I think there is a lot of people who chat a load of...against british muslims. I am a british muslims and the way people stare at you is ridiculous. I have the same rights as any white/black british, it should not be just because i am asain i should be discriminated against. Muslims are always targeted and discriminated against, their views are never heard, look at this war in iraq, a total shambles, did anyone listen? British Muslims have the same freedom of speech as any other british regardless of race or colour.

Do you actually believe that the government listens to ANYONE in this country apart from a small elite of 'Islington ex lefties turned neo thatcherite now their on top of the dung mound'. Believe me, Akil, muslims are not the only ones whose opinions are ignored here.

treborc i think you have a big chip on your shoulder. life is for living, doesnt matter what race, culture or colour you are, if your muslim, come from a poor back ground, if you want something go out and get it, you make your own luck, its not going to drop on your lap for you.we could all moan about mslims are branded this blacks are branded that and so on get on with your life.

i take it that this question was meant to read "what's it mean to be muslim and british".lets not beat about the bush we all no what places like leeds bradford leiscter etc are like to live in and it's not particulary a multi-cultural heaven!muslims'in general are separatists,yes there are muslims that will be less inclined but overall they will marry,trade,bank etc with each other.british to me means something different than that to a muslim or any other nationality that resides in britain.ask yourself this question,in present times where political correctness does not allow us to question for fear of offending what will it be like when sharia law is what we answer too?

What a load of bull Sharia law, your another person who thinks my god what happens if we have a Muslim PM, what would happen nothing Muslim is a faith, no different when we have a catholic PM or a non faith leader. I have no problems with Muslim and we have a massive group in my area, they work when they can get jobs, yet I've seen the police stop and search for no reason other then they are Muslims, I have seen in years women who came here and are now wearing British clothes wearing make up yes they wear a scarf so what. get a bloody life for god sake.

Ok I thought I posted here already, but obviously some idiot is going around reporting things as abusive so their removed! Why do we need to consider what a british asian is? Surely being Asian and living in Britian is no difference to be Asian in any other country? It shouldnt matter what your race, culture or colour is! You judge a person on their actions and nothing else! The government wants to promote intergration and multi-culteralism, which is great. But if you keep dredging up the differences with moronic stunts like "lets concider what its like to be britis Asian" it isnt going to help anything. Your just enforcising the differences even more!!! Besides Asian isnt a very exact description. There are lots of Asian cultures in this world! But who cares? Aslong as anyone who comes to this country respects British customs and law and takes the time to learn the language, then your all welcome as far as I care! But considering alot of these "Asian" people were born here, they are british anyway!!! Stop trying to put a devide between us (and im white christian for the record).

It slightly worries me that people are even debating what it means to be a "british asian". It shouldnt matter what about your religion, culture or skin colour because we're all british. Aslong as we respect each others cultures (including the british culture and language) and dont act like morons then whats the issue? Do we really need to keep dredging all this multi-cultural stuff up like its something we need to keep reminding ourselfs about and talking about it and not just accept it and move on. Why does the labour party need to celebrate and explore british asians? do the asians in england want this? do they feel we need to celebrate their heritage? If I was Asian Id be thinking "oh god, what are they doing now!".

You don't have to be asian to think "oh god,what are they doing now!". All there doing is protecting their own middle class social ideolist opinion with out a care for the damage it is doing to the country.

Iftikhar, well mate you made it here, your one of the most racist people I have ever known, your banned from numerous sites and you should not be allowed on here. The idea that Muslims should only be taught in Urdu and should not get involved with any other religion makes a nonsense of the whole idea. I do not like you or your racist idea, as for Muslims schools well fund them yourself and you can do what you like, state funding I hope not mate. I find your idea of Muslims not mixing with other people or religions insulting to the extreme mate.

Has anyone noticed how few contributions are on here? all the messages keep getting deleted i wonder why?

People are reporting things as abusive and its then removed, but never checked and just sits in someones inbox somewhere.

