Fifth of white non-Muslims believe that British culture is ‘under threat from invasion’, poll shows

Exclusive: Research shows ‘Islamist and far-right ideas are resonating with young people in the UK’

An anti-immigation protester holds up a placard during a demo in Dover on the south-east coast of England, on September 5, 2020 (AFP via Getty Images)

Almost one in five young white non-Muslims believe British culture is “under threat from invasion”, research suggests, amid warnings over the spread of extremist conspiracy theories.

Experts said the research, which compared beliefs held by British Muslims and white non-Muslims (WNMs), showed that “Islamist and far-right ideas are resonating with young people in the UK”.

Polling by Savanta ComRes found that one in five young people in both groups think there is an “unresolvable conflict between Islam and the west”, with WNMs feeling threatened and Muslims feeling victimised.

Thirteen per cent of both groups said violent action was sometimes justified to achieve change, and 15 per cent of Muslims and 9 per cent of WNMs agreed that “people should be prepared to go out to fight to defend their religion or culture with force”.

Fourteen per cent of WNM 18- to 30-year-olds were found to believe the myth of “no-go areas where Sharia law operates”, and a similar proportion claimed that Islam promotes violence.

Despite the most recent census showing the population of England and Wales was 86 per cent white, more than one in 10 WNMs said white people were “a minority in Britain”.

The report, by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said two fifths of WNMs had negative attitudes to Islam, and a “small minority stray into clear white supremacist views such as that all Brits should strive to ensure our country is white [7 per cent] and that you are not truly British unless you are white [6 per cent]”.

The findings come amid concern over the increase of overt racism among the British far right, and the spread of a conspiracy that white people are being “replaced” in western nations.

Researchers said the results suggested that dominant far-right sentiments in Britain are framed around culture rather than race, but there is a “potential to develop more racialised views”.

The polling was carried out last year and author Cristina Ariza said the coronavirus pandemic, rising English Channel crossings and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement may have caused “shifts” in opinions.

Ms Ariza, an analyst at the institute, told The Independent: “We have new groups emerging and mobilising as a response to BLM but it takes time for those views to permeate through the public.

“The anti-Muslim branch of the far right has been banging the drum on this for a decade.”

One-fifth of both groups surveyed “consistently agree with extreme positions across themes depicting Islam and the west in conflict”, the report said.

A third of British Muslim participants thought Muslims were “systematically targeted in the UK and globally”, while 18 per cent said British society was “intrinsically anti-Muslim”.

The report said that discrimination against Muslims was prevalent in the UK, and that “extremist groups can exploit this to promote their worldviews”.

Polling results suggested Muslims and non-Muslims were more likely to agree with extremist statements if they do not mix socially with people from different religions and races, feel discriminated against or perceive a lack of agency in their lives.

Around a quarter of both groups said that democracy was “broken” and the government should be boycotted, while one in 10 Muslim respondents said engaging with non-Muslim institutions like UK politics “undermines the Muslim community”.

A further 9 per cent said Muslims who did engage were not true believers or were “traitors to Islam”.

But overall, WNMs were more likely to feel detached from politics, with a quarter feeling there was “little value in engaging with the political system”, compared with 17 per cent of Muslims.

The report called for the government to promote initiatives that “teach young people how to talk about difficult issues” and make them feel more engaged with politics.

It criticised a lack of change since the 2016 Casey Review on integration, saying Brexit had “made progress difficult”, and called for an updated government counter-extremism strategy.

Ms Ariza said the government needed to “acknowledge the scale of the problem” and deal with non-violent extremism, as well as terrorism.

“The problem is not just the violence, it’s the ideas underpinning it,” she added.

“This will be critical with Covid-19 and it can’t slip off the agenda. Some of the conditions emerging in the pandemic provide an environment when extremists thrive – a lack of trust in government, unemployment, trauma where people have lost loved ones.

“We have a lot of push factors of radicalisation and Islamists and far-right extremists have seen this, looking at Covid as an opportunity to promote their ideas.”

Savanta ComRes carried out a poll of 1,011 Muslims and 1,011 WNMs aged 18 to 30 in May 2019, then convened two online research groups with 57 participants in total in October.

A government spokesperson said it was “committed to confronting extremism in all its forms, including strengthening communities so they can resist extremist narratives and protecting vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorism”.

A statement added: “Our Integrated Communities Action Plan set out an ambitious programme of 70 cross-government commitments to promote better integration, greater opportunities and stronger communities in England by tackling the key causes of poor integration. In addition to this, we launched the Educate Against Hate website to provide teachers, school leaders and parents with guidance and support they need to protect children from radicalisation and extremism.”