Islamization of Great Britain: Social and Political Consequences
In Britain, as in many countries of Western Europe, there has been a rapid growth of the Muslim population. A qualitatively new period has come, when the number of Muslim immigrants and their descendants significantly affects the host society. In the face of growing problems, the UK demonstrates a specific approach to solving them: the integration policy of the state allows for deviations from the liberal-democratic foundations of a social and political structure.
Muslims are the fastest growing and youngest part of the UK population, which is confirmed by the census held once a decade. Comparing the data of the penultimate (2001) and last (2011) censuses, one can see that the number of Muslims in 10 years increased from 3 to 4,4% of the total population, and in the age group to 25 years the proportion of Muslims was already 10% [ 1].
Additional calculations showed that from 2001 to 2009, the number of Muslims increased in the territory of the United Kingdom 10 times faster than other religions [2]. In absolute terms, the number of Muslims from 2001 to 2011 increased by more than 1 million 200 thousand, of which almost 600 thousand are children born in Britain. About 100 thousand people during the census stated that they are converts who converted to Islam. In total, approximately 2011 million Muslims lived in the country on 2,78.
All this is happening against the background of the reduction in the number of Christians established by the same census. In 2001, 72% of the country's population considered themselves as such, and in 2011, only 59%. More than half of the Christians at the time of the 2011 census were older than 50 years, a quarter - older than 65 years. From the age group younger than 25, Christians called themselves Christians less than 50%. The number of Christians, according to the copyists, could have been even smaller, but by 2% was compensated by immigration from Poland and Nigeria.
About half of Muslims in Britain are unemployed. Unemployment among racial and ethnic minorities, which include almost all Muslims, costs the country’s budget an enormous amount — 8,6 billion pounds a year [3]. Most of the Muslims (over a million) live in London. They are the most financially disadvantaged category of Londoners with the highest percentage of unemployed between the ages of 16 and 64. Among Somalis, 78% of women and 56% of men are out of work; Pakistanis - 70% women and 32% men; Turks - 68% women and 35% men; Bangladeshis - 74% women and 31% men [4].
In addition to the large number of unemployed, the proportion of Muslims in prisons is high: if in the country's population they make up about 5%, then in British prisons they are already 13%, and in London - 27% [5].
The social vulnerability of most Muslims (foreign origin, low qualifications, unemployed status, large families, etc.) negatively affects the prospects for their socialization. In addition, religious attitudes place them in conditions of a constant moral choice of the opportunity / impossibility to use in the non-Muslim country the options of the national education, health care, financial and judicial systems. Considering all these circumstances, over the past decade, the British state and society have made efforts to integrate both Muslims and Muslim institutions in two directions:
1) recruiting Muslims into power, changing their peripheral socio-economic status, raising the status of Islam;
2) adaptation of financial, social, legal, educational systems, labor relations, as well as trade and public catering establishments in the state to specific Muslim institutions.
The first direction was expressed in the “affirmative action policy” (2006) [6] and “positive discrimination” (2008), when parliamentarians introduced quotas for minorities in public service, especially in the army, key ministries (foreign affairs, internal affairs) ) and the police [7], and also adopted a plan to increase the number of racial and religious minorities (British Muslims apply to both) in public services from 6 to 11%.
The most successful recruitment of Muslims is in the police. A professional association of Muslim-policemen has been established, promoting the prestige and opportunities for entering the service among the adherents of Islam. Currently in the UK over 2 are thousands of Muslim policemen, which already exceeds 11% of the total number of police officers in the country [8].
The situation with the involvement of Muslims in the armed forces is less effective. As the relatives of one of the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Britain who died in Afghanistan reported, the young man, traveling with non-Muslims to an Islamic state, was under pressure from the community, preachers, many acquaintances and strangers accusing him of betraying Islam, and this pressure was considered by Muslim experts as the most important reason campaign failure [9]. Despite the creation of an association of Muslim military personnel, for the recruitment of imams to the army service, explaining to co-religionists that there is no contradiction between religion and civic duty, only 600 Muslims serve in the ranks of the country's armed forces (0,5% of the total number of military personnel) [10]. An additional reason for the refusal of a financially advantageous service is the Muslim condemnation of any military-political activity of Western countries in the territory of the Islamic world. This demonstrates the conflict between civic identity and a sense of belonging to the global Muslim community - the ummah that challenges secularism, American globalism and cultural westernization.
Regarding participation in the legislative power, although progress is noticeable (in 1997 there were only 1 Muslims in the country's parliament, in 2010 they were already 8 in the lower house), Muslims remain under-represented: in proportion to their share in the population, they should have minimum 24 deputy seats [11]. According to 2014, there were 15 Muslims in the upper house of parliament (House of Lords), and another five British Muslims became members of the European Parliament [12].
In addition to parliamentary representation, notable appointments were made during the formation of the government in 2010: for the first time in stories two of the Muslim parliamentarians became ministers from the Conservative Party.
2014 statistics show that Muslims are increasingly involved in local politics. So, at the elections of local councils in England in May 2014, 897 Muslim candidates (both party and independent) were recorded. Most party candidates (354) were members of the Labor Party, in second place were candidates from the Conservative Party (256) [13]. As for the results, they differ from year to year: in 2014, 277 Muslims became members of local councils, which accounted for more than 6,5% of the total number of seats (slightly exceeding the proportion of Muslims in the population); in 2013, the result was much more modest - 1% of places, and in 2012, Muslims received 20% of places, four times exceeding their share in the country's population [14]. In 2014, women accounted for about 25% of the total number of newly elected Muslim advisers; the absolute majority of winners (227 of 277) are members of the Labor Party.
In some cases, “minority” politicians do not consider the values of their confessional community as the only possible ones for the rest of the population and vote as secular citizens. For example, in 2013, 5 of 8 Muslims in the House of Commons voted to legalize gay marriage [15], but since then the family of Labor’s most influential elector, Sadik Khan’s “shadow cabinet”, is under the protection of special services because threats of radicals and fundamentalists. Many mosque imams stigmatize him as a traitor and call on young people to punish such apostates.
There are also opposite examples when politicians express only the interests of their community, which also sometimes requires courage from them - for example, a willingness to risk a career. For example, Baroness Saida Warsi, the first Muslim woman to become a minister in 2010 (without a portfolio) in a conservative government, called the prevailing Islamophobia in society the main reason for the increase in the number of Muslims in British prisons. And in August, 2014, she resigned, declaring the unacceptability of the British political course to support Israel in the Middle East conflict. She was supported by Shabana Mahmoud, a Labor MP, publicly calling on fellow citizens to boycott Israeli goods produced in the occupied territories, despite the recommendations of the party’s comrades “not to disagree with the political line of the party to support Israel”.
There is also the problem of the ambiguous position of Muslim politicians and organizations in relation to extremists and terrorist acts committed by Muslims, including in the UK. Some, publicly condemning the act of terror, at the same time provide intolerable preachers and extremist organizations with “platforms” for speeches, including Internet resources or the media. One of these two-faced politicians from 2010. For the second time already, he is Mayor of Tower Hamlet, one of the most “immigrant” districts of London. An extremist mayor is being investigated, and he is threatening the authorities with large-scale Islamist unrest [16]. Six other Muslim mayors who were in positions in different cities in 2007 - 2014 were not seen in anything like this.
Confessional perspective
In the UK, religious communities, including Muslims, have the status of socially beneficial unions, implying certain financial benefits and payments from the national and local budgets. There are more 1000 imams, 1650 mosques and houses of worship in the country. If they register and receive official status, this allows them to resort to state support and levy taxes on the maintenance of the mosque [17] from believers. Burial according to Muslim rules has long been allowed, for this there are special plots on common cemeteries, and individual Muslim cemeteries. Ritual slaughter of livestock is also allowed according to religious regulations. Wearing a women's headscarf and veil covering the face does not meet any obstacles and is widespread.
To raise the status of Islam, the elite demonstrate not only tolerance, but loyalty at the highest level. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain ordered the allocation of a prayer room for Muslim servants at Windsor Castle during the holy month of Ramadan, followed by Buckingham Palace and other state institutions.
Counseling of Muslims in prisons and hospitals is carried out, as well as among Christians, at the expense of the state. The government pays for the activities of 130 imams in prisons (on a full-time basis) and the recruitment from 25 to 30 imams to health organizations (on a part-time basis). There are imams in the army as well as civil servants with a salary.
The social policy of Great Britain during the 13 years of the Labor Party’s reign (from 1997 to 2010) has earned high praise from many Muslim politicians. It was conducted with a focus on targeted assistance to Muslims as representatives of a particularly needy group and included numerous benefits, services, benefits and tax deductions [18]. In addition, Laborites launched a number of targeted economic programs, two of which - Islamic Relief and Muslim Support (Muslim Aid) - in addition are based on Islamic principles of mutual aid and charity, which allows the observers of special prescriptions to participate in them of Islam.
