The Telegraph opinion column, April 12, 2016 - screen shot.When will the pollsters ever learn? The results of the recent ICM poll of Muslims in the UK (published earlier this month and broadcast on Channel 4, April 13) are not as groundbreaking as their promoters would like us to think and moreover display major flaws.
First, you do not draw a Muslim sampling without comparing to other religious groups. This is a flaw of most surveys conducted in Europe which compare a Muslim sampling to “non Muslims”. In these conditions, it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions since the Muslim/non Muslim divide is ideological not scientific.
Second, there is no revelation in this poll. Since at least the 2007 Gallup poll, we know that Muslims across Europe display conservative values on family life, sexuality and women, while at the same time expressing high levels of loyalties to the country of Europe to which they belong. Having conservative family views does not mean lack of integration. In the US, Christian fundamentalists display the same values but nobody would say that they are not socially integrated!
