Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

Current popular opinion assumes that Muslims and South Asians in Britain develop anti-mainstream identities because they live in impoverished and segregated ghettos, participate in non-mainstream religions, and politically organize via ethnically and religiously motivated networks. This article uses survey data from the 2003 Home Office Citizenship Survey to challenge each of those points. First, I show that Muslims and South Asians are almost as likely as whites to identify as British. Second, I argue that discrimination is more important than simple socio-economic difficulties for British identification. In addition, I claim that despite living in ethnically segregated neighborhoods and retaining ethnic and religious social and political networks, Muslims and South Asians have actively built integrated networks, have trust in mainstream political institutions, and are committed to being a part of the larger British community.