Muslims in Scotland Today

The population of Muslims in Scotland grew mainly as a result of Muslim migration after World War II. The majority of the Muslims in Scotland are from the Indian Sub-continent, with Pakistanis being the largest group. The shortage of labour in Britain, coupled with high employment in the Sub-continent, provided an ideal opportunity for people to come to Scotland. The 1914 Imperial Act further supported the migration of people who were subjects of any part of the Empire.

By 1940, the Muslim presence in Scotland was becoming visible with the emergence of masjids and community centres. In Glasgow the first Muslim organisation ‘Jamiat Ittehadul Muslimin’, or The Muslim Mission, was established in 1940, and with it the first masjid also came into existence. In Edinburgh, the majority of migrants began arriving in 1958, and around 10,000 Muslim families reside there permanently. There are also a large number of students from Muslim countries who come to the city for short periods of time to study.

The earliest migrants worked mainly in factories, mills, and public transport. They worked particularly in jobs which the indigenous population did not wish to do. The public transport industries were especially desperate for workers. By 1960, there were three thousand Asians in Glasgow alone, and by 1970 this figure had risen to twelve thousand, of which a large proportion were Muslim. After 1962, the majority of migrants came to Britain as dependants. ‘Migrants’ were no longer temporary visitors in Scotland; they had now become permanent residents.

Asylum seekers and refugees

The most recent migrant Muslim communities to arrive in Scotland have been refugees and asylum seekers. A refugee is someone who has had a positive decision on his or her asylum claim, whilst an asylum seeker is someone who has submitted a claim for asylum but is awaiting a decision.

It has been estimated that there are around 10,000 asylum seekers living across Scotland, with the majority concentrated in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Today there are around 5,798 asylum seekers living in Glasgow. (COSLA Refugees and Asylum Seekers Consortium)

The graph below shows the nationalities of asylum seekers in Glasgow in 2003.

The majority of these countries of origin have a very high percentage of Muslims. These communities have been the subject of many controversies in Britain. The majority of asylum seekers are from countries where there are conflicts and human rights abuses. Many face physical and psychological persecution for practising their faith or for belonging to an ethnic group. The media has had a negative role to play in the depiction of communities who are seeking asylum. A recent MORI poll showed that over 85% of the Scottish public associate negative terms with asylum seekers. Terms like ‘bogus’, ‘desperate’, ‘scroungers’ and ‘illegal immigrants’ were all associated with asylum seekers.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Asylum Seeker Consortium have highlighted that there are a significant number of barriers to employment for refugees and asylum seekers. While their report found that 60% of the refugee/asylum seeker population in Scotland is educated to a higher level and over 75% are studying at an advanced level, only 7% of refugees and asylum seekers who are able to work are in paid employment. Within those who are working, 70-80% are under-employed in relation to their skills.

Key Issues

Muslims in Britain have faced many challenges, not least that there are few examples of models from Muslim history to provide a framework for living permanently in a society which is not Muslim, and in which the government and law is also not Muslim. British Muslims have been engaged in adjusting to and living with the values and practices of a society that is not predominantly Muslim, while maintaining the beliefs and practices of Islam. This process is a continuing one, and one that often causes various stances to emerge from within the Muslim community. Further, Muslim identity is at times in conflict with the norms of British society, and this has added to the difficulties facing Muslim communities. For example, socialising with friends and colleagues may be difficult in an environment which includes alcohol consumption, which is forbidden in Islam.

Statistics show that prospects for Muslims have been often limited by their poor education, lack of skills and general low status. Where identities have been in conflict with the established norms of the non-Muslim majority population, Muslim communities in Britain face an even more difficult task. Muslim communities have also had to deal with marginalisation and stigmatisation for a variety of reasons, including racism and religious intolerance in the form of Islamophobia. This situation has increased since September 11th 2001 and the London bombings in July 2005. The heightened debate about the inherent challenges of multiculturalism where the worth of multiculturalism is being questioned further strains the development and recognition of Muslim identities.

There is a multitude of issues that are affecting the Muslim community – the report ‘Muslims in Britain’ by Humayun Ansari describes specific issues in greater depth.

Demographics and Distribution

The following statistics have been taken from the Analysis of Religion in the 2001 Census. These statistics help us to obtain a fuller picture of diversity in Scotland, and diversity within the Muslim population. Whilst the official statistics reflect a certain pattern, there are always issues of under-reporting and the numbers of Muslim are most probably higher than official records show.

Muslim Population in Scotland

Muslims currently make up make up 0.84% of the population in Scotland.

