Of course the UK had extensive involvement in the Middle East for quite a long period of time, so it's no surprise that there are Muslims in the UK...

But why is it growing so quickly there?

And then of course, Atheism is also said to be growing as well...

Christianity seems to be getting it from both sides in the UK--something that'd seem unthinkable in the over-religious country I call home. ;)

This genuinely interests me...is there a specific reason the UK seems to be a fertile land for the growth of Islam?

Moreover, if you live in the UK...well, you're probably more interested in the Olympic Opening Ceremonies... ;)

But on the off-chance you're bored and look in here--what's your impression of Islam in the UK vs. Islam here, I'd be curious to find out...

In America, Muslims are largely African American converts, upper and middle class Iranians who fled both the Shah and the Ayatollah, Muslim Indians, and Lebanese who fled violence there. In the UK a pretty sizable portion are from poor and deeply conservative areas of Muslim majority countries like rural Pakistan. A person whose father was a shepherd and at least knew people in the Mujaheddin is going to be very different from someone whose father was a literature professor at Tehran Tech or was a Black Muslim convert.

The UK is rightly proud of its Multi-cultural heritage. Apart from a very small minority of far right extremists generally people of all races and elisions are accepted here. There is still some way to go to ensure equal representation and equality, but on time that will come.

We have British Muslims, the culture is different and so are the people. We have quite an integrated multi-cultural society and everybody who is part of that appreciates that whatever their religion.
Some young Muslims are radicalised and are fighting some kind of Jihad against Western society and values but they are despised and feared just as much by other Muslims as they are by the wider society.
We don't go for this extremist stuff, in our politics or our religion. Sounds boring but it's also kinda good.
Things could change a bit if there is some terrorist outrage at the Olympics ..... I hope not.

The reason for the larger number of female converts is love. You get relatively few single female Muslim immigrants, but a significant number of single male Muslim immigrants. When a native falls for such an immigrant their religion can pose a problem and conversion presents a solution.

As far as attitudes go, one Eastern desert religion is very much like another. Those who follow the letter of their laws tend to be bastards, and those who follow the spirit seem decent enough. Not a clue what it's like State side

@Invictus:

Well, that was a remarkably good breakdown demographically, at least for the American Muslims I personally know, +1 there...

Do you think that affects the public perception, then, of Muslims in the UK from Muslims in the US, their background? (I DO like my country of course--I take a remarkable amount of issues with it, but still--but I think it's probably safe to say that we're far less tolerant of Muslims and Atheists in American than in the UK.)

@Maniac:

Far-right on the British political side, Far-right on the Islamic conservative side, or both?

@Nigee:

"We have British Muslims, the culture is different and so are the people. We have quite an integrated multi-cultural society and everybody who is part of that appreciates that whatever their religion."

Well, we certainly speak that mantra here in the US, that "all men are created equal" and that we "celebrate" freedom of religion (or lack thereof) but, of course, I'd be the first to say that we don't measure up to those lofty goals here in places, religious acceptance probably topping that list...

What does/has the UK do/done differently that's produced such a great multicultural utopia, if we may call it that? (I don't think I've made it a secret I really hope to visit the UK someday before I die, so I probably have a rosier view of it here across the Pond...but when I haven't traveled east of Arizona in my life, and I'm not only an English major but as everyone's seen here an English language fanatic, perhaps there's a reason for that rose-tinted vision.) :)

But back on topic.

"Some young Muslims are radicalised and are fighting some kind of Jihad against Western society and values but they are despised and feared just as much by other Muslims as they are by the wider society."

That's actually what's lead me to pose this question, watching a lot of interviews and debates and TV shows on YouTube, and a lot of the ones debating religion do come off of British TV (you'll be hard-pressed to find such programming here, where DirecTV has something like 5 or more all-religion channels and if a candidate doesn't kiss God's ass more than he kisses babies in an election year he's finished) and...

I'm sure there are Muslims like that here--in fact, I've actually met one such radical before, when I was a dumb teenager and I played this game for the first time in history class--but I was amazed by the vitriol some of these Muslims had to say...that some of them got applause from an audience for saying it...

And--I'll be honest--that so many women in the audience of some of these shows not only wore the burka and other such attire, but more than being happy to do so, seemed to think all women should, lest they be ashamed of themselves...