At the local level, governing councils are trying to provide the best conditions for Muslim immigrants, including providing luxury social housing for families with children with expensive furniture and household appliances (renting it from private owners to the British taxpayer) [19]. It is noteworthy that in such luxurious conditions lived the families of all odious preachers of intolerance, some of whom had recently received punishment of imprisonment, and some were sent abroad. At the same time, their families continue to enjoy the social support of the British state, which these leaders called for destroying, reorganizing it into a theocratic medieval society. The radicals distort the effect of the policy of targeted social assistance to Muslims, interpreting it as a form of tax from the "infidels", common in the Muslim polities of the past. Life on social benefits for unemployment such preachers regard as a desirable form of existence, allowing to devote the released time to the fight against opponents of the faith.
In addition to this quasi-religious interpretation of the radicals of social policy, there are other negative consequences of targeted assistance. First, it turns out that it is more profitable for fathers of large families of poor families not to work. Secondly, the “targeted” policy creates xenophobia - thousands of Africans and Asians penetrate the country by all means precisely for the sake of obtaining tolerable living conditions, possible even in the status of refugees and illegal immigrants; however, many minority groups are offered options for better housing [20], which is not available to most ordinary Britons with modest incomes. Ordinary Britons in addition and pay for privileged conditions for foreigners. For unemployed or low-income Muslims, there is a system of tax benefits and benefits and a range of services for their families (for example, free meals for children at school, free medications and medical care), in which they also often get an advantage over the British.
Finally, such a system distorts the psychology of a man in a Muslim family. In Islam, as in other Abrahamic religions, the hierarchy of gender relations is associated precisely with clearly distributed functions. The man in this design is the breadwinner, the toiler, and the wife and children are his responsibility. The provision of social housing, the normal (compared to the African or Asian country of origin) standard of living for benefits removes the lion’s share of a man’s duties from a man. As the worst option, wives and children become sources of income for such an economically inactive man who, using the status of the head of the family, withdraws the full amount of payments from them and can distribute it at his discretion. Children see an example of unemployed fathers and mothers and perceive this way of life as a normal state.
Significant damage to the distortions of the policy of "positive discrimination" brought the rest of the population. Thus, the authorities of the country tried to interpret socially unacceptable behavior of people from minorities as cultural originality. Only in 2013 ‒ 2014. Facts about the longstanding (from 2001 to 2013) unpunished activities in the country of racist gangs of pedophiles, rapists and pimps of immigrant minorities, whose victims were thousands of white children (proven victims of only one gang - 2,5 thousands) [21] . These were the years of Labor rule, the adoption of many acts and initiatives to protect minorities [22].
Adaptation of the state and society to Muslim institutions
In finance
Taking into account the existing bans on Islam for a number of economic operations, restrictions on the types of investments and guidelines for regulating contractual relations, the Labor government of 2007 - 2010. went to change the tax and financial legislation for the effective functioning of Islamic banking [23]. At present, the Islamic Bank of Great Britain has eight divisions, including Birmingham, London and Manchester. At least 5 banks in the United Kingdom offer exclusively Sharia-compliant services, and 17 banks and financial groups (Barclays, RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, etc.) opened special branches and structures for serving Muslim clients. In recent years, the capital of Islamic banking institutions in the country amounted to 12 billion pounds, exceeding the indicators of a similar sector of Muslim countries such as Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan. The rapid development of this segment has led to the fact that 55 educational institutions in the UK (more than in any country in the world) are training Islamic banking specialists [24].
In insurance and mortgage lending, the market for products adapted to the restrictions of Islam on loans with interest is actively developing. According to a special scheme, Muslims are provided with the possibility of loans for higher education.
In family policy
For a decade, various forms of social support for polygamous families have been debated and applied, for which they had to change the principles of British family law [25]. Despite the fact that bigamy in the UK is considered a crime, polygamous marriages can formally be recognized by the state if they are entered into in countries where they are provided for by law. Men who have several wives may thus officially receive additional social benefits. The guidelines on social benefits published by the Ministry of Labor and Pension [26] stated: “In the case of a lawful polygamous marriage, an applicant with one of the spouses may receive a payment based on the married couple ... The amount paid for each additional spouse is now moment will be 32 pounds 65 pence ”[27]. In addition, a polygamous man (before the revision of the law in 2012) received additional payments for housing and municipal tax exemptions, since such a family needs a large living space.
The Conservative Party condemned the decisions on polygamy made by the Labor Cabinet in 2006. In 2012, the government stopped paying men to support such families because these measures did not protect women with children [29]. From 2013, the second and subsequent wives receive individual benefits as single mothers, which means refusing official support for polygamy and at the same time increasing their protection against the arbitrariness of their husbands. Critics of innovation point out that such an order gives an advantage to married Muslim women over other women who are in a normal monogamous marriage, and is also not an optimal and fair solution for all [30].
Note that in Islam, a man has the right to have second and subsequent wives, if he is able to provide them and the children from them. Thus, a non-Muslim welfare state with a developed security system encourages even the irresponsible, poor and unemployed, in violation of the rules of Islam, to take more wives and have more children, relying on society and the state.
In labor relations
Another area of state attention is how to ensure Muslims find employment without abandoning religious symbols and clothing, as well as a mode of work that does not contradict religious needs. From 2003, all civil servants can wear a headscarf in the performance of their duties. From 2009, the headscarf included firefighters and policemen in a uniform kit. In addition, police officers, regardless of their religious affiliation, are required to have special clothes for visiting mosques for official purposes (a policewoman must wear a headscarf). The government’s website has indicated which signs or actions of the employer can be interpreted as discrimination against Muslims and instructions are posted on how to act in these cases [32].
In the system of public catering and trade
An investigation of the British media, published in May 2014, [33], showed that a large-scale reorientation towards the interests of Muslims had occurred in trade and catering, affecting the rights of other categories of the population. For example, in hospitals, prisons, and schools in the country, many canteens a few years ago, without notifying parents, patients, or non-Muslim prisoners, were completely transferred to Halal meat that meets the religious requirements of Islam (this is a total ban on pork, as well as killing of people allowed in food of animals and birds by hand, with prayer and without prior stunning; however, some Muslim theologians took into account the opinion of animal advocates, and some enterprises, based on their opinion, now use stunning). In addition to the violation of the rights of consumers to freedom of information, in this practice there is an element of discrimination against representatives of all worldviews, except Islam.
In the legal and judicial sphere
In connection with the institutionalization of Islam in a non-Muslim state, the problems of integrating the Islamic component into the justice system have been and remain the most debatable. We are talking about two phenomena - Islamic law and Sharia religious courts. (Specialist on problems of Islamic law Leonid Syukiyaynen notes that the common identification of Sharia and Muslim law is not entirely correct: Sharia (translated from Arabic “path”) is a set of dogmatic and religious issues, ethical characteristics of the Muslim’s inner world, the rules of Muslims' behavior relations with each other, with the authorities, with the Gentiles; it is much broader than Islamic law, which "includes only those principles and norms that were developed or interpreted by the doctrine and from echayut requirements of the law »[34]). Before Great Britain, as well as before every European state with a growing Muslim component, two problems arose: a) affordability, b) the mechanism and consequences of the integration of Islamic law into the state legal system.
Since the UK has already solved the first problem positively and allowed the Muslim community to realize its plan for the second, we will consider some results.
Any national legal system is based on three components:
- the prevailing legal ideology (a set of legal views, ideas and ideas peculiar to this society);
- national law (legal norms, principles and institutions);
- legal practice (a set of legal institutions).
Already the first, the ideological component becomes a stumbling block. In contrast to the European libertarian legal understanding, the Sharia social and regulatory system is based on the fact that equality, freedom and justice are the properties of religion, and not rights. Sharia, being a religious-ethical system, proceeds from prescriptions interpreting relations not only between co-religionists, but also with non-believers — on a unilateral basis of the provisions of their religion. This gives rise to the emergence of “Sharia patrols” on the streets of European cities, which consider it their legal right to prescribe the norms of behavior and appearance for passers-by, punishing both Muslims and non-Muslims for “discrepancy”. Seriously different in Western legal ideologies and in Islamic interpretation and fundamental to the secular state doctrine of human rights.
The second component of the system - national law - is theoretically compatible with Islamic law. Leonid Syukiyaynen pointed to precedents, when during the reforms of the XIX century. in the countries of the Islamic world, regulatory sources of European origin were included in state legal systems, so that “the practice of modern Islamic law in several countries of the East confirms that it is possible to successfully develop a legal system based on the combination and interaction of elements that go back to different legal cultures - Islamic and European (both continental and Anglo-Saxon) ”[35].
However, even in this “ideal” case, legal integration carries significant risks. Regulatory systems that exist in society can be complementary or competing, but “so that society does not plunge into a state of chaos, one of them is leading, one that provides social solidarity, i.e. performs an integrative function ”[36].
