Caliph says most UK Muslims well integrated into British society after Casey report cited ‘worrying levels’ of segregation

True Islam means loyalty to the country in which one lives, abiding by its laws and serving its people and communities, the spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim movement has said.



The majority of Muslims in the UK were well integrated into British society, said the caliph, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, and most “follow the commandment of the holy prophet, which says love of your country is part of your faith”.



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His comments followed the publication on Monday of a government-commissioned report into the integration of minority groups, which concluded that segregation was at “worrying levels” in some parts of the country. Its author, Louise Casey, recommended “an oath of integration” with British values and society.

Youth members of the Ahmadiyya community already swear an oath of allegiance to the country they live in, which includes the sentence: “I solemnly pledge that I shall always be ready to sacrifice my life, wealth, time and honour for the sake of my faith, country and nation.”



It was “not common practice” for British Muslims to reject integration, said the caliph, who claims 20 million followers globally, including about 30,000 in the UK.



“If I am law abiding and honour all the laws of a country, I am integrated into society. If I am serving the nation with all my potential and capability, that is integration. If I am discharging all the duties of my fellow countrymen, I am integrated. If I take care of my neighbours – no matter if they are Muslim, Hindu or Christian – I am well integrated,” he said.



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“But if you say we should leave all our religious practices and rituals, that is not integration,” he added, citing as examples wearing the hijab and prohibitions on eating pork and drinking alcohol.



He said Islam required women to make the domestic sphere the primary focus of their lives, although this did not preclude high levels of education, paid professional work and even participation in political activity if there was “spare time”.



“Islam says there is a division of labour between men and women. The man is supposed to be the bread basket and the [job of a] woman is to train the children to become good citizens,” Masroor Ahmad said.



The Casey report highlighted “regressive practices” targeting women and girls in some Muslim communities, with the author saying she had spoken to women who were forbidden from leaving the home without their husband’s permission.



The Ahmadiyya community, whose motto is “Love for all, hatred for none”, moved its global headquarters from Pakistan to south London in the 1980s, after a constitutional amendment declared its followers to be non-Muslims and they were later barred from practising their faith.

Some orthodox Muslims regard the Ahmadi as heretical because they do not believe that Muhammad was the final prophet sent to guide mankind. The Ahmadi have been ostracised by other Muslims and frequently been persecuted.

In August, a Bradford taxi driver was jailed for a minimum of 27 years for the “barbaric, premeditated” murder of Asad Shah, a Glasgow shopkeeper and member of the Ahmadiyya community. Tanveer Ahmed had admitted repeatedly stabbing Shah outside his shop in a sectarian attack motivated by hatred of the shopkeeper’s religious views.