LEICESTER MUSLIMS FEEL "RIGHT AT HOME"

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Leicester Muslims feel "right at home"

Most Muslims who live in Leicester feel at home in the city, a new study has found.

Muslims in Leicester is the most detailed report on Muslim life in the city to date, and comes after researchers spent months questioning 300 people in Evington, Spinney Hills and Stoneygate.

The report, released yesterday, found the majority of Muslims possessed a strong British identity and a sense of belonging to the city.

Aamenah Mulla, 11, told the Leicester Mercury yesterday: "I really like it here. I feel part of the city."

The report by the Open Society Institute praised Leicester's vibrant faith communities and strong political participation by ethnic minorities – 17 of the city's 54 councillors are from an ethnic minority background.

It also praised the depiction of and reporting on Muslims by local media, including the Leicester Mercury, which it said was more positive than in the national press.

Co-author Nazia Hussain said: "Other cities in Europe have much to learn from Leicester. This city serves as a powerful example of how ethnic and cultural diversity can be managed well and, in fact, turned into an asset."

But he said key bodies, such as the city council, needed to keep working hard to encourage integration, and that Leicestershire police should recruit more Muslim officers.

Leicester was chosen for the study because of its high Muslim population. Of the 280,000 people on the 2001 census, 30,000 were Muslim.

Leicester will soon become the first city to have more non-whites than whites.

The findings of the study were backed by Muslim residents of Highfields.

Resident Farida Patel, 26, said: "There's a real community spirit in Leicester and I don't think life is the same elsewhere, from visiting Muslims living in Birmingham and London.

"We all feel part of the city. There are no problems with the police and the Leicester Mercury is brilliant at encouraging Muslims to participate. I've got high hopes for the future."

Mohammad Ismail, 24, said: "Leicester is a good place because here we are free to offer prayers and wear Muslim clothes. I don't think discrimination is a problem here."

The report looked at the way businesses, organisations and authorities worked to engage with the Muslim community.

It highlighted Jobcentre Plus's outings for employers to mosques and temples and the roadshow for new Highcross shops and restaurants that visited all of Leicester's communities to recruit staff.

Sheila Lock, chief executive of Leicester City Council, said: "The diversity in Leicester is one of our greatest assets."

Chief Inspector Bill Knopp, of Leicestershire police's community safety bureau, said the force hopes to increase recruitment of minority officers once its recruitment freeze ends.

The study used statistical research and interviews.