The British situation is developing according to the scheme of competing regulatory systems - the Shari'a courts in the country are more than 85 [37], but the state did not ensure the integrative function of the national system and the clarity of the complementary status of Islamic law. Initially, there is no transparency of the Shari'a court system and their control by the judicial authorities and society. In the legal plane, it was possible to limit the integration of precisely the elements of Islamic law, and not the entire Shari'a. Sharia courts as a result are not limited by regulations. Nowhere in these courts — neither on the premises nor on the documents — does it indicate that the secular legal regulatory system is maintained as the leading one, which would leave it possible to refuse a religious court or to challenge its decisions in a civil court. It turns out that the state that signed the international conventions on human rights, in fact, departs from the unconditional primacy of this doctrine for all categories of the population. Moreover, Muslim law is based on inequality between a woman and a man. Here is an example of a standard situation for the British Sharia courts: a woman accuses her husband of beating, violence, stealing household property (if he is a drug addict or a player), demands divorce and punishment for him - and the Sharia court “sentences” her to endure, not to divorce (or pay such a husband compensation for divorce) [38].
A study of human rights defenders and legal scholars Denis McAin and David Green under the auspices of the London civil foundation Civitas, published in the book Sharia or One Law for All [39], shows how different positions of secular legislation and religious courts are in relation to women's rights and minor children. A child older than 7 is divorced by a religious court at the disposal of a father or relatives of a father, even if this father is socially dangerous from the point of view of secular legislation. The religious court does not oblige the father’s relatives or himself to respect the mother’s right to meet with the child; It does not impose such a court and obligations on the guardianship bodies to check the living conditions and condition of the child after deciding his future fate in the context of divorce.
Another area of increased risk for women and minors is related to the perception of certain adats (local customs) as part of the religious tradition. Forced marriages are contrary to the teachings of Islam, but are practiced among British Muslims (relevant statistics are published on the website of a specially created department of the British government to combat marriage coercion [40]). In 2014, a law was passed that referred to marriage coercion as a criminal offense punishing up to 7 years of imprisonment (countering state authorities to protect the victim from forced marriage is punishable by up to 5 years). But there are religious and legal consequences of such marriages that the state cannot fix. Legalizing the Shari'a courts, British politicians did not require compulsory civil registration of all marriages in them from mosques and Sharia courts. Therefore, the victim cannot annul a marriage already concluded according to the rules of Islam, which is valid from the point of view of judges and relatives - even though such a marriage does not exist in the state legal system.
It is not so much religious courts that impose gender discrimination, but rather a quasi-religious ideology, the need to fight which at the level of society and the state was claimed by the Imam of the Islamic Congregation of Oxford, Taj Harzhi. In many mosques of the country, according to the imam, they preach second-rate women as creatures who are called only to obey a man under any conditions and to give him pleasure. A non-Muslim woman in the context of such an ideology is a third-rate being (hence sexual crimes with racial and religious background) [41].
Despite ambiguous assessments of the activities of Sharia courts, religious legal ideology begins to dominate the system of secular jurisprudence. Thus, in the spring of 2014, the Law Society of England and Wales (the main professional association of lawyers in the country, the advising government and parliament on legislation) included in its regulations guidelines for drawing up wills according to the rules of Islam. This violates secular inheritance laws based on the principle of religious freedom, gender equality and the protection of children's rights [42]. In particular, the Shari'ah wills are denied the right to inheritance: spouses, if they are divorced at the time of death; illegitimate children - including children from marriages not contracted by Islamic canons (for example, registered with the mayor's office); adopted children; all heirs who have changed their religion or, from the testator’s point of view, non-believers. It is envisaged that male heirs will receive a greater share than heirs. If previously dissatisfied heirs could challenge the will, drawn up according to the canons of Sharia, in a civil court, now they are deprived of this right. The universal doctrine of gender equality and the protection of the rights of the child has given way to confessional.
If the adaptation of the state to the institutions of Islam in the financial, social, labor spheres can contribute to the political loyalty of Muslims, then the adaptation in the legal sphere gives rise to normative pluralism. In society, two ideologies of regulation of family and interpersonal relations emerge - confessional ethics and the doctrine of human rights. In practice, this leads to the loss by people of common perceptions about the permissible and unacceptable, condemned and commendable, punishable and not. The risks of misunderstanding by the bearers of a radical or fundamentalist worldview of the inapplicability of their practices to the rest of society also increase.
Education
In 2000, Muslims already made up 70 ‒ 90% of students in schools in some cities of the country. They succeeded in many schools at the local level to legitimize children's observance of a number of religious institutions (Friday prayer, provision of Halal food in canteens, additional holidays for Muslim holidays). In 2004, the UK Education Minister announced the release of new guidelines for the study of non-Christian dogmas (Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism). The policy of multiculturalism during the reign of Laborites allowed the communities to actively impose their approach to education at the local level, including “correcting” the secular nature of public free schools (Muslim schools in the country are more 110, but most of them are paid).
The transformation of educational institutions under the influence of the Islamic factor became the subject of investigation. The reason was information in the media about the existence of a secret program of Islamization of public schools, an example of the embodiment of which was named the city of Birmingham. In 2014, the Office of Education Standards, Child Care and Learning Skills, which studied the situation in the schools of Birmingham with a predominance of Muslim students, published a report available on the website of the European Institute for Countering Extremism [43]. According to the opinion of the interrogators, the conspiracy uniting the activists of the school councils does exist, and its purpose is to fully control the personnel policy and the content of education in order to prevent socialization and preparation of children for life in secular Britain. It is possible that some members of the Birmingham City Council participated in the conspiracy, who, according to the testimony of teachers, have long ignored their complaints about the actions of school boards. This has led in a number of schools to doubtful phenomena from the point of view of secular education: the separation of classes in the classes of children - Muslims and non-Muslims; separate education for boys and girls; the abolition of the lessons of music, dance, drawing as immoral; reducing or abandoning courses in English history and literature; funding school boards for pilgrim trips of Muslim children to Saudi Arabia (no trip was offered to children of other faiths); instead of calls to change from loudspeakers, calls to prayer were heard; under the guidance of a teacher from a school, anti-Christian slogans were chanted in unison; somewhere children of all religions were forced to attend Arabic lessons, somewhere they learned to memorize the Koran without learning Arabic. In 75% of the inspected schools, there is an inability to prepare pupils for life in multicultural British society, religious fundamentalism, refusal to participate in government programs promoting British values, and inability to prevent religious extremism. In relation to the remaining 25%, there are suspicions of extremist propaganda.
The investigation was supported by Prime Minister D. Cameron and provoked protests by the Muslim Council of Great Britain, which, together with the school councils of Birmingham, accused the government and the inspectorate of bias and Islamophobia.
A group of experts led by the former Ombudsman of the London Police on Terrorism also conducted her investigation at the same time. Her conclusions turned out to be very harsh: there is a purposeful, coordinated and constant activity in the city to introduce an aggressive and intolerant Islamist ethos in secular schools. (However, experts did not find support for terrorist activity or terrorist ideology in these schools.)
* * *
In the matter of the integration of Muslims, it is critical for British society to prevent fundamentalism from becoming an intolerance towards all dissenters. On the part of the state in the political arena, spiritual and secular sites, a firm stand is needed on the unacceptability and punishability of gender discrimination, religious and racial intolerance. Social policy for the benefit of women and children should not lead to the preservation of able-bodied men in an economically inactive state. Those who bring jihadist slogans to demonstrations, support terrorism and promote intolerance are all the more inappropriate to be encouraged with material goods.
Due to the ideological significance of Middle Eastern conflicts (especially the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation) for the majority of Muslims in the country, the British foreign policy tradition needs to be revised. Otherwise, the "secular" Muslims, integration agents, who are ready to take an unbiased view of the basics of European civilization and recognize the need for acculturation, will find it difficult to abandon the perception of the relationship between Islam and the West in terms of struggle, confrontation and revenge.
As a result of the emergence of the Islamic component in the general educational process, one can hope for the British to overcome the prejudices caused by Islamophobia. However, in parallel, there is a departure of public schools with a predominance of Muslim children from the secular rules and secular criteria for learning effectiveness. The choice for children in traditional families is made by parents who do not approve of the values of the majority in which the state is interested in integrating, if not themselves, then at least their descendants. The trust of parents and students can also be abused by extremists, and any criticism of the indoctrination and segregation of children in secular schools can now be interpreted as a manifestation of Islamophobia, although refusing to study the country's history and literature in a public school can hardly be explained by anything other than political ideology under masked religion.
The policy of integration pursued by Great Britain allows deviations from the liberal-democratic foundations of a social and political structure. This means a growing potential for dissatisfaction with other groups of the population who have not received privilege rights. The effects of regulatory pluralism are exacerbated: gender segregation and discrimination; Sharia legal proceedings carried out behind closed doors of 85 courts; the integration of religious law on inheritance into secular law.
The strengths of the strategy are recognition of the high status of Islam in the British state, the inclusion of a large number of Muslims in the national collective decision-making process at all levels, the openness of the elite and the availability of social elevators.
