Is the ‘Gap' Between the Majority and Muslim Minority in Britain Just about ‘Culture', or Does It Run Deeper?

Earlier cross-national comparative research produced a finding that requires further investigation: namely, that the British public debate over cultural group rights for Islam/Muslims is less contentious compared to other countries, but that the ‘gap’ of cultural distance between the majority population and Muslim minority in their opinions over the same issues, was the greatest, and exceptionally wide. It is important to know whether this significant cultural distance is confined only to issues of ‘cultural clashes’, or whether it is also replicated in the social and political domains, and so is indicative of a structural gap in relations between the Muslim minority and majority. This paper examines original survey data to see whether the exceptional British ‘gaps’ over group rights issues are also replicated in opinions and behaviour relating to ‘social’ issues and ‘political’ issues. Are differences between majorities and Muslim minorities just about ‘culture clashes’ and group rights demands, or do they go deeper indicating structural differences about how people view the society they live in? First, the study sets the scene comparing the British case to five western European countries (D, F, NL, B, NL, CH). Second, it zooms in to add further detail to the national case, by examining a) differences between groups of Muslims (Pakistani, Moroccan, former-Yugoslavian, Turkish), and b) the respective differences between the Muslim groups and the majority over a range of social and political issues.