Existing census ethnicity categories fail to capture Muslim experience as a distinct category.

Evidence

Public services but also private and charity sector employers should collect more data on Muslims and other faith/non-faith groups. Given evidence of a specific ‘Muslim penalty’ across different sectors, and the diversity of the Muslim population, using existing census group ethnicity categories cannot capture the experience of Muslims in the public and private sectors. This should be part of wider efforts of public services and employers to improve their data collection, including response rates, on ethnic monitoring. Historically, Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group categories were used as proxies for Muslim; these groups currently account for just over half (55%) of British Muslims. — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 118

Categorization

• SHARE: The 55% figure — Pakistani/Bangladeshi categories capture barely half of British Muslims — is a precise, citable stat for anyone working on UK ethnic monitoring.
• ADDENDUM: The evidentiary irony here — that the data infrastructure rendering ‘the Muslim experience’ legible is itself incomplete — echoes the grafting passage’s point about infrastructure being underused/unseen.
• XREF: connects to: Ethnic categories fail to capture the distinct experience of British Muslims. — A. Hussain, N. Meer, Framing Muslim Integration, 59; Census ethnicity categories poorly capture British Muslim experience as proxies — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia: Still a Challenge for Us…, 112; Lack of religious census categories hid Muslims within ethnic and birth-country data — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia: Still a Challenge for Us…, 186 (+3 more)

Related

• Ethnic categories fail to capture the distinct experience of British Muslims. (similarity 0.96)
• Ethnic data categories cannot capture the Muslim penalty in British institutions (similarity 0.96)
• Census ethnicity categories poorly capture British Muslim experience as proxies (similarity 0.96)
• Lack of religious census categories hid Muslims within ethnic and birth-country data (similarity 0.90)
• Muslim organizations won religion’s inclusion in the UK census. (similarity 0.87)
• British ‘ethnic minority’ communities are internally diverse and not segregated ghettos (similarity 0.86)
• Religious and ethnic disadvantages in Britain must be separated analytically to explain Muslim outcomes. (similarity 0.85)
• British racial categories for Muslims changed labels while retaining racist content. (similarity 0.80)
• Aggregate housing statistics mask sharp variation among different Muslim groups. (similarity 0.79)
• The ethnic makeup of Muslims varies widely by region in England. (similarity 0.79)
• Muslims in England are concentrated in London and major industrial regions. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Census ethnicity categories poorly capture British Muslim experience as proxies #corroborates (0.95) — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 112
• Lack of religious census categories hid Muslims within ethnic and birth-country data #expands (0.90) — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 186
• Ethnic data categories cannot capture the Muslim penalty in British institutions #expands (0.85) — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 54
• Orientalist categories can contradict what Muslims would say about themselves #exemplifies (0.80)
• Muslim men can be racialized by ethnicity alone, not only by disclosed religion #expands (0.75)