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.

SURVEY PAINTS SPIRIT OF CITY IN ITS TRUE COLOURS

This is Samina Ali's First Person column, published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Survey paints spirit of city in its true colours

Is Leicester's reputation for managing community cohesion justified, asks Samina Ali?

The largest and most detailed study of Muslims in Leicester is published on Thursday. The research – by the Policy Research Centre, Markfield, and published by the Open Society Institute as part of its project looking at 11 cities in the EU – reveals interesting findings, largely positive, about the city.

This study reviewed Leicester's approach to integration and inclusion of Muslims in areas such as employment, health, education, policing and levels of civic and political engagement. It looked at how Muslims felt in Leicester in discussions on identity and belonging. It focused on three wards, Evington, Spinney Hills and Stoneygate, chosen for their high levels of ethnic minority population.

So what do Leicester's Muslims think? Seventy-two per cent of Muslims born abroad said they felt British, whereas 94% of second-generation Leicester Muslims consider themselves British. The responses show that they are more patriotic compared to Muslims in other EU cities and showed a stronger sense of belonging to the city. Also contrary to popular perception values held by Muslims were not much different to non-Muslims in Leicester.

But there are also challenges, and little room for complacency. As one of the researchers, I heard some of the difficulties of some Muslims in Leicester. In one focus group discussion, discrimination was talked about in relation to employment. One person said he applied for jobs and did not get to the interview stage and when he applied for a job with a non-Muslim name his application was successful.

While there were a lot of complaints about the national media, Muslims in Leicester painted a positive picture of their local media, especially the Mercury! The success of interfaith dialogue is also flagged up, particularly the role played by the Anglican Church in helping to manage a positive inter-faith ethos. But poor educational attainment and economic deprivation in parts of the city are seen as major challenges that affect people of all backgrounds.

The study recognises that Leicester offers a number of very positive practices for the inclusion of ethnic minorities, but it also makes a number of recommendations which address the need for further engagement by the council, media, police, and other key policy sectors, as well as the Muslim community itself.

Talking to and meeting Leicester Muslims, key stakeholders and the wider community gave me a sense of pride living in Leicester. Off came my rose-tinted glasses and I saw the real spirit of Leicester in its true colours.

Samina Ali is a Research Fellow at the Policy Research Centre, Markfield