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Most British Muslims live in poorest parts of England and Wales: figures
LONDON: The Office for National Statistics revealed on Wednesday that the majority of Muslims live in the most deprived areas of England and Wales.
According to the latest ONS census, Muslims now make up 6.5% of the population of England and Wales, with around 3.9 million by 2021.
However, the figures show that 61% of them live in the bottom 40% of areas on the poverty score, according to The Guardian.
Tower Hamlets is considered to be one of the poorest areas, with the highest proportion of Muslims in England and Wales in 2011. The 2021 census shows they now make up 39.9 percent of the local population.
Meanwhile, only 4% of Muslims live in the poorest 20%.
Policymakers are being urged to tackle a “cycle of poverty” affecting generations of British Muslims, whose numbers have risen by 1.2 million over the past decade.
Zara Mohammad, general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, told the Guardian: “We are now a second or third generation (Muslims).
“There are more people here, but we are still in a cycle of poverty and deprivation.
“I think part of it is down to the socioeconomic conditions where people live and the economic opportunities that are available.
“There really is something to be said about what our politics and policies are doing to help those who are really suffering.
“There are all these stereotypes and tropes surrounding Muslims, but the reality is that people are actually in a cycle of poverty. And these need to be broken.”
Sufia Alam, director of the Maryam Center and Projects at East London Mosque in Talhamlets, told the Guardian: “I have worked in this borough for almost 30 years and it is one of the poorest areas in London and the country. one.
“Although it’s a rich borough, it’s also a poor one: Canary Wharf is on our doorstep.
“(The census data) is not surprising because there are so many factors that we talk about all the time: Islamophobia, cultural bias that exists, racism within institutions from education to employment.
“I remember the same thing being said in the 2011 census. Nothing really changed.”
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