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    Most UK Muslims define themselves by faith first
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    Most UK Muslims define themselves by faith first

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    34 Comments

    1. TemptationXoxo on

      This headline is painting a different picture to the article in question, I think it is just a headline to like ragebait for lack of a better word

    2. Danimalomorph on

      I ain’t Muslim and “British” definitely would not appear in my first five phrases I’d use to describe myself. Probably not the first ten or fifteen.

    5. BobBobBobBobBobDave on

      Don’t most religious people?

      If I were a practising Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. I imagine I would probably say that was more important to my identity than being British, too.

    6. Kobruh456 on

      The same people who will complain about this will see no qualms in pointing out their religion when a Muslim does something bad. You know, defining them by faith first.

    7. Trilaced on

      I suspect even most secular British people would put their general philosophy/ beliefs about the world higher up in terms of what they define themselves by than their Britishness.

    9. socratic-meth on

      Do many people define themselves first as British? I am born and raised here, like most of my ancestors, I like being British. But it isn’t the first thing I would tell someone if they asked me to define myself. It is a quality I share with almost everyone I know, it is hardly a defining trait.

    10. Lammtarra95 on

      Was this poll taken during Ramadan, perchance?

      Anyway, what we need is a successful England World Cup run. Harry Kane can do more for harmonious relations than any cleric or politician.

    12. Talkertive- on

      Well duh obviously… most of the practicing Christians i know identify themselves first by religion than being British especially since one is just a title and other is a way of life.

    13. Tartan_Samurai on

      *Muslims in Britain regularly have their “Britishness” questioned, leading the majority to identify as Muslim first and British second, a report has found.*

      *Most British Muslims identify with their religion before their nationality, not because their faith demands “loyalty to Islam first”, but partly because many are made to feel they are “not welcome” to identify as primarily British, the study by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) concluded.*

      *The authors identified a strong sense of “belonging that British Muslims feel towards the UK”, particularly among older people who have lived in Britain for many decades.*

      *It also found that, for most Muslims, their faith plays a more central role in their lives than their national identity. Catholic leaders have said the same is true for many Christians.*

    14. I_want_roti on

      Not surprising.

      If I purely described myself by my Religious, Ethnic or Cultural background then I’d be here for a while.

      For me, it’s a very personal choice on identity. I’m of Indian background with one of my parents being born there and the other being from East Africa but ancestry being in India.

      Neither of my parents identify as being nationals of those countries, they never had passports from there so technically they’re not but they do know where they’re from.

      With me, I’m born here and I’d describe myself as British, British Asian or British Indian. The truth is I am British and nothing will change that, but I don’t always feel I fit in fully as British.

      That’s not an issue, I have different cultural upbringing as well as new feelings since meeting my wife who’s also ethnically Indian but is from another Asian country where Indians were pushed to. I simply just don’t feel I can relate fully to the upbringing and culture of “white British” people, but that’s not to say it’s wrong.

      I’m happy to be British but I’m also grateful that I am culturally different as to me, the things my family and I do i prefer and wouldn’t want to be any other way. Equally, I’m sure people who’s ancestry is fully British may feel the opposite to me.

      So if people view themselves as Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist or whatever first, that’s absolutely fine as long as you’re respectful of everyone else’s right to be who they are.

    18. Possible-Pin-8280 on

      >A majority identify primarily with their religion over their nationality **because they are made to feel unwelcome in Britain**

      Calling BS on the last part. They identify primarily with their religion because it is an all-encompassing and extremely overbearing ideology.

      Mo really knew what he was doing when he was putting together Islam. It’s an extremely effective religion.

    23. OneSalientOversight on

      Religion is very important to people. It often transcends national or social identity.

      Many Christians see themselves as Christians first.

    24. JosephRohrbach on

      That’s surely unsurprising. I did an informal survey of my friends where I asked them to rank parts of their identity. Almost every single religious person put their religion first – and that’s given I mostly surveyed Christians. Religion is important to religious people, even if they’re also patriotic. For instance, I consider my Englishness very important indeed to me – but being a Christian of course comes first. You’d be a very strange Christian if you thought anything worldly is more important than God! Is that surprising?

    28. SufficientWarthog846 on

      Probably because the UK culture as a whole doesn’t embrace them and since 9/11 the media has made a concerted effort to alienate them.

    30. Every-Promise-9556 on

      I feel like if you truly believe in your religion then this should obviously be the case. What could be more important than your religion, if it were actually true?

    31. psrandom on

      Ok, so? What’s the issue here?

      Are we in communist Russia where everyone should be loyal to the state first and foremost?

      How do owners of this news publication identify and what evidence can they provide to back it up?

    32. amazingusername100 on

      Well there’s nothing wrong with that as long as all of those Muslims accept everyone’s else right to not describe themselves as religious, then and accept their culture and behaviour. We need a stronger live and let live mentality. It’s slipping in the last decade in my opinion.

    33. xParesh on

      Its not surprising when you’re in a country where everyone and everything around you represents the exact opposite of everything your faith preaches.

      Your choices would then be either to leave to a country that shares your values or just stay where you are and resent everything around you.

    34. Aggressive_Plates on

      The UK only barely established peace in northern ireland.

      Anyone thinking this will end well for the UK is crazy.