Table 1: Current Religion in Scotland - All People

According to the statistics, Muslims make up less than 1% of the overall population. However, they are also the largest religious community, apart from Christians, in Scotland. They make up just under half (45%) of the non-Christian population.

Chart 1: Current Religion of Non-Christian Religious Population

Ethnic Diversity

It is important to note that the Muslim community is represented by all the different nationalities listed in Chart 2 below. In teaching about Islam, a key fact to point out is that Muslims are not a homogeneous group; rather, they are probably one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse religious groups in Scotland today.

The Pakistani community is the largest Muslim community in Scotland. Bangladeshis, other South Asians, other ethnic groups, and Africans follow. The figures below represent the percentage of Muslims in each of the stated ethnic groupings living in Scotland today.

Table 2: Ethnic Breakdown of the Scottish Muslim Community

Chart 2: Ethnic group by current religion — All People

Scottish Muslims

Fifty percent of all Muslims living in Scotland were born in the UK. The emergence of a Scottish-born Muslim community reflects the changing demographic makeup of Scotland.

Chart 3: Country of birth by current religion - All People

Only 2% (the smallest percentage out of all religious groups) of all people born and raised as Muslims now have no religion. This reflects a strong connection to, and the importance placed on, faith in Muslim families.

Table 3: Proportion of people with no current religion by religion of upbringing

Age profile

Chart 3 showed that 50% of all Muslims in Scotland were born in the UK. The Muslim community has the youngest age profile, with 31% of its community under the age of 16, whilst only 10% are above the age of 50.

Chart 4: Age profile of all people by current religion — All People

Education

Of all people aged between 16 and 29, Muslims are the most likely to have no qualifications (22%). This trend continues at 45% for the 30-49 age group, rising to 58% for the 50 to pensionable age group and rising further to 80% for all people from pensionable age to 74.

Such high figures have been a cause for concern. These figures have a direct impact on future job prospects and economic prosperity. At the same time, Muslims have one of the highest percentages of full-time students (16%) above the age of 18. The ‘Muslims in the UK: Policies for Engaged Citizens’ [2005] chapter on British Muslims and Education further details some of the more specific issues facing Muslims in education.

A high rate of lack of qualifications amongst the older age groups is more easily explained, as most of them will have migrated from other countries where access to educational institutions, and hence qualifications, is not as prevalent as it is here in Britain.

Chart 4: Adults with no qualifications (or qualifications outwith those listed in the Census) by current religion - All People aged 16-74 years

Chart 5: Proportion of full-time students as a percentage of all persons aged 18 years and above by current religion

Economic Activity

The census shows that Muslims are least likely to be economically active with just over 50% in employment, seeking employment or unemployed. Low numbers of Muslim women in the labour market contribute to this statistic. Muslim women have the lowest rate of economic activity at just 35%.

Chart 6: Economic Activity Rate by current religion - All People aged 16-pensionable age

Chart 7: Economic Activity Rate by sex and current religion - All People aged 16-pensionable age

Employment

Following on from economic activity, employment levels amongst the Muslim community are the lowest in Scotland, at just 45%. The same pattern follows for employment rates amongst men and women, with just under 30% of Muslim women and under 60% of Muslim men in employment.

These figures show that the Muslim community is at an economic disadvantage. This is due to several factors, but is especially linked to lower educational qualifications.

Chart 8: Employment Rate by current religion - All People aged 16-pensionable age

Chart 9: Employment Rate by sex and current religion - All People aged 16-pensionable age

Chart 10: Unemployment Rate by current religion - All Economically Active People aged 16-pensionable age

Chart 11: Unemployment Rate by sex and current religion - All Economically Active People aged 16-pensionable age

Research by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) [2006] Trade Union Congress [2005], and the Institute for Employment Studies [IES] [2006] highlight some of the difficulties faced by black and minority ethnic communities, especially the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, the majority of whom are Muslim. Recent research conducted by the EOC and research conducted in London, further highlights that Pakistani and Bangladeshi women are more likely to be living in poverty. Social exclusion, deprivation and poverty are realities faced by a large percentage of this group. The TUC report highlights that a staggering 69% of all Pakistani and Bangladeshi people are at risk of being poor, compared to just 20% of white people and 32% of Chinese and other ethnic groups.

The statistics show an ethnically diverse and vibrant community in Scottish society. However, they also show that the Muslim community is at a disadvantage. It is important this is recognised and that this information is used to develop positive initiatives that aim to resolve the situation.

