British Muslims are less residentially segregated than other religious groups.

Evidence

Residential settlement Residential settlement is commonly identified as a visible sign of non-integration. A prevailing view is that Muslims tend to cluster and develop very strong ‘bonding capital’ (with kith and kin) at the expense of ‘bridging capital’ (with other non-Muslim groups and communities). The 2011 census tells us that 4.8% of the population self-defines as Muslim (over 2.7 million of the UK population), and it is true that a considerable percentage of British Muslims are concentrated in certain local authorities in East London, the North West, Birmingham and West Yorkshire (as well as in areas that border these). But it does not follow that this clustering is tightly configured and nor does it mean that the pattern is fixed. If we analyse the demographic distribution using the Index of Similarity, which measures ethnic group concentration, the broad tendency is actually for Muslims to be less separate than other religious groups, and indeed to be more likely to display a pattern of dispersal (e.g. settlement away from family of origin). … Claims that British Muslims have been particularly reluctant to mix with other groups therefore seem unsubstantiated, at least when considering residential location. — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 462

The 2011 census tells us that 4.8% of the population self-defines as Muslim (over 2.7 million of the UK population), and it is true that a considerable percentage of British Muslims are concentrated in certain local authorities in East London, the North West, Birmingham and West Yorkshire (as well as in areas that border these). But it does not follow that this clustering is tightly configured and nor does it mean that the pattern is fixed. If we analyse the demographic distribution using the Index of Similarity, which measures ethnic group concentration, the broad tendency is actually for Muslims to be less separate than other religious groups, and indeed to be more likely to display a pattern of dispersal (e.g. settlement away from family of origin). — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 457

Categorization

• XREF: Counters the ‘self-segregation’/‘parallel lives’ claim central to integration debates; resonates with social-capital literature on bonding vs. bridging capital (Putnam) that the text invokes. — connects to: British ‘ethnic minority’ communities are internally diverse and not segregated ghettos; Muslims prefer mixed neighbourhoods more than other groups do. — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 466; British post-riot reports framed Muslim communities as self-segregating parallel lives — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 443
• CANDY: The Index of Similarity numbers — Muslims 54%, Hindus 52%, Sikhs 61%, Jews 63% — are a crisp, counterintuitive talking point.
• SHARE: For anyone writing on UK integration policy — the Index of Similarity figures (Muslims 54% vs Hindus 52%, Sikhs 61%, Jews 63%) are a clean rebuttal data point.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 462; Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia: Still a Challenge for Us…, 457

Related

• Muslims prefer mixed neighbourhoods more than other groups do. (similarity 0.88)
• British ‘ethnic minority’ communities are internally diverse and not segregated ghettos (similarity 0.84)
• Muslim integration is measurable through residential settlement and identity attitudes. (similarity 0.83)
• Muslims in England are concentrated in London and major industrial regions. (similarity 0.83)
• Aggregate housing statistics mask sharp variation among different Muslim groups. (similarity 0.83)
• British post-riot reports framed Muslim communities as self-segregating parallel lives (similarity 0.82)
• The ethnic makeup of Muslims varies widely by region in England. (similarity 0.81)
• Religious and ethnic disadvantages in Britain must be separated analytically to explain Muslim outcomes. (similarity 0.80)
• Western Muslim populations are too diverse and marginal for a coordinated international conspiracy. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Muslims prefer mixed neighbourhoods more than other groups do. #corroborates (0.85) — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 466