The largely accepted global village, that is the United Kingdom, has been an example of cultural mixes since a long time. The country houses unaccountable number of nationalities that have poured in from all over the globe. Times to time people have kept moving to the UK for different reasons. No matter what the reasons were for any of the immigrants whether it was educational reasons, financial reasons or political ones; one thing has been so consistent that it could be seconded to convention, and that’s acceptance and globalization.

The United Kingdom and its people have always shown exemplary behaviors towards non-English people. Though there was a time of racists, a time when racist bigotry was normal and was always expected. But history advocates the role of England to be a positive one. There have always been communities who have lived there for generations, have never thought of moving and might never do so. People who came to live in this area were so warmly accepted over time that they have become a part of the culture.

Whenever you look at the universities of the UK, one cannot help but notice how they have a very diverse population that you can’t judge what is the primary ethnic population. The United Kingdom multicultural heritage is so commonly accepted now that there are cities that have been labeled as housing a certain creed as if the place belonged to them; Birmingham, for example, is one place that is more Asian or Oriental than English!

The government of the United Kingdom and its laws are actually shaped to incorporate different races into the society. For example, it is against the law to discriminate anyone based on their caste, creed or sex. No one can be penalized for their personal beliefs and no difference in treatement should be based on beliefs.

With an ever flexible immigration policy that gets rigid and slackened every now and then, the United Kingdom government has never closed its door on immigrants forever –whether it is a case of moving to the country or job options.

The world now needs to learn from such diversified cultural portfolios, the world cannot and will not stay the same for long and it’s highly the time that countries start cutting a slack in the importance given to borders and separate identities. The world has turned into a global village now, it is only reasonable to accept it as such.

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Running an IT consultant company. Providing web development, social media marketing, SEO and content writing services.

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Muslims are spread everywhere around the world. They all practice Islam, but the difference is that some live in Islamic countries while some live as minorities in non-Muslim countries. Talking about Europe and specially UK, there are Muslims present in a huge amount, but the country is not a Muslim country. On the other hand, Pakistan is a Muslim country, and you are going to find a Muslim majority, wherever you go.

Talking about the conditions of Muslims in Pakistan, we can see that they are free to practice their religion. Since Pakistan is a Muslim country, there is simply no issue in following Islam, as Islam is the state religion. Muslim women can wear hijab and Muslim men can keep beards. They face no opposition. They can go to mosques without any obstacles. In fact, Muslim children if they go to schools or go for work; they have Muslim friends and colleagues. Rarely does it occur that they have Hindu, Christian, or Jewish friends. Wherever you go, you will find mainly Muslims.

On the contrary, London or UK is not a Muslim country. However, there is a large Muslim population living in London. As far as practicing Islam in London is concerned, you will find people with mixed views. There would be some who would say that there is simply no difficulty in practicing Islam in London. On the other hand, other people would be of different views. There are some who say that they live with non Muslims. They have Jewish or Christian friends but that does not matter. The friends drink alcohol but they do not. So simply there is no problem. They say that they have to face no problems being Muslims. As far as practicing Islam is concerned, they say that there is religious freedom. Muslim women have simply no objection in wearing hijab. It is a matter of personal choice.

On the other hand, some people are going to say that the new generation in London is going different. They are influenced by their non-Muslim friends and do not pay much importance to prayers, to fasting and other Islamic obligations. Islam is not just about believe. It also involves practice, and usually parents complain that by living in the UK, they are unable to control their children and raise them according to Islam.

Overall, London is a place that allows the freedom of religion. Though the Muslims living there cannot find living in London is as easy as living in Pakistan, because of the lacking of some occasions. For instance, talking about the festival of Eid, whether it is Eid-ul-Azha or Eid-ul-Fitr, they say that if they had spent these festivals in Muslim country it would have been more enjoyable, as everybody around would be a part of it. Those Pakistani families who have moved to UK also say that there is not a problem practicing Islam in the UK, except for the fact that they miss their families.

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I love to write creative articles. I have been writing on different social and religious topics for 2 years now. Give me a creative topic and I will write it for you.

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It is well believed that for the western world, Islam and Muslim world seem as the biggest threat. There are several reasons backing up this belief, like every now and then Muslims are being targeted somewhere on false claims of promoting terrorism and disrupting peace, and somewhere on account of practicing Islamic living and dress code. From France to Germany, today Muslim women are facing hard times just because they are not ready to leave hijab. Besides in various western countries, there are limitations laid even on the construction of mosques – Muslims’ place of worship. A western fear “If Islam” is reflected from the various attempts in which for every upheaval Muslims are blamed and declared faulty, without even investigating the realities behind. This is a point of deep sorrow for the entire Muslim Ummah, where to denigrate Islamic image, they are solely held responsible for every mishap.

The biggest question mark is, why is this all happening? What are the reasons behind? Why Muslims are being deprived of their rights as humans? Why the West is doing all this or is it forced? Is it really because of the fear “if Islam”?