Scottish Muslims and Identity

Chart 3 showed that 50% of the Scottish Muslim community was born outside the UK. Muslim communities share this trend across the UK. The experience of living as a minority group has resulted in Muslims facing two opposing points of view: one, shared by many indigenous people, that Muslims should assimilate totally into the ‘host’ society’s culture; and the other that Muslims should live in complete isolation from majority communities. Bridging these two extremes has been occurring in two ways: individuals are forming a sense of identity through interaction with the wider society, and also with their religion. In most cases, the latter occurs through education in the masjids, affiliation to organisations, and through the home. Interaction with the wider society is also affecting the formulation of a sense of ‘self’ and ‘belonging’.

One of the major issues facing Scottish and British Muslims is one of ‘identity’. What does it mean to be a Scottish Muslim? What does it mean to be a Muslim in Scotland? These issues are more than just an ‘identity crisis’. There is an important distinction in these two ways of defining identity. The former implies a sense of citizenship and belonging, the latter represents the Muslim presence (an ‘otherness’) in a particular place where Muslims are not the ‘norm’ or accepted as the ‘norm’.

Many have argued that the secular and plural nature of British society has resulted in a multitude of identities which often compete with each other (Ansari, K. H. ‘Negotiating British Muslim Identity’ in M.S. Bahmanpour & H. Bashir [eds], Muslim Identity in the 21st Century: Challenges of Modernity, 2000). Consequently, living in a plural society creates some inevitable changes in the outlook of the Muslim community as a whole. The issue of citizenship and being a ‘Scottish’ or ‘British’ Muslim are key issues for those in the Muslim community who recognise the ‘gap’ between the two opposed positions of complete assimilation and possible ‘ghettoisation’.

Global and National Identities

For many Muslims, identity is shaped by their global identity, which is the connection with the global ‘ummah’ (Muslim community). This is the spiritual connection shared through common faith, beliefs, and social practices. Identity as a ‘citizen’, as ‘Scottish’ or ‘British’, is also an emerging reality. Therefore, it can be said that Muslim identity is translated into global as well as ethnic and national loyalties. These universal and particular tendencies are not necessarily opposed to each other, but are intrinsically joined together. Many Muslims would say that their identity is defined by their relationship with God, but at the same time a Muslim would have a national identity. What Islam as a faith does not condone is nationalism that breaks down into tribalism, which results in unethical and unjust practices. Another issue is that Muslim religious identity can translate into orthodox practice of Islam, to nominal affiliation and at times non-practice of the religion. Thus, it is a multi-layered and complex sharing of circumstances and beliefs interweaving to create a myriad of situations. Ansari argues that young British Muslims specifically “…are developing their perceptions of national, ethnic and religious belonging, and negotiating new ways of being Muslim in Britain, in which the British element of their identity forms an important part of the equation” (Ansari, 2004).

A survey undertaken in November 2001 by MORI showed that 87% of Muslims feel ‘loyal to Britain’, and recent poll on the attitudes of British Muslims showed similar beliefs and that the majority of Muslims ‘take pride’ in the British way of life. This reveals a shift of attitude taking place as the dominance of first generation immigrants yields to a generation of British Muslim citizens who identify Britain as their home. The term ‘British Muslim’ enables preservation of a faith identity but also demonstration of national identity.

However, achieving the balance between being British and Muslim has not been easy. The interaction of various factors (such as racism and Islamophobia) has created challenges, which have had a bearing on the extent to which Muslims feel a sense of ‘belonging’ in British society.

Faith is the universal identity of the Muslim and so is the expression of fundamental obligations, though there is an element of Islamic practice that differs according to context. This difference occurs in various aspects of life, from political engagement to dress-sense and the formulation of ‘identity’. For example, many Muslim women choose to wear the ‘hijab’, or covering. However, their nationality in most cases will dictate the way in which they cover or do not cover themselves. This is to say that local culture will most likely be reflected in dress-sense.

Key issues emerging from interviews and focus groups

As outlined in the methodology section of this report, some members of Muslim communities in Scotland were asked about how they viewed their identity. It is important to realise that the Muslim community reflects an array of diversity, but more than that of versatility. The following opinions have been derived from a brief scoping exercise and are illuminative rather than reflective of all Muslim opinions across Scotland. A large number of respondents were also from the Pakistani communities, and so the views expressed will largely reflect Pakistani experiences of being Muslim.

Defining identity is important for Muslims in Scotland, as it is for Muslims in Britain as a whole. One of the key issues arising has been that Muslims in Scotland have a concrete notion of what identity means to them. Although some highlighted the difficulties faced in having dual or even triple identities, and making them harmoniously work together, most believed that their identity is shaped by two main factors; firstly, their faith, and secondly, their national identity as a Scot.

