Disillusionment with British Values Isn’t Just a Muslim Problem

Disillusionment with Britain’s institutions isn’t limited to any one group, so why do we only blame Muslims?

By Sean Ash

When Suella Braverman said on LBC that migrants want to destroy Britain, she wasn’t just wrong, she was wilfully misleading the public. And let’s be honest, we all know who she was really talking about. This wasn’t a broad statement about all migrants. It was another thinly veiled attack on Muslims, hidden behind the more palatable word migrant. We’ve seen this tactic before. The words change, but the target stays the same.

It’s the same far-right narrative we’re seeing play out when people rage against those arriving by boat. Again, we know who they’re talking about. We know what faith they’re pointing at when they claim these people are incompatible with British values. They don’t mean Ukrainian refugees. They don’t mean white European migrants. The underlying focus of the fear campaign is clear, Muslims. Whether it’s references to so-called grooming gangs, incompatible values, or integration, the same imagery is invoked again and again, painting Islam and Muslim migrants as a threat. The word migrant becomes a convenient cover for a much narrower target.

Time and again, we’re told that certain Muslim communities are incompatible with British values. That they don’t integrate. That they reject our way of life. That they threaten our Christian foundations. And yet, no one ever stops to ask a crucial question: what even are British values anymore? And who, exactly, still believes in them?

Because let’s be honest, many white British people don’t.

There are white Brits who don’t like football, who never watch the England team play and feel no connection to it at all. There are white Brits who don’t support the rugby, who don’t care for international matches or national pride. There are those who don’t believe in flags, who think the very act of raising a flag is outdated or jingoistic. There are white Brits who see St George’s Day as irrelevant, or even problematic, and have no desire to mark it. And there are white British atheists and republicans who want to tear down the monarchy, rewrite the laws, and establish a completely new form of governance.

But we don’t call them a threat. We don’t accuse them of trying to destroy Britain.

Yet when a Muslim expresses a desire for religious accommodations, or even when a small minority discuss wanting Sharia law in isolated communities, it becomes a national panic. A talking point. A problem. But if the desire to see laws changed is what makes someone dangerous, then we would have to include millions of white Britons who want new laws too. People who want to abolish the monarchy, who campaign for constitutional reform, who protest the existing system. These aren’t fringe voices, they are part of democratic life.

The truth is, the vast majority of Muslims in this country support England in football, cheer for the national rugby team, raise the English flag with pride, and go about their lives like everyone else. They go to work, pay their taxes, raise their children, contribute to their communities. They are part of Britain. Many are born here. Many love this country. The handful who don’t should not be used to define the millions who do.

There are over three million Muslims living in the UK. If they were truly as hostile and anti-British as some media narratives would have us believe, we wouldn’t be talking about it on the radio or online. We’d be witnessing civil unrest, conflict in the streets, open warfare. But that is not what is happening. There is peace. There is coexistence. There is daily cooperation. And where there is the odd example of extremism, it is just that, an extreme, not the norm.

We forget that Britain has always had its extremists. White nationalist groups, far-right radicals, street movements that openly preach hate. They too want to change the system, to enforce their vision of how the country should be run. They too represent a minority. But we don’t treat their presence as proof that all white people are dangerous.

So why the double standard?

Millions of people in this country, many of them white and British-born, do not support the monarchy. Some would like to see the institution abolished entirely. Others reject the idea of a British identity altogether and campaign for Scottish or Welsh independence. They wave different flags. They protest the system. They call for radical change. Do we accuse them of hating Britain? No. We call it democracy. We call it free speech.

There are countless people, from all walks of life, who feel no emotional connection to Britain’s supposed values. Some don’t feel proud to be British. Others are embarrassed by the country’s past. They may be Christian, atheist, agnostic or spiritual, but they look at inequality, corruption and class divides and feel disillusioned. They question the narratives. They speak out. But unlike Muslims, they are rarely painted as enemies from within.

That’s the real issue. Disillusionment is tolerated when it comes from white, secular voices. It’s tolerated when it comes from the working class, from the left, from republicans, even from angry atheists. But when a Muslim questions the system, when they critique colonialism, when they ask hard questions, they are told to be quiet or get out.

We are not a country of shared values. We are a country of conflicting experiences. And that’s not a weakness. That’s the truth. If rejecting Christianity makes someone suspicious, then what about the millions of atheists who do the same? If criticising the monarchy makes someone dangerous, what about the people who campaigned to get rid of it? If saying the country is unfair makes someone hostile, then half the country is hostile.

This isn’t about defending values. It’s about maintaining control. It’s about finding easy scapegoats for a country in decline. It’s about blaming Muslims for disunity when the truth is, many people from many backgrounds feel excluded. The difference is, only one group is constantly told they don’t belong.

Muslims are not the only ones who question Britain. They’re not the only ones who challenge its history, reject its systems, or ask to be treated with dignity. There are many others who feel the same. They just happen to not be Muslim. And that’s why this isn’t really about values. It’s about who we choose to blame.