It is thought and widely believed that the West is living in the fear if Islam, for several reasons out of which large Muslim population is regarded as the most important. No doubt this is an utmost reality and according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Islam is becoming the fastest growing religion by the number of conversions every year especially in the major countries: the UK and the USA. However, if we give this entire scenario a deep insight, we will realize that it’s neither the West which is undergoing “If Islam” fear and nor Islam which is regarded as the biggest threat for them. Questions are also raised that if the west is so much afraid of the spread of Islam, instead of devising ways to stop Muslims to freely practice Islam, it should accept this reality because impositions on Islamic society are not reflecting and showcasing a good soft image that western societies always talked about. Rather it is portraying itself against basic human rights of freedom and liberty.

Let’s have a look with a broader perspective where Islam and West are not against each other.

When Muslim converts are generally asked about “What about Muslims made them embrace Islam?” Many answer that they started studying Islam out of curiosity or even enmity against Muslims, but upon turning the pages of Islamic history, found its teachings the most humane; logical; modern and scientific. There is nothing like the word terrorism or violence promoted by Islam as voiced against it today. They accept Islam on grounds of its utmost veracity and justice for all mankind. They embrace Islam not because of Muslims but because of Islam itself. A Muslim may have flaws but Islam is flawless.

If West fears Islam, then it should not, since Islam has no war against humanity or society. Islam is in fact a religion that promotes pure peace. Islam teaches Muslims to respect every single being; every religion; every Prophet of Allah (PBUH). When those Christians who are filled with rage against Muslim Ummah, investigate what Islam says about Prophet Jesus (PBUH) and find that in the Holy Quran, He (PBUH) has been described as the most handsome man, highly respectable and honorable for Muslims, their hearts melt to say, “Yes! Islam is sincere”. When Jews find Moses (PBUH) being mentioned in the Holy Quran as the only prophet being honored to directly communicate with Allah Almighty, they realize, “Yes! Islam is Unbiased”.

The West should not be afraid of Islam. In fact, Islam is not a threat not only to those who are not sincere in the west but even to those who are not sincere in any Divine religion be it Judaism or Christianity. Those who didn’t look at this side of the reality before, should start thinking this way instead of aggravating the situation between Islam and the West.

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France is a country that has a rich history and culture. It is also inhabited by people from various ethnicities, who add a lot to its lifestyle and heritage. As of 2011, France was considered to have a population of 65.8 million. The top international communities in France include Slavic, North African and Western and Central African, Southeast Asian and the Basque minority. France is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Europe.
The main population is white Caucasian. North African people represent the largest non-indigenous group that is called Arabs. It comprises Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans with Algerians representing the largest part in the group. Arabs come from Berber and Kabyles groups. Black African groups come mainly from French colonies of Western and Central Africa. This group is also referred to as African-Caribbeans. The Asian community originates mainly from Vietnam and Laos. The non-French speaking groups originate from China, and Tamil. Other small groups come from Armenia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Philippines, Georgia, Greece, Haiti, Iran, Italy, India, Korea, Lebanon, Romania and Turkey.

France is known for acknowledging cultural and ethnic differences, but is at the same time famous for racial discrimination problems. These discrimination problems ravaged its black and Arab groups who suffer already from unemployment and integration problems. France prides itself to be a country that recognizes all its citizens regardless of religion, race or origin. While this ideology is a noble one, reality is way different. Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested considering the American approach of equal opportunity, quotas and accurate statistics to reflect a more truthful image of France.

By France opting to categorize its ethnic groups by race and ethnicity, it would set the way for positive discrimination that is still a form of discrimination. Racial and xenophobia are deeply engraved in the French community. These attitudes are oriented mainly towards minorities and immigrants. Immigrants are usually held responsible for France’s problems including unemployment, decline in the quality of education and crime. Immigrants are seen capable of committing crime more than the average French person. An important portion of the French society thinks that immigrants should be repatriated. Discrimination and hatred acts are punishable by law. Racism can also be depicted in the country’s political system. People disagree whether minorities add value to the country. Tolerance degree varies among the French from the intolerant group to the most tolerant one. Moreover, huge efforts are made to crack down the illegal immigrants whose majority are Arab and Black African.

France views itself as a laic state and thus all funding is not allowed for religious institutions except for those having a cultural association. Islamic institutions are banned from this category as Muslims are considered to not have any historical ties to French history. Even though racism is banned in France, it is clearly a part from its everyday life. This reflects a clear failure of social integration of minorities and immigrants. A significant amount of work should be done to recognize this form of social failure, and combat it.

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UniqueWriter

I am a nice, understanding, caring, sincere, honest, trustworthy, friendly single male from Delhi, India. I'm an experienced writer. I have written many articles in different niches, a fiction book, and some poems.

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The United Kingdom (UK) is a multi-ethnic society which welcomes all individuals from different countries. The UK is consisted of four countries including England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Each country has its distinctive customs, traditions, cultures, religious features and various ways of living.

