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BRIAN DONNELLY
The Herald

Scots are becoming increasingly prejudiced against Muslims, according to a wide-ranging survey carried out after the terror attacks of July 2005 but before the strike on Glasgow Airport this summer.

Half of those questioned in the government study said Scotland would lose its identity if more Muslims come to the country - up on the 38% who said the same in 2003 when a similar survey was taken.

The number of Scots who would be unhappy if a relative formed a close relationship with a Muslim was also up over the three years, from 20% to 24%, but while almost one-third of Scots believe there is sometimes a good reason to be prejudiced - an attitude which is on the rise - the number of people who are prejudiced against gays and lesbians is decreasing.

The findings of the Scottish Government’s 2006 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey were gathered from interviews with 1594 adults.

Last night, Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell described the change in attitudes towards Muslims as worrying and promised the government would “provide leadership” to fight prejudice.

He partly blamed the terrorist attacks in America on September 11, 2001, and in Britain in July 2005 for the trends.

“The survey suggests when people fear their culture is under threat they are more likely to hold discriminatory attitudes against particular groups,” the minister said.

Osama Saeed, of the Muslim Council of Scotland, described the findings as “Islamophobia”.

He said: “Given the international situation and a lot of irresponsible and mendacious coverage by sections of the media, these results are not entirely surprising.

“The sentiments are also borne out in reality by a greater number of physical and verbal attacks on the streets. Discrimination has become less about skin colour and more about creed. What we need now in terms of action are initiatives educating the wider public about the true essence of Islam.”

Tory MSP Margaret Mitchell, convener of Holyrood’s equal opportunities committee, said: “There is a clear lesson to be learned from these findings, namely that awareness-raising, the need to talk and to celebrate the positives that diversity can bring is a priority and a major factor in tackling prejudice.”

The research, conducted by the Scottish Centre for Social Research, explores attitudes towards discrimination across six key equality areas - disability, gender, race, religion or belief, age and sexual orientation.

In other findings, almost one-third of people, around 30%, said ethnic minorities and people from Eastern Europe took jobs away from Scots, while around one in seven Scots, some 14%, believes that a woman’s role is to stay at home while the man earns the money.

Mr Maxwell welcomed the fact that 65% said Scotland should do everything it could to get rid of all kinds of prejudice.

While attitudes towards gay people were improving, there was “substantial evidence”

of discriminatory attitudes towards trans-sexuals, asylum seekers and gipsy travellers.

Half of those questioned for the survey said they would be unhappy if a relative married a trans-sexual, while 37% would be unhappy if a relative were to marry an asylum seeker or a gipsy traveller.

The report said: “This may well be an indication that discriminatory attitudes towards these groups is sufficiently common that it is not regarded as an unacceptable prejudice’ as appears to be the case in respect of most religious and ethnic minorities.”

Morag Alexander, the Scottish commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the diverse range of communities and cultures made Scotland a more rich and vibrant place.

She said: “If we want to build a confident, ambitious and fair nation then I believe every one of us has a responsibility to ensure that we create a Scotland that is at ease with all aspects of its diversity.”

John Curtice, co-author of the report, said: “This research provides a unique picture of how discriminatory attitudes are more likely to be expressed towards some groups than towards others.”

EDITORIAL COMMENT
The Herald

We may like to think we’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns, but 29% of Scots say there is sometimes good reason to be prejudiced. The results from the latest Scottish Social Attitudes Survey is a sharp shock to a country that has long prided itself on being welcoming to immigrants and - despite the scars of sectarianism - less racist than other places. It is particularly disappointing that the figure of those willing to condone prejudice has risen by 3% since 2002 and there is evidence of increasing prejudice against Muslims, despite a well-established Muslim community here. In response to being asked if Scotland would lose its cultural identity if more Muslims came to live here, the proportion who agreed increased from 38% to 50%. No doubt the 9/11 attack on New York and the London bombings of July 2005 played a part, but the interviews were carried out before the attempted bombing of Glasgow airport earlier this year.

As would be expected, older and less-educated people expressed more prejudice. This is no guarantee, however, that young people, used to living in a multi-ethnic society, will be better integrated and less discriminatory than previous generations: it emerged earlier this year that people under 20 were responsible for half the racist incidents in 2005-6. That suggests we cannot assume attitudes will change along with society, but that an educational programme is required. Prejudice is more complex than being negative about people different from oneself. There can be a telling difference between people’s claims not to be prejudiced and how they actually react in a personal situation. A question about a close relative forming a relationship with someone produced a wide variation, with the prospect of a relationship with a transsexual causing 50% distress, to one in 10 who would be unhappy with someone who was black or Asian, Jewish or from a Chinese background. Yet the current climate of suspicion is obvious when 24% say they would be unhappy about a close relationship with a Muslim (compared with 20% in 2003).

Although 65% of people agree that “Scotland should do everything to get rid of all kinds of prejudice”, the depth of the problem is revealed by specific instances. For example, there are particular prejudices against gipsies/travellers and transsexuals being primary school teachers. The proportion of people who think same-sex relationships are wrong has dropped, yet 51% of people believe a B&B owner should be able to refuse a booking for a same-sex couple.

