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Muslims consider their future in UK as backlash flares

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have thought about leaving Britain after the London bombings, according to a new Guardian/ICM poll. The figure illustrates how widespread fears are of an anti-Muslim backlash following the July 7 bombings carried out by British-born suicide bombers.

The poll also shows that tens of thousands of Muslims have suffered from increased Islamophobia, with one in five saying they or a family member have faced abuse or hostility since the attacks.

Police have recorded more than 1,200 suspected Islamophobic incidents across the country ranging from verbal abuse to one murder in the last three weeks.

The poll suggests the headline figure is a large underestimate. The poll came as British Muslim leaders and police met to try to boost recruitment of Muslim officers, improve efforts to protect Muslims from a backlash, and improve the flow of information from Muslims to the police about suspected terrorist activity.

Nearly two-thirds of Muslims told pollsters that they had thought about their future in Britain after the attacks, with 63 percent saying they had considered whether they wanted to remain in the UK. Older Muslims were more uneasy about their future, with 67 percent of those age 35 or over having contemplated their future home country compared to 61 percent among those 34 or under.

Britain's Muslim population is estimated at 1.6 million, with 1.1 million over 18, meaning more than half a million may have considered the possibility of leaving. Three in 10 are pessimistic about their children's future in Britain, while 56 percent said they were optimistic. Nearly eight in 10 Muslims believe Britain's participation in invading Iraq was a factor leading to the bombings, compared to nearly two-thirds of all Britons surveyed for the Guardian earlier this month.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has repeatedly denied such a link. Muslim clerics' and leaders' failure to root out extremists is a factor behind the attacks identified by 57 percent of Muslims, compared to 68 percent of all Britons, and nearly two-thirds of Muslims identify racist and Islamophobic behavior as the cause compared, to 57 percent of all Britons.

The general population and Muslims apportion virtually the same amount of blame to the bombers and their handlers, with eight in 10 or more citing these as factors.
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