London Muslims overwhelmingly oppose gays

international | gender and sexuality | other press

Wednesday April 18, 2007 11:43

by Christopher Isherwood

An in-depth survey into the attitudes of Muslims living in London has revealed that less than 5% thought homosexual acts are "acceptable," compared with over 65% of the general population

The Gallup poll, reported in The Times, found that Muslims differed significantly with the rest of the capital's population in their attitudes to a range of social questions.

More than 80% of the public think sex outside marriage is acceptable, with only 10% of Muslims agreeing.

69% of Muslims said they identified very or extremely strongly with their religion, and only 13% think it is necessary to remove the face veil (niqab). 55% of non-Muslims think the niqab needs to be removed to improve integration into British society.

Muslim leaders have been outspoken in their attacks on the rights of LGBT people in British society. Last year Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, was investigated by police over comments he made on BBC radio.

He called homosexuality, "a practice that in terms of health, in terms of the moral issues that comes along in a society, it is not acceptable. "