I feel awkward about filling out ‘Pakistani’ in a form because I have no link to my parents’ home country. I was born here and I’ve lived here all my life, I am Scottish. [Glasgow]

I was born and brought up in Glasgow; I don’t feel any less Scottish as the next person. Just as there is no difference between being Christian and Scottish, I don’t see how an issue is made out of being Muslim and Scottish… I may look different, but that’s genetic, it’s not my fault. [Glasgow]

I tell people I was born in Pakistan, but I came here when I was one, but I am a Muslim. So basically I think I would say I am a Muslim first and foremost, and I am Scottish but I also have Pakistani culture, I am proud of my heritage. [Glasgow]

It’s important for me that my religious identity is recognised, not just my ethnic identity… I would say I am a Scottish Muslim with Indian origin… my parents’ culture is important but it’s not an end in itself, some aspects of culture is not good. [Edinburgh]

Obviously I feel more Scottish because I was born here, I relate to my parents culture but at the end of the day I’d say I’m a Scottish Muslim. [Dundee]

I feel confident in expressing myself as a Muslim. It’s an awkward question when someone asks you about your identity. It’s almost like they are trying to catch you out. Are you British or Muslim? It’s a useless question. It’s somehow asked to see if you are anti-British or anti-Democracy. I am British and Pakistani at the same time. Both geography and faith has an impact – it all interplays together. [Dunfermline]

I think I would say I am a British Muslim with Egyptian roots. It’s important for me to be Egyptian, obviously I go back home and have links with Egypt, but my Islamic identity is most important for me… you have to isolate cultural practices because faith is most important. [Aberdeen]

At the same time, however, some of the participants who identified themselves as non-practising Muslims did not feel that their faith shaped their formulation of a sense of identity. They associated themselves more with their parents’ home culture and felt this was an important aspect of their lives,

I would say Pakistani, and hopefully people might know that most Pakistani’s are Muslim. I wouldn’t say I am British either, I feel more Pakistani, probably because of the way I’ve been brought up. [Edinburgh]

Saying Muslim wouldn’t be the first thing that comes to mind, maybe because I don’t really practice Islam as much – I would say I am Pakistani. [Aberdeen]

More than the younger generation, first generation migrants define their identity based on their home nationality and faith rather than Scottish identity. However, at the same time some recognise that living here for many years has made them question their identity, as naturally they feel at home here, and have absorbed some aspects of Scottish culture.

I am Muslim, like I’m from Libya, it doesn’t matter if you’re from Libya or Pakistan or wherever, I feel Muslim – Scottish culture is not that important. [Glasgow]

Definitely I am a Scottish Muslim – even although I came here when I was married, I have lived here for thirty years, all of my children were born here. [Glasgow]

I think nowadays where your parents came from is not as important. The youngsters have been born here, they don’t know about where they came from anymore. [Glasgow]

It is obvious that I feel more Pakistani than I do Scottish, even although I have been for a long time. I was born there, my family is there – I have taught my children about my culture, but they have a new sense of being Scottish because this is their home. [Glasgow]

Clearly we can see that identity is shaped not only by religious, but also by national factors. Scottish Muslims are part of the Scottish culture, and at the same time they are in a unique position of having at most times another culture that enriches their identity. All of this blends together to create a generation of Scottish Muslims who are naturally defining themselves based on their affiliations.

This is not to say that Scottish Muslims do not face any external or even internal issues because of their identities. Whilst the formation of identity is positive, there are also negative implications, particularly for Muslim women who are visibly ‘Muslim’, i.e. wearing the hijab (headscarf). The expression of identity through a physical marker is perhaps unique to Muslim women. Whilst expressing themselves is seen as positive, often they are faced with a negative backlash. This consciousness of being ‘different’ has been heightened since September the 11th and the London bombings, and women have recounted an increase in abuse and feelings of isolation as a result of wearing the hijab. The following quotes are from focus groups with Muslim women from across Scotland:

After 9/11 there was curiosity for women in hijab, but after 7/7 this has turned into anger and stares. People have become more suspicious. People won’t sit next to me on the bus, even old people look at me differently, and look at my handbag as if something might be in there – there is definite mistrust.

I was in Partick underground and I was asked to open my bag by another women! I was so shocked.

The media portrayal of Muslim women has a lot to do with the stares and swearing. It’s basically stereotyping – makes us more isolated and at risk.

I’ve been noticing a lot more stares and glares, and I know it is because of my hijab [headscarf]. You’re constantly wondering, what are they thinking about us? [referring to Muslim women]

Some of the issues highlighted above are detailed further in the section titled ‘Experiences of Islamophobia’.