Stewart Maxwell, the Communities Minister, speaks of change taking time. That is true, but it makes it all the more urgent to start promoting equality: this research reveals the uncomfortable evidence that the One Scotland, Many Cultures campaign undertaken by the previous Scottish Executive still has a long way to go. The SNP has expressed a similar ambition for a comfortably pluralist society. The sooner we achieve that the better, but it won’t happen if we leave the prejudices to fester into acts of discrimination that should have no place in 21st-century Scotland.

STEWART PATERSON
The Herald

St Roch’s Secondary School in the north of Glasgow educates pupils from a diverse range of cultures and religions.

Since 2000, it has gone from being a predominantly Roman Catholic school to one where 34 different languages are spoken, as many children of asylum seekers are enrolled.

The school has taken part in Black History Month and marks Eid and Divali as well as celebrating Christian festivals. A partnership with a school in the United Arab Emirates has brought children to the school on what is hoped to be the start of an exchange programme.

Dr Hassan Hassan, head of English as an additional language, said: “We have had poets and writers in to perform and do workshops. It all helps.

“When children from asylum-seeker backgrounds came to the school, children were hesitant about socialising and integrating, but the programmes have helped the barriers come down.”

Joe Makngu, 15, from Red Road, came to Scotland from Congo five years ago. He said: “I took part in the Eid fashion show with about 20 others and a black history film. People have been friendly and ask where I am from and what it is like. When people know more, people from their countries are accepted more.”

Headteacher Gerry McGuigan said: “We are a Catholic school, a Christian school, but we want people to appreciate others people’s faiths. If you are ignorant about something you can be scared of it, but understanding makes differences more acceptable.”

By Mike Rowbottom
Published: 12 December 2007

The Independent

A professional footballer faces deportation to Sierra Leone, where he says he will be killed if he returns, after losing his case at an Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.

Al Bangura, 19, who plays for the Championship-leading side, Watford and whose girlfriend gave birth last week to a son, Samal – has 10 days to lodge an appeal against being forcibly returned to the country after a civil war in which his father was stabbed to death.

“This is terrible news for all and a big shock to everyone at Watford FC,” said Iain Moody, head of football operations at the club. “I spoke to Al on the phone after we heard the decision last night. He is confused and frankly scared what might now happen to him and his family.”

Mr Bangura won discretionary leave to stay at an initial hearing in June only to face what was, in effect, a retrial on 26 November after the Home Office spotted a legal mistake in the judge’s summing up.

The footballer spoke before his latest hearing about the perils he would face back in Sierra Leone. “I’d get hurt,” he said. “I won’t be safe. If I go back, something will happen to me. Someone will come straight up to me and stab me. I’ll lose my life.”

Mr Bangura, who is regaining fitness after dislocating his ankle, says he has lost all contact with his mother and surviving sister. “Watford FC is my family,” he added.

Watford’s players responded with shock after the news was broken to them before training yesterday. They plan to wearT-shirts highlighting their team-mate’s plight at Saturday’s home game against Plymouth Argyle.

A petition established by supporters a week ago, has already gained 2,000 signatures.

Watford’s manager, Adrian Boothroyd, who testified at both hearings, said: “After the immigration hearing, I said I had faith in British justice but obviously I was totally mistaken because it’s a completely ludicrous decision.

“This country, great as it once was, seems to allow anybody in to send benefits wherever they fancy and we have one young man here who pays his taxes, has a fiancée and a newborn son and somebody, somewhere, thinks it’s a good decision to send him back to Sierra Leone. We’ve been sent a document with the reasons why he’s being deported and they are ridiculous.”

Before the ruling, Claire Ward, the MP for Watford told BBC radio: “He has made a very good life for himself and is a significant contributor to the UK economy and to my local economy as a constituent.”

Mr Bangura claims he first went into hiding in 2003 after being asked to join a secret sect that believed in extreme rituals that included self-mutilation. His father, who was killed when Mr Bangura was four years old, had been head of the sect, and his son was expected to join when he reached adolescence.

He fled to neighbouring Guinea, where he was befriended by a Frenchman who promised he could get him into the UK but did not tell Mr Bangura he was being groomed as a male prostitute.

“They arrived via the Eurostar,” Mr Moody said. “Al said he was taken to a house where they met these other two guys, and it seemed as if he was being sold. The two guys then attempted to rape him but he got away and ran into the street in his underclothes and started shouting for help.”

He was taken to a Home Office reception centre in Croydon, where he claimed asylum as an unaccompanied minor.

Mr Bangura’s talent as a footballer was spotted by Watford scouts when he played for a youth side in Chertsey and he signed for the club’s academy, making his first-team debut in April 2005.

The Watford midfielder, who was voted Young Player of the Year two seasons ago and was given the captaincy for one game earlier this season, is not the only high-profile sporting personality facing deportation. Hartley Alleyne, 50, the former Kent, Worcestershire and West Indies cricketer, who now teaches at St Edmunds School, Canterbury, is appealing against a decision to repatriate him to Barbados because he does not have a relevant coaching qualification, an NVQ level 3.