12 April 2016

Birmingham has failed to integrate Muslims, says MP Khalid Mahmood

A Birmingham MP has backed warnings that some Muslims have struggled to integrate into British society - and said both central government and local councils must take a share of the blame.

Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Perry Barr and the first Muslim MP to represent an English constituency, spoke out following the publication of a survey which found some Muslims held negative views about homosexuals and the place of women.

The study was commissioned by Channel 4 and forms the basis of a television documentary called What British Muslims Really Think, which is due to be broadcast on Wednesday and presented by Trevor Phillips, the former head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

But Mr Mahmood said he did not believe the poll was accurate.

The survey also found that the overwhelming majority of British Muslims had a positive view of life in the UK.

But speaking to the Birmingham Mail, Mr Mahmood said politicians had made a series of mistakes which meant some Birmingham Muslims from poorer families were “isolated”. [Birmingham Mail] Read more