An ambivalent character is the demonstrated willingness of the state and society to quickly adapt to the requirements of Muslims. Legitimation of new for the country, but not affecting human rights practices and institutions (lack of barriers for women in any clothes, provision of all trade and restaurant chains with special food, assumption of polygamy as a cultural norm, Islamic banking, insurance, lending and taxation) . Here everything depends on interpretation: the majority of Muslims regard this as a sufficient set of positive actions for integration, and radical preachers - as the initial stage of the embodiment of their totalitarian views on the future of non-Muslim countries. The passivity of the state contributes to a new form of discrimination within the Muslim community against those who disagree with a certain interpretation of religious institutions (for example, men joining the British Armed Forces; students who do not want to sit apart from students in the audience; women who appear in public without headscarves ).
Notes:
[1] 2001 and 2011 / Office for national statistics. - http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/index.html
[2] The Muslim population 'rising 10 times faster than rest of society / The Times. - January 30, 2009. - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5621482.ece
[3] The Equalities Commission report "How Fair is Britain? -Http: //www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/documents/triennial_review/how_fair_is_britain_ch11.pdf; Britain's coping classes at breaking point. - September 14, 2011 . - http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8054403/Britains-coping-classes-at-breaking-point.html&date=2011- 09-14
[4] Londonspovertyprofile.org. - October, 2013. - http://www.londonspovertyprofile.org.uk/indicators/topics/work-and-worklessness/worklessness-by-gender-and-country-of-birth/
[5] Kern S. Britain: Muslim Prison Population Up 200% / Gatestoneinstitute. - August 2, 2013. - http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3913/uk-muslim-prison-population
[6] Home Office Action Plan "Borders, Immigration and Identity" [Electronic resource] / Home Office Action Plan "Borders, Immigration and Identity". - December 2006. - Mode of access: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
[7] Anthony B. The British Experience (report at the round table "Muslims in the EU and Russia") // "Bulletin of Europe". - M., 2008. - No. 1. - Access mode: http://magazines.russ.ru/vestnik/2008/22/mu7.html (Revision Date: 26.2.2009).
[8] Data from this organization’s Internet portal. - The National Association of Muslim Police. - https://www.nampuk.org/.
[9] British Muslim soldiers / Militarymigrants.org. - 25 March, 2013. -Mode of access: http://militarylimig.org/2013/03/british-muslim-soldiers/
[10] Ibid.
[11] Hasan M. Rejoice! The number of Muslim MPs has doubled. - 7 May, 2010. -http: //www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2010/05/muslim-majority-labour-england
[12] List of British Muslims. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Muslims#Mayors; UK Muslim Peer Quits Labor Party / Presstv.com.– 14 sept, 2014. - http://presstv.com/detail/2013/05/16/303893/uk-muslim-peer-quits-labour-party/
[13] Buaras E. Exclusive: 900 Muslim candidates stand in local elections. - 30 May, 2014. -http: //www.muslimnews.co.uk/newspaper/home-news/exclusive-900-muslim-candidates-stand-local-elections/
[14] Buaras E. 277 Muslim Councilors elected / Muslimnews. - 27 June. 2014. -http: //www.muslimnews.co.uk/newspaper/home-news/277-muslim-councillors-elected/
[15] Top Muslim MP's death threats to vay for gay marriage / Dailymail. - 16 February 2013. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279703/Death-threats-UKs-Muslim-MP-voted-gay-marriage.html
[16] Habib M. UK: "The Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets". - 20 May 2014. - http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4320/tower-hamlets-lutfur-rahman
[17] UK Mosques. - 2014. -http: //mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/
[18] Labor thinktank names immigrants drain taxpayer. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-484927/Labour-thinktank-names-immigrants-drain-taxpayer.html;
[19] Hale B. Pictured: 1.2m family house ... complete with 50-inch plasma TV / Dailymail. - 13 October, 2008. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1076885/Pictured-Inside-luxury-1-2m-council-house--complete-50-inch-plasma-TV.html#ixzz3DMsWy7c6
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1076885/Pictured-Inside-luxury-1-2m-council-house--complete-50-inch-plasma-TV.html
[20] Avoids you can try to get to Britain / Dailymail. - 31 August 2014. -http: //www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739392/Avoid-Calais-lorry-drivers-told-confrontations-knife-wielding-immigrants-trying-to-Britain.html
[21] Kern S. Britain: "Rape Jihad" Against Children.- July 11, 2013. - http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3846/britain-child-grooming
[22] Laborer accused of turning blind eye to abuse. - 1 September 2014. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739367/Labour-accused-turning-blind-eye-abuse-Three-senior-figures-say-politically-correct-brigade-ignored-warnings-fear -inflaming-community-tensions.html # ixzz3DMqMD4jL
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739367/Labour-accused-turning-blind-eye-abuse-Three-senior-figures-say-politically-correct-brigade-ignored-warnings -fear-inflaming-community-tensions.html
[23] Issue and Relevance of Islamic Finance in Britain / Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance. - Mode of access: http://www.islamic-banking.com/iarticle_3.aspx .; Britain to continue Islamic finance initiative // Arab News.com. - 2010. - 3 May. - Mode of access: http://arabnews.com/economy/islamicfinance/article49487.ece (Revised: 15.1.2011).
[24] Britain’s Islamic finance sector bigger than Pakistan’s report claims [Electronic resource] // The Times. - 2009. - 9 February. - Mode of access: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/4569263/Britains-Islamic-finance-sector-bigger-than-Pakistans-report-claims.html (Revision Date: 15.1.2011) .
[25] J. Muslim husband and husband, recognizing polygamy. - Mode of access: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-512043/Muslim-husbands-wife-extra-benefits-ministers-recognise-polygamy.html#ixzz12FXfcTu9 04 February 2008
[26] Secretary of State - 9 November 2006. - Mode of access: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/submission-to-sos-091106.pdf (Revised: 15.09.2009).
[27] 1,000 men living legally with multiple wives despite fears over exploitation - May 28, 2007. - Mode of access: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article1848488.ece (Revision Date: 26.11.2008).
[28] Polygamous marriages system Submission to DWP Minister. - UK Government Department for work and pensions (Web-site). - 13 December, 2006. - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/submission-to-dwp-minister-131206.pdf; Polygamous marriages and the benefit system. Submission to DWP Minister - 13 December XDUMX [Electronic resource] / Department for work and pensions. - Mode of access: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/submission-to-dwp-minister-2007.pdf; Submission to DWP Minister - 131107 December 13; Changes to the treatment of polygamous marriages in the benefit system; DWP Minister and DWP gecretary of State - 2007 January 19 - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/submission-to-dwp-minister-2007.pdf
[29] Minister of Banking Ministries for multiple wives / Telegraph. - 21 Jan 2012. - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9029807/Ministers-ban-extra-benefits-for-multiple-wives.html
[30] Kern S. Britain: Muslim Polygamists to Get More Welfare Benefits / Gatestoneinstitute. -August 1, 2012. - http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3234/muslim-polygamists-welfare-benefits
[31] Employment equality (religion or belief) regulations, 2003 // Legislation. - Mode of access: http: //www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/1660/contents/made (Revised: 6.11.2008
[32] Electronic detection / Directgovernment. - 2008. - Mode of access: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/DiscriminationAtWork/DG_10026449
[33] It is a brand name labeling for sale in the UK. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2622830/Millions-eating-halal-food-without-knowing-How-big-brand-shops-restaurants-sell-ritually-slaughtered-meat-dont -label-it.html # ixzz3CiLUEipg
[34] L.R. Syukiyainen Sharia and Muslim legal culture. - M .: IHP RAS, 1997. - 57 with.
[35] Ibid.
[36] I. Yu. Kozlikhin Positivism and natural law // State and law. - M., 2000. - No. 3. - S. 5-11.
[37] MacEoin Denis, Green David G. Sharia Law - Civitas: Institute for the Study of Civil Society. –L., 2009. - www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/ShariaLawOrOneLawForAll.pdf; Secrets of Britain's Sharia Councils / BBC.co. - 26 April, 2013. - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rxfjt
[38] Secrets of Britain's Sharia Councils / BBC.co. - 26 April, 2013. - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rxfjt; Kern S. Britain's Sharia Courts: "You Cannot Go Against What Islam Says" / Gatestoneinstitute. - April 23, 2013. -http: //www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3682/uk-sharia-courts
[39] MacEoin Denis, Green David G. Sharia Law - Civitas: Institute for the Study of Civil Society. –L., 2009. - www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/ShariaLawOrOneLawForAll.pdf
[40] Internet page of a specially created Department of the British government to combat marriage coercion. - https://www.gov.uk/ forced marriage
[41] H. T. The Oxford sex ring and the preachers. - 15 May, 2013. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2325185/The-Oxford-sex-ring-preachers-teach-young-Muslim-men-white-girls-cheap.html#ixzz3DMz0l8DQ
[42] Bingham J. Islamic law is adopted by British legal chiefs // Telegraph.co. - 22 March, 2014. -http: //www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10716844/Islamic-law-is-adopted-by-British-legal-chiefs.html
[43] Chládková L. Alleged Islamization of schools in Britain, 2014 / www.facingextremism.eu. - August 17, 2014. - http://www.facingextremism.eu/alleged-islamisation-schools-britain/
Muslims are the fastest growing and youngest part of the UK population, which is confirmed by the census held once a decade. Comparing the data of the penultimate (2001) and last (2011) censuses, one can see that the number of Muslims in 10 years increased from 3 to 4,4% of the total population, and in the age group to 25 years the proportion of Muslims was already 10% [ 1].