Cultures, traditions and religious features of communities living in the United Kingdom have a great impact on the diversified people. The United Kingdom welcomes refuges and migrants from different countries, many of them permanently settled in the UK.

It also represents many languages. The mostly spoken languages are South Asian languages which are Punjabi followed by Bengali, Urdu and Gujarati. All these diverse features of languages and religious characteristics help you to easily settle in any area and city in this unique countery.

Those facts allow any individual to perform his religious activities freely without any restrictions. Followers of different religions living there have an easy access to their religious places. For Muslim individuals living in the United Kingdom, there are more than 1500 actual working Mosques that allow them to perform their religious traditions.

There are main four types of communities including the Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. They all  have their religious places to worship such as churches for Christians, Mosques for Muslims, Sikh Temples, Buddhists, synagogues and Hindu places of worships. They usually live in shape of communities in order to provide better and good religious teachings to their children.

Lets discuss the features of these communities in detail. According to a report conducted in the United Kingdom in 2011, Islam is the second largest religion in the UK after Christianity. The total Muslim population recently living in the different cities of the UK had reached about 2.7 million which make 4.8% of the total population. The majority of Muslim population is living in Wales and England. There are various Islamic organizations for the help of Muslims including the British Muslim Forum, Islamic Society of Britain, Muslim Association of Britain, World Islamic Mission and various others.

According to the census conducted in 2011, it is suggested that about 558340 Hindus are living in the different cities. Majorities of Hindus are living in England and Wales while least amount of Hindus is settle in Scotland. There are more than 300 Hindus temples and various organizations in the United Kingdom for the help and religious features of Hindus.

Buddhists also make a large part of the overall population. They are small in number but growing with time. According to the report, there are about 152,000 registered Buddhists, and about 336179 Sikh individuals are living in the United Kingdom.

All these individuals of different religion living in the United Kingdom make different communities.

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I am running a freelance company to provide development, designing, seo and writing services.

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"The streets around Acton, which has been my home since 1996, have taken on a new identity. Most of the shops are now owned by Muslims and even the fish and chip shop and Indian takeaway are Halal. It seems that almost overnight it's changed from Acton Vale into Acton Veil."

Over at the Telegraph, Jane Kelly protests against the Islamification of west London. At least she doesn't bother trotting out the usual excuse that her dislike of Muslims is based solely on cultural differences and has nothing to do with race. She writes that "many white people in London and the Home Counties now move house on the basis of ethnicity" and justifies this on the grounds that "mass immigration is making reluctant racists of us all".

Kelly is consulting editor at the Salisbury Review, a publication that achieved notoriety back in 1984 when it published an article by Bradford headteacher Ray Honeyford entitled "Education and Race – an Alternative View" which featured a range of offensive racist stereotypes.

Describing a meeting with Bradford Asian parents to discuss education policy, Honeyford wrote: "The hysterical political temperament of the Indian sub-continent became evident – an extraordinary sight in an English School Hall.... A half-educated and volatile Sikh usurped the privileges of the chair by deciding who was to speak."

Which only goes to show how little things have changed on the Conservative right over the past three decades.

The Telegraph presents Kelly's op ed as "a provocative personal piece". I suppose that's one way of describing an article expressing bigotry towards an entire ethno-religious community. Perhaps the Telegraph might consider following it up with another "provocative personal piece" complaining that Golders Green or Stoke Newington have been taken over by Jews, and see how that goes down.

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Ethnic minorities living in the UK feel more British than their white counterparts, research has revealed.

Muslims are the most likely of all groups to identify with the concept of "Britishness", the Institute for Social and Economic Research found.

The report's authors say the results rubbish suggestions that ethnic groups are unwilling or unable to integrate into British society and show that fears over the negative impacts of immigration on cultural identity are overstated.

The study, named Understanding Society, looked at the socioeconomic circumstances of people living in 40,000 UK households.

Occupants were asked a series of questions, including how important, on a scale of one to 10, being British was to them.

People of Pakistani origin scored the highest with an average of 7.76. Bangladeshi and Indian groups came second and third respectively, while the white population scored the lowest with an average of 6.58.

The study also found that identification with Britishness was higher among the children and grandchildren of migrants.

The research will be presented next week at the Economic and Social Research Council research methods festival by Dr Alita Nandi.

She said: "There is a huge emphasis in public and policy discourse on immigration and its potential challenge to cultural homogeneity and national identity.

"Our research shows that people we might assume would feel very British in fact do not – while others who we might assume would not associate themselves with feelings of Britishness in fact do."

She added: "Many people seem to manage dual identities, and it's interesting to note that in all the ethnic groups we looked at British identity increases from generation to generation, while within the majority white population many maintain strong non-British identities, such as Scots or Welsh."

Press Association, 30 June 2012

See also ISER press release, 30 June 2012

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