Has Multicultualism Worked In The Uk?

[anotheoldgit]

Since the dawn of time multiculturalism has not worked in any country, how can Britain be any different?

[Jackdaw33]

How long before we see British ghettos here, where the indigenous population are afraid to walk abroad?

[emmie]

some areas in the capital are like that already i'm afraid.

[Khandro]

Don't be beastly to allen, he can't help it, he's only got one book - The 'Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx 1846' It's getting a bit dog-eared now. I keep imploring him to buy another book, but he takes no notice.

[hereIam]

To answer the OP - NO, NO, definitely NO ...!

[ichkeria]

I'm bemused by the idea that 'multiculturalism' might only mean 'mixing of races' . Proof I suspect that this dreadful term means whatever you want it to mean. Kvalidir's answer was definitive really.

[Khandro]

ichi; "cul·ture (kŭl′chər)
n.
1.
a. The arts, beliefs, customs, institutions, and other products of human work and thought considered as a unit, especially with regard to a particular time or social group:"

Do you think any of those characteristics apply to you average Imam and his followers?

[fender62]

having been up and down the uk many many times in all areas my work takes me, i can only say there is only one minority group who will not integrate and thats not a poke at them either, but as far as i have seen they have no interest or desire to assimilate or integrate.
so has the multicultural experiment worked, yes for some ethnics
but not for the the three million other ethnics ?

[Khandro]

....... and his followers to your social group ?

[andy-hughes]

fender - If the attitudes of the snipers on here who bang on about how dreadful Muslims are on every day with a 'y' in it, then I don't really think you can blame them for not wanting to integrate - I wouldn't either!

[ichkeria]

I don't think it's really possible to have a sensible talk about this. If people want to go off on one about Islam then that is ok, but that is really a separate topic. Another meaning of 'multiculturalism' :-)

[237SJ]

"I can only say there is only one minority group who will not integrate" Actually there are two and the other one is Irish Travellers. They have zero integration but people don't tend to criticize them over it.

[emmie]

i too have lived and worked in the capital my whole life and i am telling you there are some areas i won't go down, not if i can help it.

[237SJ]

I tend to agree with Allen. There are places in London that I wouldn't want to be wandering around at night but that is because they are rough areas and not because of the cultural demographic of the people who live there.

[2sp_]

Surely "multiculturalism" has been a part of society everywhere since man could travel? Humans move around the globe bringing new ideas and traditions with them. I see no problem with that.

[emmie]

Britain for the most part and i say that loosely has been a mono culture, now we are not.

[naomi24]

From ichkeria at 17:11 //If people want to go off on one about Islam then that is ok, but that is really a separate topic.//

But it isn’t, because when people these days talk about the problems of multiculturalism, in the main the only real difficulties they perceive emanate from Islam. Other incoming cultures have, by and large, integrated into our society, and those who haven’t don’t generally create perceptible problems.

allen, emmie isn’t an idiot and she’s not lying. I too know London extremely well and there are most certainly areas where I would be reluctant to walk. A frank discussion about multiculturalism requires a willingness to acknowledge reality. Anything less is disingenuous.

237SJ, Irish travellers are not apparent in such numbers. Your analogy is a poor one. Furthermore, the rough areas of London you mention are not populated solely by indigenous Brits - far from it – so that one doesn’t gel either. Poorer areas are often rough, and they are always home to a large number of people from other countries.

[fender62]

andy-hughes, perhaps the first generation did try to integrate and many did, i think militant islam set in with the younger generation of said first generation or second generation, maybe a bit like hippies in the 60's where they proclaimed peace love etc, we now have if you like islamism..want to belong to a group as they feel unwestern or something more, im trying to find a word for it, what i dont get is why do some want to go back in time to the 7th century on a war footing, the free world has moved on.

[Kromovaracun]

Of course, if anyone ever gets tired of wild speculation about what British Muslims actually think, you could always look into the best data we have available:

https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/unsettled-belonging-a-survey-of-britains-muslim-communities/

This report is really worth reading in full. Among other things, it finds that most Muslims agree that there is a problem with extremism in their communities and most even support programmes such as Prevent to try and root it out. Vast majority support secular education.

Of course, like all data, it has its problems. But surely a better basis for discussion than rampant speculation on the internet, no?