Additional calculations showed that from 2001 to 2009, the number of Muslims increased in the territory of the United Kingdom 10 times faster than other religions [2]. In absolute terms, the number of Muslims from 2001 to 2011 increased by more than 1 million 200 thousand, of which almost 600 thousand are children born in Britain. About 100 thousand people during the census stated that they are converts who converted to Islam. In total, approximately 2011 million Muslims lived in the country on 2,78.
All this is happening against the background of the reduction in the number of Christians established by the same census. In 2001, 72% of the country's population considered themselves as such, and in 2011, only 59%. More than half of the Christians at the time of the 2011 census were older than 50 years, a quarter - older than 65 years. From the age group younger than 25, Christians called themselves Christians less than 50%. The number of Christians, according to the copyists, could have been even smaller, but by 2% was compensated by immigration from Poland and Nigeria.
About half of Muslims in Britain are unemployed. Unemployment among racial and ethnic minorities, which include almost all Muslims, costs the country’s budget an enormous amount — 8,6 billion pounds a year [3]. Most of the Muslims (over a million) live in London. They are the most financially disadvantaged category of Londoners with the highest percentage of unemployed between the ages of 16 and 64. Among Somalis, 78% of women and 56% of men are out of work; Pakistanis - 70% women and 32% men; Turks - 68% women and 35% men; Bangladeshis - 74% women and 31% men [4].
In addition to the large number of unemployed, the proportion of Muslims in prisons is high: if in the country's population they make up about 5%, then in British prisons they are already 13%, and in London - 27% [5].
The social vulnerability of most Muslims (foreign origin, low qualifications, unemployed status, large families, etc.) negatively affects the prospects for their socialization. In addition, religious attitudes place them in conditions of a constant moral choice of the opportunity / impossibility to use in the non-Muslim country the options of the national education, health care, financial and judicial systems. Considering all these circumstances, over the past decade, the British state and society have made efforts to integrate both Muslims and Muslim institutions in two directions:
1) recruiting Muslims into power, changing their peripheral socio-economic status, raising the status of Islam;
2) adaptation of financial, social, legal, educational systems, labor relations, as well as trade and public catering establishments in the state to specific Muslim institutions.
The first direction was expressed in the “affirmative action policy” (2006) [6] and “positive discrimination” (2008), when parliamentarians introduced quotas for minorities in public service, especially in the army, key ministries (foreign affairs, internal affairs) ) and the police [7], and also adopted a plan to increase the number of racial and religious minorities (British Muslims apply to both) in public services from 6 to 11%.
The most successful recruitment of Muslims is in the police. A professional association of Muslim-policemen has been established, promoting the prestige and opportunities for entering the service among the adherents of Islam. Currently in the UK over 2 are thousands of Muslim policemen, which already exceeds 11% of the total number of police officers in the country [8].
The situation with the involvement of Muslims in the armed forces is less effective. As the relatives of one of the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Britain who died in Afghanistan reported, the young man, traveling with non-Muslims to an Islamic state, was under pressure from the community, preachers, many acquaintances and strangers accusing him of betraying Islam, and this pressure was considered by Muslim experts as the most important reason campaign failure [9]. Despite the creation of an association of Muslim military personnel, for the recruitment of imams to the army service, explaining to co-religionists that there is no contradiction between religion and civic duty, only 600 Muslims serve in the ranks of the country's armed forces (0,5% of the total number of military personnel) [10]. An additional reason for the refusal of a financially advantageous service is the Muslim condemnation of any military-political activity of Western countries in the territory of the Islamic world. This demonstrates the conflict between civic identity and a sense of belonging to the global Muslim community - the ummah that challenges secularism, American globalism and cultural westernization.
Regarding participation in the legislative power, although progress is noticeable (in 1997 there were only 1 Muslims in the country's parliament, in 2010 they were already 8 in the lower house), Muslims remain under-represented: in proportion to their share in the population, they should have minimum 24 deputy seats [11]. According to 2014, there were 15 Muslims in the upper house of parliament (House of Lords), and another five British Muslims became members of the European Parliament [12].
In addition to parliamentary representation, notable appointments were made during the formation of the government in 2010: for the first time in stories two of the Muslim parliamentarians became ministers from the Conservative Party.
2014 statistics show that Muslims are increasingly involved in local politics. So, at the elections of local councils in England in May 2014, 897 Muslim candidates (both party and independent) were recorded. Most party candidates (354) were members of the Labor Party, in second place were candidates from the Conservative Party (256) [13]. As for the results, they differ from year to year: in 2014, 277 Muslims became members of local councils, which accounted for more than 6,5% of the total number of seats (slightly exceeding the proportion of Muslims in the population); in 2013, the result was much more modest - 1% of places, and in 2012, Muslims received 20% of places, four times exceeding their share in the country's population [14]. In 2014, women accounted for about 25% of the total number of newly elected Muslim advisers; the absolute majority of winners (227 of 277) are members of the Labor Party.
In some cases, “minority” politicians do not consider the values of their confessional community as the only possible ones for the rest of the population and vote as secular citizens. For example, in 2013, 5 of 8 Muslims in the House of Commons voted to legalize gay marriage [15], but since then the family of Labor’s most influential elector, Sadik Khan’s “shadow cabinet”, is under the protection of special services because threats of radicals and fundamentalists. Many mosque imams stigmatize him as a traitor and call on young people to punish such apostates.
There are also opposite examples when politicians express only the interests of their community, which also sometimes requires courage from them - for example, a willingness to risk a career. For example, Baroness Saida Warsi, the first Muslim woman to become a minister in 2010 (without a portfolio) in a conservative government, called the prevailing Islamophobia in society the main reason for the increase in the number of Muslims in British prisons. And in August, 2014, she resigned, declaring the unacceptability of the British political course to support Israel in the Middle East conflict. She was supported by Shabana Mahmoud, a Labor MP, publicly calling on fellow citizens to boycott Israeli goods produced in the occupied territories, despite the recommendations of the party’s comrades “not to disagree with the political line of the party to support Israel”.
There is also the problem of the ambiguous position of Muslim politicians and organizations in relation to extremists and terrorist acts committed by Muslims, including in the UK. Some, publicly condemning the act of terror, at the same time provide intolerable preachers and extremist organizations with “platforms” for speeches, including Internet resources or the media. One of these two-faced politicians from 2010. For the second time already, he is Mayor of Tower Hamlet, one of the most “immigrant” districts of London. An extremist mayor is being investigated, and he is threatening the authorities with large-scale Islamist unrest [16]. Six other Muslim mayors who were in positions in different cities in 2007 - 2014 were not seen in anything like this.
Confessional perspective
In the UK, religious communities, including Muslims, have the status of socially beneficial unions, implying certain financial benefits and payments from the national and local budgets. There are more 1000 imams, 1650 mosques and houses of worship in the country. If they register and receive official status, this allows them to resort to state support and levy taxes on the maintenance of the mosque [17] from believers. Burial according to Muslim rules has long been allowed, for this there are special plots on common cemeteries, and individual Muslim cemeteries. Ritual slaughter of livestock is also allowed according to religious regulations. Wearing a women's headscarf and veil covering the face does not meet any obstacles and is widespread.
To raise the status of Islam, the elite demonstrate not only tolerance, but loyalty at the highest level. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain ordered the allocation of a prayer room for Muslim servants at Windsor Castle during the holy month of Ramadan, followed by Buckingham Palace and other state institutions.
Counseling of Muslims in prisons and hospitals is carried out, as well as among Christians, at the expense of the state. The government pays for the activities of 130 imams in prisons (on a full-time basis) and the recruitment from 25 to 30 imams to health organizations (on a part-time basis). There are imams in the army as well as civil servants with a salary.
The social policy of Great Britain during the 13 years of the Labor Party’s reign (from 1997 to 2010) has earned high praise from many Muslim politicians. It was conducted with a focus on targeted assistance to Muslims as representatives of a particularly needy group and included numerous benefits, services, benefits and tax deductions [18]. In addition, Laborites launched a number of targeted economic programs, two of which - Islamic Relief and Muslim Support (Muslim Aid) - in addition are based on Islamic principles of mutual aid and charity, which allows the observers of special prescriptions to participate in them of Islam.
