Half of British Muslims 'think homosexuality should be illegal'

More than half of British Muslims believe homosexuality should be banned, according to a poll.

The survey, commissioned for Channel 4 documentary What British Muslims Really Think, revealed that 52 per cent thought homosexuality should be illegal, while 47 per cent said gays and lesbians should not teach in schools

Some 1,000 Muslims from across the UK were questioned on a variety of social issues.

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"In most cases attitudes held by the British Muslim population do not broadly differ from those held by the population at large," says The Guardian.

"But there are significant differences when it comes to some issues such as homosexuality and women's rights."

More than one third (39 per cent) agreed that "wives should always obey their husbands", compared to just five per cent of the population as a whole.

The poll also found that 88 per cent of people said Britain was a good place for Muslims to live in.

Analysing the findings, Trevor Phillips, the former head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the "integration of Muslims will probably be the hardest task" the UK has ever faced.

"If we really want to create a society in which Muslims and non-Muslims share the burdens and benefits of our democracy, we have a lot of work to do," he writes in The Times.

"And that work has to begin by listening to, and hearing, what British Muslims really think, working out how to support them where possible – and deciding how to confront their thinking where it collides with our fundamental values."

However, critics argue the poll is unrepresentative of Britain's Muslim population, which totals nearly three million, and warned it could spread harmful stereotypes.

Shaista Gohir, the chair of the Muslim Women's Network UK, told The Guardian that similar results would likely emerge if the same survey was conducted among devout Jews and Christians and that attitudes towards women and the LGBT community were slowly shifting.

"These stereotypes do not reflect the reality of Muslims in Britain," she said. "It is important to also display these positive attitudes… because that represents the British Muslim majority."

What British Muslims Really Think airs on Channel 4 on Wednesday 13 April at 10pm