Young British Muslims are becoming more radical, according to a recent survey conducted by a British think tank. Policy Exchange found that, of British Muslims ages 16-24, “37 percent would prefer to live under sharia [Islamic law] in Britain, 37 percent would like to send their children to Islamic state schools and—most incredibly—36 percent think Muslims converting to another religion should be punished by death” (Sunday Times, February 4). A shocking 13 percent of British Muslims in the same bracket said they “admire organizations like al Qaeda, which are prepared to fight the West.” Figures for British Muslims over age 55 are much lower—17 percent, 19 percent, 19 percent and 3 percent respectively.
The think tank accurately pinned the blame for these trends on Britain’s multicultural policies implemented in the 1980s. The report’s leading author said such policies “have emphasized difference at the expense of shared national identity and divided people along ethnic, religious and cultural lines”—particularly among youth who have grown up with those policies (New York Times, January 30).
At King Fahad Academy, an Islamic school in Acton, textbooks describe Jews as “repugnant” and “apes” and Christians as “pigs,” according to Colin Cook, a recently fired teacher (Daily Mail, February 5). When Cook complained to the school about its curriculum not complying with British law, he was told, “This is not England. It is Saudi Arabia.” Cook said that once the majority of the British teachers left in 2005, the school moved toward a pro-Saudi agenda.
Multiculturalism and political correctness in the UK have permitted such activities to escalate. Muslim and non-Muslim leaders alike, together with the media, are fanning the flames of the radicalization of British Muslims.