At the local level, governing councils are trying to provide the best conditions for Muslim immigrants, including providing luxury social housing for families with children with expensive furniture and household appliances (renting it from private owners to the British taxpayer) [19]. It is noteworthy that in such luxurious conditions lived the families of all odious preachers of intolerance, some of whom had recently received punishment of imprisonment, and some were sent abroad. At the same time, their families continue to enjoy the social support of the British state, which these leaders called for destroying, reorganizing it into a theocratic medieval society. The radicals distort the effect of the policy of targeted social assistance to Muslims, interpreting it as a form of tax from the "infidels", common in the Muslim polities of the past. Life on social benefits for unemployment such preachers regard as a desirable form of existence, allowing to devote the released time to the fight against opponents of the faith.
In addition to this quasi-religious interpretation of the radicals of social policy, there are other negative consequences of targeted assistance. First, it turns out that it is more profitable for fathers of large families of poor families not to work. Secondly, the “targeted” policy creates xenophobia - thousands of Africans and Asians penetrate the country by all means precisely for the sake of obtaining tolerable living conditions, possible even in the status of refugees and illegal immigrants; however, many minority groups are offered options for better housing [20], which is not available to most ordinary Britons with modest incomes. Ordinary Britons in addition and pay for privileged conditions for foreigners. For unemployed or low-income Muslims, there is a system of tax benefits and benefits and a range of services for their families (for example, free meals for children at school, free medications and medical care), in which they also often get an advantage over the British.
Finally, such a system distorts the psychology of a man in a Muslim family. In Islam, as in other Abrahamic religions, the hierarchy of gender relations is associated precisely with clearly distributed functions. The man in this design is the breadwinner, the toiler, and the wife and children are his responsibility. The provision of social housing, the normal (compared to the African or Asian country of origin) standard of living for benefits removes the lion’s share of a man’s duties from a man. As the worst option, wives and children become sources of income for such an economically inactive man who, using the status of the head of the family, withdraws the full amount of payments from them and can distribute it at his discretion. Children see an example of unemployed fathers and mothers and perceive this way of life as a normal state.
Significant damage to the distortions of the policy of "positive discrimination" brought the rest of the population. Thus, the authorities of the country tried to interpret socially unacceptable behavior of people from minorities as cultural originality. Only in 2013 ‒ 2014. Facts about the longstanding (from 2001 to 2013) unpunished activities in the country of racist gangs of pedophiles, rapists and pimps of immigrant minorities, whose victims were thousands of white children (proven victims of only one gang - 2,5 thousands) [21] . These were the years of Labor rule, the adoption of many acts and initiatives to protect minorities [22].
Adaptation of the state and society to Muslim institutions
In finance
Taking into account the existing bans on Islam for a number of economic operations, restrictions on the types of investments and guidelines for regulating contractual relations, the Labor government of 2007 - 2010. went to change the tax and financial legislation for the effective functioning of Islamic banking [23]. At present, the Islamic Bank of Great Britain has eight divisions, including Birmingham, London and Manchester. At least 5 banks in the United Kingdom offer exclusively Sharia-compliant services, and 17 banks and financial groups (Barclays, RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, etc.) opened special branches and structures for serving Muslim clients. In recent years, the capital of Islamic banking institutions in the country amounted to 12 billion pounds, exceeding the indicators of a similar sector of Muslim countries such as Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan. The rapid development of this segment has led to the fact that 55 educational institutions in the UK (more than in any country in the world) are training Islamic banking specialists [24].
In insurance and mortgage lending, the market for products adapted to the restrictions of Islam on loans with interest is actively developing. According to a special scheme, Muslims are provided with the possibility of loans for higher education.
In family policy
For a decade, various forms of social support for polygamous families have been debated and applied, for which they had to change the principles of British family law [25]. Despite the fact that bigamy in the UK is considered a crime, polygamous marriages can formally be recognized by the state if they are entered into in countries where they are provided for by law. Men who have several wives may thus officially receive additional social benefits. The guidelines on social benefits published by the Ministry of Labor and Pension [26] stated: “In the case of a lawful polygamous marriage, an applicant with one of the spouses may receive a payment based on the married couple ... The amount paid for each additional spouse is now moment will be 32 pounds 65 pence ”[27]. In addition, a polygamous man (before the revision of the law in 2012) received additional payments for housing and municipal tax exemptions, since such a family needs a large living space.
The Conservative Party condemned the decisions on polygamy made by the Labor Cabinet in 2006. In 2012, the government stopped paying men to support such families because these measures did not protect women with children [29]. From 2013, the second and subsequent wives receive individual benefits as single mothers, which means refusing official support for polygamy and at the same time increasing their protection against the arbitrariness of their husbands. Critics of innovation point out that such an order gives an advantage to married Muslim women over other women who are in a normal monogamous marriage, and is also not an optimal and fair solution for all [30].
Note that in Islam, a man has the right to have second and subsequent wives, if he is able to provide them and the children from them. Thus, a non-Muslim welfare state with a developed security system encourages even the irresponsible, poor and unemployed, in violation of the rules of Islam, to take more wives and have more children, relying on society and the state.
In labor relations
Another area of state attention is how to ensure Muslims find employment without abandoning religious symbols and clothing, as well as a mode of work that does not contradict religious needs. From 2003, all civil servants can wear a headscarf in the performance of their duties. From 2009, the headscarf included firefighters and policemen in a uniform kit. In addition, police officers, regardless of their religious affiliation, are required to have special clothes for visiting mosques for official purposes (a policewoman must wear a headscarf). The government’s website has indicated which signs or actions of the employer can be interpreted as discrimination against Muslims and instructions are posted on how to act in these cases [32].
In the system of public catering and trade
An investigation of the British media, published in May 2014, [33], showed that a large-scale reorientation towards the interests of Muslims had occurred in trade and catering, affecting the rights of other categories of the population. For example, in hospitals, prisons, and schools in the country, many canteens a few years ago, without notifying parents, patients, or non-Muslim prisoners, were completely transferred to Halal meat that meets the religious requirements of Islam (this is a total ban on pork, as well as killing of people allowed in food of animals and birds by hand, with prayer and without prior stunning; however, some Muslim theologians took into account the opinion of animal advocates, and some enterprises, based on their opinion, now use stunning). In addition to the violation of the rights of consumers to freedom of information, in this practice there is an element of discrimination against representatives of all worldviews, except Islam.
In the legal and judicial sphere
In connection with the institutionalization of Islam in a non-Muslim state, the problems of integrating the Islamic component into the justice system have been and remain the most debatable. We are talking about two phenomena - Islamic law and Sharia religious courts. (Specialist on problems of Islamic law Leonid Syukiyaynen notes that the common identification of Sharia and Muslim law is not entirely correct: Sharia (translated from Arabic “path”) is a set of dogmatic and religious issues, ethical characteristics of the Muslim’s inner world, the rules of Muslims' behavior relations with each other, with the authorities, with the Gentiles; it is much broader than Islamic law, which "includes only those principles and norms that were developed or interpreted by the doctrine and from echayut requirements of the law »[34]). Before Great Britain, as well as before every European state with a growing Muslim component, two problems arose: a) affordability, b) the mechanism and consequences of the integration of Islamic law into the state legal system.
Since the UK has already solved the first problem positively and allowed the Muslim community to realize its plan for the second, we will consider some results.
Any national legal system is based on three components:
- the prevailing legal ideology (a set of legal views, ideas and ideas peculiar to this society);
- national law (legal norms, principles and institutions);
- legal practice (a set of legal institutions).
Already the first, the ideological component becomes a stumbling block. In contrast to the European libertarian legal understanding, the Sharia social and regulatory system is based on the fact that equality, freedom and justice are the properties of religion, and not rights. Sharia, being a religious-ethical system, proceeds from prescriptions interpreting relations not only between co-religionists, but also with non-believers — on a unilateral basis of the provisions of their religion. This gives rise to the emergence of “Sharia patrols” on the streets of European cities, which consider it their legal right to prescribe the norms of behavior and appearance for passers-by, punishing both Muslims and non-Muslims for “discrepancy”. Seriously different in Western legal ideologies and in Islamic interpretation and fundamental to the secular state doctrine of human rights.
The second component of the system - national law - is theoretically compatible with Islamic law. Leonid Syukiyaynen pointed to precedents, when during the reforms of the XIX century. in the countries of the Islamic world, regulatory sources of European origin were included in state legal systems, so that “the practice of modern Islamic law in several countries of the East confirms that it is possible to successfully develop a legal system based on the combination and interaction of elements that go back to different legal cultures - Islamic and European (both continental and Anglo-Saxon) ”[35].
However, even in this “ideal” case, legal integration carries significant risks. Regulatory systems that exist in society can be complementary or competing, but “so that society does not plunge into a state of chaos, one of them is leading, one that provides social solidarity, i.e. performs an integrative function ”[36].
