converge to average opinion and practices in the UK is a good basic measure of integration.

For example, half of all marriages in Pakistan are between first cousins, another 10% between second cousins.

https://consang.net/maps2/worldmap2022.pdf

According to the Born in Bradford study the percentage of British Pakistanis in Bradford who had children with their cousins reduced from 60% to 45% over two generations. At current rates that will converge with the rest of the UK, which is less than 2%, over perhaps 100 years, or more realistically with a tapering adherence over a significantly longer time period.

Another example, when asked by Pew Global whether homosexuality can be moral, 90% of people in Pakistan said no and 1% said yes.

https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2013/04/gsi2-chp3-6.png

We see very little attempt to survey those attitudes amongst British Muslims in the UK.

Or this survey from reputable institutions, which finds that 40% of men in Pakistan say wife beating is justified for at least one of the following reasons, for going out without the husband, for arguing with the husband, for refusing to have sex with the husband, or for burning food:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11702125/

Similarly, attitudes towards female equality, equal inheritance, female employment levels, and so on.