I simply could not imagine at first a free woman from a rather upscale, first-world Western country, one of the freest in the world, saying such a thing. Call it a cultural bias if you will, but I found that rather shocking that many women in the audience seemed to wear such attire and agree to that ideal.

"We don't go for this extremist stuff, in our politics or our religion. Sounds boring but it's also kinda good."

I'd take that over our ever-narrowing gap between Church and State...

You can't win at least half the states (and probably more) in the Electoral College if you're not a fervent Christian...and go on about how much you are such a Christian again...and again...and again...

(If they want to be Christian, fine--it's well-established I disagree with the ideology, but that's fine, freedom of religion's a beautiful thing. All the same, just as much as everyone would be--rightfully--irritated if I ran for President...well, if I ran at all, really, people would be irritated, but especially if I ran and all the while bespoke my love for Hitchens, Hume, and Nietzsche...I do that here, but then, I'm not running for President of WebDip--Eden's got that covered.)

;)

@Octavious:

"The reason for the larger number of female converts is love. You get relatively few single female Muslim immigrants, but a significant number of single male Muslim immigrants. When a native falls for such an immigrant their religion can pose a problem and conversion presents a solution."

But are that many British women that willing to convert?

I mean, even leaving the changing of religion out of it...that's giving up the right to wear what you want and, to a great extent, I feel, be the sort of person you wish to be...

Those must be the most amazing romances ever if women are willing to give up their liberties...again, maybe it's a cultural bias, but it just shocks me so many women would be willing to give up those liberties...especially if they've been raised in a rather-progressive society all their life that's allowed them such immense freedoms--

If I were a woman, I couldn't imagine ceding my rights to liberty for a man, no matter how in love we were...indeed, if they're that in love, shouldn't the man allow for the woman's cultural background and accept her the same way she accepts him?

"As far as attitudes go, one Eastern desert religion is very much like another. Those who follow the letter of their laws tend to be bastards, and those who follow the spirit seem decent enough. Not a clue what it's like State side."

Roughly, I suppose it's like that here...

Only we seem to tolerate one of those desert-dwelling religions and their to-the-letter, fanatics more than the others. ;)

As someone pointed out, most of our Muslims (minus the Somalis, who are something...different) they are all well educated, and assimilated easily into our culture,. and appear on the surface to be quite moderate.

our own blacks who convert, are generaly more radical, and shove it in your face more, so they are disliked more.

Somlis,,,,whole different story.

I somehow suspect that the increase in rates of atheism and converts to islam has a common cause.

At least in my experience, when one religion has a vast majority of weak believers most people find themselves in one of two camps, a religiois believer whose faith in their religion is eroded by the lack of faith of that majority who are members of the faith in name alone (the church if england in this case, of roman catholicism in my expierence in ireland) these believers are ripe converts to another faith which is taken seriously by tue followers.

The other groups are those who realise they faith is meaningless words to the majority and have the courage to declare their atheism (contrary to the cultural convention of simply going with their upbringing and not really thinking about it...)

This may be at a different scale in the UK and i'll bet there is a contrasting difference in Northern Ireland in terms of both atheists and islamic converts (though in my experience the converts were to the Ba'hai faith) - because of the competing traditions of Church of Ireland vs Roman Catholics...

It is possible there that the violence has turned people off religion but i'd like to see actual figures if anyone has them.

I think the US has a much more diverse religious practice, with mormons, jews, scientologists, leaving communities which are passionate about their faith, rather than apathetic yet culturally presumed to be religious.

In a similar fashion europeans have a multitude of political parties to choose from... leaving a more vibrant political community...

I think what obi-raham is trying to ask is, have there been any glorious, breathtaking events, such as 9/11 where many degenerate americans were issued a justifiable correction, in England?

My only regret regarding 9/11 is that I could not have been there to spit in the faces of all of those yankee doodles just before they were effortlessly dispatched by the brave Saudis.

ALLAHU AKBAR. There is only one God, Allah, and his messenger is Muhammad. ALLAHU AKBAR!!!

@obi - far right politically.

I think the British multi-culturalism stems from the days of the empire. So many Brits travelled overseas and so many of the colonies' population came to the UK that people mixed earlier than most countries. the longer people mix the more accepted it becomes.