Has multiculturalism failed in the UK? Not really | Anthony Heath | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/10/multiculturalism-uk-research
Traditional gender roles in some minority communities are often spoken of as evidence of their parallel lives. The new report does find some support for this, but even in the first generation such attitudes are a minority preserve; indeed, the support is in line with the 14% of white British people who also favour the patriarchal model. It also shows that only one fifth of Muslims would support a proposal of sharia law in Britain. Yes, critics may worry it is this high, and we can’t deny that some support for separatism does exist, but similarly we can’t deny that some white British people support ethnic exclusionism. From these results it would seem the characterisation of minorities as living separate lives, rejecting British values and integration into British society is, to put it mildly, a slur on those British citizens.