An official inquiry into prejudice and discrimination in Britain has revealed a backlash against equal opportunities for immigrants and Muslims.
The report for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a statutory body, found that 37 per cent of adults believed that efforts to provide equal opportunities to immigrants had gone “too far”.
In the case of Muslims, the figure was 33 per cent. By contrast, nearly two thirds of the public felt that more help was needed to support those with a mental health condition, as 63 per cent said that efforts had not gone far enough. The figure for those with a physical impairment was 60 per cent.
The report, which could be the first of an annual “barometer” testing public opinion, also found that significant numbers of people openly expressed negative feelings towards Gypsies, Roma and Travellers (44 per cent), Muslims (22 per cent) and transgender people (16 per cent). There was much greater sensitivity towards gay, lesbian and bisexual people (with 9 per cent expressing negative feelings), people aged over 70 (4 per cent) and disabled people with a physical impairment (3 per cent).
[TOP RATED COMMENT 124 votes] I am a university lecturer. I am also partially deaf. I spoke to my university's diversity officer regarding how I should treat the issue of a student wearing a niqab, meaning that I couldn't see her facial expressions, making it much harder for me to understand her when she spoke.
I was told "That's your problem, not hers."
In other words, my physical disability (which I can do little about) is of lesser importance than her choice to wear a style of dress that actually isn't required by her religion. Yes, support of Muslims at the expense of those with physical disabilities has gone too far.
[2ND 119] A quarter of British Muslims sympathised with the Charlie Hebdo massacres.
A couple of hundred of trans activists believe that their right to self identification trumps the rights and protections - and even the dictionary definition - of 30 million women.
These are equally ‘disturbing’ statistics.
[3RD 97] If people hide their faces be it by burka or balaklava, or hoody or motor cycle helmet I will judge them the way I deem fit.
[4TH 92] Equal rights? The problem is that many of the cultural/racial groups highlighted as suffering from 'negative perceptions' have special rights. All over summer we had story after story of travellers setting up in beauty spots, business parks, schools etc. and when finality moved on leaving the tax payer with a huge clean up bill. Of course this says nothing off the massive spike in crime, animal stealing (including pets) and piles of excrement. Crimes non-travellers would be held accountable.
There was no epic backlash to the mostly Muslim gangs rapes of boys and girls in places like Oxford and Rotherham. The local councils and police departments knew it was going on and did nothing so not to disrupt 'community relations' while girls and boys were suffering from disgusting physical and sexual violence. Special treatment, even Sharia law is starting to make its inroads. I have an Indian friend whose biggest peeve is people thinking that he is a Muslim. Hindu, Chinese and many other groups that have settled here have made a serious effort to be good friends and neighbours with no high crime rates and continuous demands for special rights. That is really what this is all about.
[5TH 75] Two polls in the last two years showed that 40% of British Muslims wanted to introduce some aspects of Sharia Law into the UK, and 50% thought homosexuality should be illegal in the U.K.
No wonder the indigenous non Muslim population is unhappy with Islam’s influence in Britain. [The Times (£)] Read more
