The Casey Review, released today, honestly addresses many of the serious problems with integration and community cohesion in Britain. The Government is to be commended for publishing it, and the review process has been thorough.
The Henry Jackson Society’s work on radicalisation and terrorism touches on many of the issues the review covers, and we urge the Government to look closely at its findings.
The main findings include:
- When communities live separately and don’t interact as much, mistrust, anxiety, and prejudice grow
- Muslims tend to live in more concentrated groups as compared to other faiths
- In parts of the country school populations are also poorly mixed
- The combination of high ethnic minority concentration in schools and residential areas is increasing segregation; one survey at a school showed pupils believed Britain to be between 50-90% Asian, indicating the degree of separation
- Concentrations of ethnic communities can limit opportunities socially, in the labour market, and lead to less trust of other groups with less identification with Britain
- Leaders in public office may have failed to deal with increasing segregation due to fears about being labelled racist
- Attempts to fix these problems have not been implemented with sufficient force or consistency, and have been diluted
The Henry Jackson Society has long sought to publicly address the “difficult issues which many would prefer to ignore” that the review addresses. Our research into radicalisation, extremism, and terrorism has highlighted the importance of dealing with these issues. For a summary of our past work see below.
Dr Alan Mendoza, Executive Director at The Henry Jackson Society, said;
“The Casey Review has once again highlighted worrying trends in the failure to integrate some Muslim communities in the UK that have been apparent for several years.
“The previous government had begun to realise the true scale of the problem prior to its resignation, and was working to address it. While our new government has its hands full with Brexit, it must not neglect this important area of concern and should state its intention to redouble efforts to ensure that Radical Islam is driven to the periphery of the Muslim community.
“To do otherwise would be to invite social discord and disharmony at a time when the country needs to pull together to face challenges that affect all of us, regardless of race and religion.”