The British situation is developing according to the scheme of competing regulatory systems - the Shari'a courts in the country are more than 85 [37], but the state did not ensure the integrative function of the national system and the clarity of the complementary status of Islamic law. Initially, there is no transparency of the Shari'a court system and their control by the judicial authorities and society. In the legal plane, it was possible to limit the integration of precisely the elements of Islamic law, and not the entire Shari'a. Sharia courts as a result are not limited by regulations. Nowhere in these courts — neither on the premises nor on the documents — does it indicate that the secular legal regulatory system is maintained as the leading one, which would leave it possible to refuse a religious court or to challenge its decisions in a civil court. It turns out that the state that signed the international conventions on human rights, in fact, departs from the unconditional primacy of this doctrine for all categories of the population. Moreover, Muslim law is based on inequality between a woman and a man. Here is an example of a standard situation for the British Sharia courts: a woman accuses her husband of beating, violence, stealing household property (if he is a drug addict or a player), demands divorce and punishment for him - and the Sharia court “sentences” her to endure, not to divorce (or pay such a husband compensation for divorce) [38].
A study of human rights defenders and legal scholars Denis McAin and David Green under the auspices of the London civil foundation Civitas, published in the book Sharia or One Law for All [39], shows how different positions of secular legislation and religious courts are in relation to women's rights and minor children. A child older than 7 is divorced by a religious court at the disposal of a father or relatives of a father, even if this father is socially dangerous from the point of view of secular legislation. The religious court does not oblige the father’s relatives or himself to respect the mother’s right to meet with the child; It does not impose such a court and obligations on the guardianship bodies to check the living conditions and condition of the child after deciding his future fate in the context of divorce.
Another area of increased risk for women and minors is related to the perception of certain adats (local customs) as part of the religious tradition. Forced marriages are contrary to the teachings of Islam, but are practiced among British Muslims (relevant statistics are published on the website of a specially created department of the British government to combat marriage coercion [40]). In 2014, a law was passed that referred to marriage coercion as a criminal offense punishing up to 7 years of imprisonment (countering state authorities to protect the victim from forced marriage is punishable by up to 5 years). But there are religious and legal consequences of such marriages that the state cannot fix. Legalizing the Shari'a courts, British politicians did not require compulsory civil registration of all marriages in them from mosques and Sharia courts. Therefore, the victim cannot annul a marriage already concluded according to the rules of Islam, which is valid from the point of view of judges and relatives - even though such a marriage does not exist in the state legal system.
It is not so much religious courts that impose gender discrimination, but rather a quasi-religious ideology, the need to fight which at the level of society and the state was claimed by the Imam of the Islamic Congregation of Oxford, Taj Harzhi. In many mosques of the country, according to the imam, they preach second-rate women as creatures who are called only to obey a man under any conditions and to give him pleasure. A non-Muslim woman in the context of such an ideology is a third-rate being (hence sexual crimes with racial and religious background) [41].
Despite ambiguous assessments of the activities of Sharia courts, religious legal ideology begins to dominate the system of secular jurisprudence. Thus, in the spring of 2014, the Law Society of England and Wales (the main professional association of lawyers in the country, the advising government and parliament on legislation) included in its regulations guidelines for drawing up wills according to the rules of Islam. This violates secular inheritance laws based on the principle of religious freedom, gender equality and the protection of children's rights [42]. In particular, the Shari'ah wills are denied the right to inheritance: spouses, if they are divorced at the time of death; illegitimate children - including children from marriages not contracted by Islamic canons (for example, registered with the mayor's office); adopted children; all heirs who have changed their religion or, from the testator’s point of view, non-believers. It is envisaged that male heirs will receive a greater share than heirs. If previously dissatisfied heirs could challenge the will, drawn up according to the canons of Sharia, in a civil court, now they are deprived of this right. The universal doctrine of gender equality and the protection of the rights of the child has given way to confessional.
If the adaptation of the state to the institutions of Islam in the financial, social, labor spheres can contribute to the political loyalty of Muslims, then the adaptation in the legal sphere gives rise to normative pluralism. In society, two ideologies of regulation of family and interpersonal relations emerge - confessional ethics and the doctrine of human rights. In practice, this leads to the loss by people of common perceptions about the permissible and unacceptable, condemned and commendable, punishable and not. The risks of misunderstanding by the bearers of a radical or fundamentalist worldview of the inapplicability of their practices to the rest of society also increase.
Education
In 2000, Muslims already made up 70 ‒ 90% of students in schools in some cities of the country. They succeeded in many schools at the local level to legitimize children's observance of a number of religious institutions (Friday prayer, provision of Halal food in canteens, additional holidays for Muslim holidays). In 2004, the UK Education Minister announced the release of new guidelines for the study of non-Christian dogmas (Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism). The policy of multiculturalism during the reign of Laborites allowed the communities to actively impose their approach to education at the local level, including “correcting” the secular nature of public free schools (Muslim schools in the country are more 110, but most of them are paid).
The transformation of educational institutions under the influence of the Islamic factor became the subject of investigation. The reason was information in the media about the existence of a secret program of Islamization of public schools, an example of the embodiment of which was named the city of Birmingham. In 2014, the Office of Education Standards, Child Care and Learning Skills, which studied the situation in the schools of Birmingham with a predominance of Muslim students, published a report available on the website of the European Institute for Countering Extremism [43]. According to the opinion of the interrogators, the conspiracy uniting the activists of the school councils does exist, and its purpose is to fully control the personnel policy and the content of education in order to prevent socialization and preparation of children for life in secular Britain. It is possible that some members of the Birmingham City Council participated in the conspiracy, who, according to the testimony of teachers, have long ignored their complaints about the actions of school boards. This has led in a number of schools to doubtful phenomena from the point of view of secular education: the separation of classes in the classes of children - Muslims and non-Muslims; separate education for boys and girls; the abolition of the lessons of music, dance, drawing as immoral; reducing or abandoning courses in English history and literature; funding school boards for pilgrim trips of Muslim children to Saudi Arabia (no trip was offered to children of other faiths); instead of calls to change from loudspeakers, calls to prayer were heard; under the guidance of a teacher from a school, anti-Christian slogans were chanted in unison; somewhere children of all religions were forced to attend Arabic lessons, somewhere they learned to memorize the Koran without learning Arabic. In 75% of the inspected schools, there is an inability to prepare pupils for life in multicultural British society, religious fundamentalism, refusal to participate in government programs promoting British values, and inability to prevent religious extremism. In relation to the remaining 25%, there are suspicions of extremist propaganda.
The investigation was supported by Prime Minister D. Cameron and provoked protests by the Muslim Council of Great Britain, which, together with the school councils of Birmingham, accused the government and the inspectorate of bias and Islamophobia.
A group of experts led by the former Ombudsman of the London Police on Terrorism also conducted her investigation at the same time. Her conclusions turned out to be very harsh: there is a purposeful, coordinated and constant activity in the city to introduce an aggressive and intolerant Islamist ethos in secular schools. (However, experts did not find support for terrorist activity or terrorist ideology in these schools.)
* * *
In the matter of the integration of Muslims, it is critical for British society to prevent fundamentalism from becoming an intolerance towards all dissenters. On the part of the state in the political arena, spiritual and secular sites, a firm stand is needed on the unacceptability and punishability of gender discrimination, religious and racial intolerance. Social policy for the benefit of women and children should not lead to the preservation of able-bodied men in an economically inactive state. Those who bring jihadist slogans to demonstrations, support terrorism and promote intolerance are all the more inappropriate to be encouraged with material goods.
Due to the ideological significance of Middle Eastern conflicts (especially the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation) for the majority of Muslims in the country, the British foreign policy tradition needs to be revised. Otherwise, the "secular" Muslims, integration agents, who are ready to take an unbiased view of the basics of European civilization and recognize the need for acculturation, will find it difficult to abandon the perception of the relationship between Islam and the West in terms of struggle, confrontation and revenge.
As a result of the emergence of the Islamic component in the general educational process, one can hope for the British to overcome the prejudices caused by Islamophobia. However, in parallel, there is a departure of public schools with a predominance of Muslim children from the secular rules and secular criteria for learning effectiveness. The choice for children in traditional families is made by parents who do not approve of the values of the majority in which the state is interested in integrating, if not themselves, then at least their descendants. The trust of parents and students can also be abused by extremists, and any criticism of the indoctrination and segregation of children in secular schools can now be interpreted as a manifestation of Islamophobia, although refusing to study the country's history and literature in a public school can hardly be explained by anything other than political ideology under masked religion.
The policy of integration pursued by Great Britain allows deviations from the liberal-democratic foundations of a social and political structure. This means a growing potential for dissatisfaction with other groups of the population who have not received privilege rights. The effects of regulatory pluralism are exacerbated: gender segregation and discrimination; Sharia legal proceedings carried out behind closed doors of 85 courts; the integration of religious law on inheritance into secular law.
The strengths of the strategy are recognition of the high status of Islam in the British state, the inclusion of a large number of Muslims in the national collective decision-making process at all levels, the openness of the elite and the availability of social elevators.
An ambivalent character is the demonstrated willingness of the state and society to quickly adapt to the requirements of Muslims. Legitimation of new for the country, but not affecting human rights practices and institutions (lack of barriers for women in any clothes, provision of all trade and restaurant chains with special food, assumption of polygamy as a cultural norm, Islamic banking, insurance, lending and taxation) . Here everything depends on interpretation: the majority of Muslims regard this as a sufficient set of positive actions for integration, and radical preachers - as the initial stage of the embodiment of their totalitarian views on the future of non-Muslim countries. The passivity of the state contributes to a new form of discrimination within the Muslim community against those who disagree with a certain interpretation of religious institutions (for example, men joining the British Armed Forces; students who do not want to sit apart from students in the audience; women who appear in public without headscarves ).
Notes:
[1] 2001 and 2011 / Office for national statistics. - http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/index.html
[2] The Muslim population 'rising 10 times faster than rest of society / The Times. - January 30, 2009. - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5621482.ece
[3] The Equalities Commission report "How Fair is Britain? -Http: //www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/documents/triennial_review/how_fair_is_britain_ch11.pdf; Britain's coping classes at breaking point. - September 14, 2011 . - http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8054403/Britains-coping-classes-at-breaking-point.html&date=2011- 09-14
[4] Londonspovertyprofile.org. - October, 2013. - http://www.londonspovertyprofile.org.uk/indicators/topics/work-and-worklessness/worklessness-by-gender-and-country-of-birth/
[5] Kern S. Britain: Muslim Prison Population Up 200% / Gatestoneinstitute. - August 2, 2013. - http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3913/uk-muslim-prison-population
[6] Home Office Action Plan "Borders, Immigration and Identity" [Electronic resource] / Home Office Action Plan "Borders, Immigration and Identity". - December 2006. - Mode of access: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
[7] Anthony B. The British Experience (report at the round table "Muslims in the EU and Russia") // "Bulletin of Europe". - M., 2008. - No. 1. - Access mode: http://magazines.russ.ru/vestnik/2008/22/mu7.html (Revision Date: 26.2.2009).
[8] Data from this organization’s Internet portal. - The National Association of Muslim Police. - https://www.nampuk.org/.
[9] British Muslim soldiers / Militarymigrants.org. - 25 March, 2013. -Mode of access: http://militarylimig.org/2013/03/british-muslim-soldiers/
[10] Ibid.
[11] Hasan M. Rejoice! The number of Muslim MPs has doubled. - 7 May, 2010. -http: //www.newstatesman.com/blogs/mehdi-hasan/2010/05/muslim-majority-labour-england
[12] List of British Muslims. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Muslims#Mayors; UK Muslim Peer Quits Labor Party / Presstv.com.– 14 sept, 2014. - http://presstv.com/detail/2013/05/16/303893/uk-muslim-peer-quits-labour-party/
[13] Buaras E. Exclusive: 900 Muslim candidates stand in local elections. - 30 May, 2014. -http: //www.muslimnews.co.uk/newspaper/home-news/exclusive-900-muslim-candidates-stand-local-elections/
[14] Buaras E. 277 Muslim Councilors elected / Muslimnews. - 27 June. 2014. -http: //www.muslimnews.co.uk/newspaper/home-news/277-muslim-councillors-elected/
[15] Top Muslim MP's death threats to vay for gay marriage / Dailymail. - 16 February 2013. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2279703/Death-threats-UKs-Muslim-MP-voted-gay-marriage.html
[16] Habib M. UK: "The Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets". - 20 May 2014. - http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4320/tower-hamlets-lutfur-rahman
[17] UK Mosques. - 2014. -http: //mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/
[18] Labor thinktank names immigrants drain taxpayer. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-484927/Labour-thinktank-names-immigrants-drain-taxpayer.html;
[19] Hale B. Pictured: 1.2m family house ... complete with 50-inch plasma TV / Dailymail. - 13 October, 2008. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1076885/Pictured-Inside-luxury-1-2m-council-house--complete-50-inch-plasma-TV.html#ixzz3DMsWy7c6
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1076885/Pictured-Inside-luxury-1-2m-council-house--complete-50-inch-plasma-TV.html
[20] Avoids you can try to get to Britain / Dailymail. - 31 August 2014. -http: //www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739392/Avoid-Calais-lorry-drivers-told-confrontations-knife-wielding-immigrants-trying-to-Britain.html
[21] Kern S. Britain: "Rape Jihad" Against Children.- July 11, 2013. - http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3846/britain-child-grooming
[22] Laborer accused of turning blind eye to abuse. - 1 September 2014. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739367/Labour-accused-turning-blind-eye-abuse-Three-senior-figures-say-politically-correct-brigade-ignored-warnings-fear -inflaming-community-tensions.html # ixzz3DMqMD4jL
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739367/Labour-accused-turning-blind-eye-abuse-Three-senior-figures-say-politically-correct-brigade-ignored-warnings -fear-inflaming-community-tensions.html
[23] Issue and Relevance of Islamic Finance in Britain / Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance. - Mode of access: http://www.islamic-banking.com/iarticle_3.aspx .; Britain to continue Islamic finance initiative // Arab News.com. - 2010. - 3 May. - Mode of access: http://arabnews.com/economy/islamicfinance/article49487.ece (Revised: 15.1.2011).
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[25] J. Muslim husband and husband, recognizing polygamy. - Mode of access: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-512043/Muslim-husbands-wife-extra-benefits-ministers-recognise-polygamy.html#ixzz12FXfcTu9 04 February 2008
[26] Secretary of State - 9 November 2006. - Mode of access: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/submission-to-sos-091106.pdf (Revised: 15.09.2009).
[27] 1,000 men living legally with multiple wives despite fears over exploitation - May 28, 2007. - Mode of access: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article1848488.ece (Revision Date: 26.11.2008).
[28] Polygamous marriages system Submission to DWP Minister. - UK Government Department for work and pensions (Web-site). - 13 December, 2006. - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/submission-to-dwp-minister-131206.pdf; Polygamous marriages and the benefit system. Submission to DWP Minister - 13 December XDUMX [Electronic resource] / Department for work and pensions. - Mode of access: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/submission-to-dwp-minister-2007.pdf; Submission to DWP Minister - 131107 December 13; Changes to the treatment of polygamous marriages in the benefit system; DWP Minister and DWP gecretary of State - 2007 January 19 - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/submission-to-dwp-minister-2007.pdf
[29] Minister of Banking Ministries for multiple wives / Telegraph. - 21 Jan 2012. - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9029807/Ministers-ban-extra-benefits-for-multiple-wives.html
[30] Kern S. Britain: Muslim Polygamists to Get More Welfare Benefits / Gatestoneinstitute. -August 1, 2012. - http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3234/muslim-polygamists-welfare-benefits
[31] Employment equality (religion or belief) regulations, 2003 // Legislation. - Mode of access: http: //www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/1660/contents/made (Revised: 6.11.2008
[32] Electronic detection / Directgovernment. - 2008. - Mode of access: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/DiscriminationAtWork/DG_10026449
[33] It is a brand name labeling for sale in the UK. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2622830/Millions-eating-halal-food-without-knowing-How-big-brand-shops-restaurants-sell-ritually-slaughtered-meat-dont -label-it.html # ixzz3CiLUEipg
[34] L.R. Syukiyainen Sharia and Muslim legal culture. - M .: IHP RAS, 1997. - 57 with.
[35] Ibid.
[36] I. Yu. Kozlikhin Positivism and natural law // State and law. - M., 2000. - No. 3. - S. 5-11.
[37] MacEoin Denis, Green David G. Sharia Law - Civitas: Institute for the Study of Civil Society. –L., 2009. - www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/ShariaLawOrOneLawForAll.pdf; Secrets of Britain's Sharia Councils / BBC.co. - 26 April, 2013. - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rxfjt
[38] Secrets of Britain's Sharia Councils / BBC.co. - 26 April, 2013. - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rxfjt; Kern S. Britain's Sharia Courts: "You Cannot Go Against What Islam Says" / Gatestoneinstitute. - April 23, 2013. -http: //www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3682/uk-sharia-courts
[39] MacEoin Denis, Green David G. Sharia Law - Civitas: Institute for the Study of Civil Society. –L., 2009. - www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/ShariaLawOrOneLawForAll.pdf
[40] Internet page of a specially created Department of the British government to combat marriage coercion. - https://www.gov.uk/ forced marriage
[41] H. T. The Oxford sex ring and the preachers. - 15 May, 2013. - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2325185/The-Oxford-sex-ring-preachers-teach-young-Muslim-men-white-girls-cheap.html#ixzz3DMz0l8DQ
[42] Bingham J. Islamic law is adopted by British legal chiefs // Telegraph.co. - 22 March, 2014. -http: //www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10716844/Islamic-law-is-adopted-by-British-legal-chiefs.html
[43] Chládková L. Alleged Islamization of schools in Britain, 2014 / www.facingextremism.eu. - August 17, 2014. - http://www.facingextremism.eu/alleged-islamisation-schools-britain/
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