Labour are petrified of this subject as they know only to well how emotive it is to most of the indiginous population, after all where do a large percentage of their votes come from?

Well it does not come from me, or anyone else I know, we are to busy to vote.

Dear oh dear.

Get some perspective really - I'm a British Asian - as are lots of my friends. While my ethnicity is important I'm England till I die!

Becky if every one had your attitude the the multi cultural dream would work.

How many british asians do you know, Ruth? I grew up in Leicester, which is apparently pretty close to having a white minority: so it goes without saying that I have a pretty large number of friends with an asian heritage. They all, with one exception, view themselves as British first, asian second (and that's not to say that the excepting doesn't view himself as British at all).

Try and be a little less bigoted and try to avoid writing-off whole segments of our fellow British population, from your standpoint of ignorance, it's-not-fairism, and racism.

Josh i'm not disagreeing with you how ever ruth's opinion is one i'm hearing quite a bit. The trouble is as i see it there is a lot of frustration in this country at the moment i know you don't like to see it but the cost of living is going throw the roof, house prices have gone through the roof, you can't step outside your home for one minuet with out paying some sort of tax on some thing, rightly or wrongly we now feel we have to fight for jobs against cheap eastern european labour, teenage kids are now shooting each other in the streets, state control and legislation is slowly starting to creep into the home and from my point of view i can't even do the one thing that took me away from it all which was have a quick pint and a ciggie to unwind after work with out being thrown outside the pub, i could go on. The end result of all this the british public are now looking for some one or some thing to blame. The first thing they seek to blame some one ie. a section of community. Single mothers, hoddies, muslims, jews, eastern europeans etc.. The second thing to do is find some thing to blame ie. binge drinkers, drug users, racists, car drivers etc.. as far as i'm concerned non of these are the problem it is all to easy for any political party to play up to the public and blame any of these as the root cause of all our problems they are all great 'scape goats'. The truth is british society is breaking down as a hole. The government and social idealists will not just admit that. We will not solve the problems of this country by living in our own little worlds we will only solve the problems of this country by facing up to them. This is not a game. To try and have a society where different cultures can live in harmony can not be done by using taunts of your a racist every time an individual feels that they want to air their voice and they have an opinion that dose not suit political idealist views i don't agree with ruths opinion but as i say it's an opinion i'm hearing a lot and to say she only has that view because she is prejudice or ignorant is not going to help the very fact she has that opinion is a sad reflection on society. Your reply shows how freedom of speech is being eroded and suppressed. I have to sign in under a different user name every time i come on this forum i've had a lot of the posts removed their was one i left yesterday that i will agree should have been removed i left a web address i did not realise quite where that web sight was heading. but other than that non of the other one's should have been if i want to make a point i will make it. There is no point in a forum like this if all the participants agree with each other and butter up each others opinion living in a dream world that this country is in a good way and we've never had it so good will not deal with the issues that affect us.

Did you know that Miss Great Britain is Asian – Preeti Desai? Now that is British Asian personified!

‘British Asian’ is something that I find quite difficult to define. I was born in this country – as were my parents – and have lived here all my life. I have a distinct loyalty and sense of pride when I think of Britain and I always support England when they play football! Yet a part of me is Indian – I enjoy the culture, the community and the celebrations that we have. Everything is so colourful and loud in our culture and I love that. Spending time with the family, growing up in with a sense of community and being respectful to my neighbours defines who I am –whether that’ s the ‘British’ or ‘Asian’ in me, who knows?

It has become a lot easier being a British Asian under a Labour government. Despite there always being room for improvement the fact that it is illegal to discriminate against me because of the colour of my skin and the religion that I am has definitely made me feel more welcome as someone with Asian heritage here in this country.

sandeep I am pleased for you but it annoys me some of the descrimination shown against white people by asians,for example can a christian marry a muslim? perhapes this should be addressed because descrimination goes both ways.

I totally agree it is certainly double standards when a muslim man can marry a christian woman but yet if a christian man marries a muslim woman all hell breaks loose.

I've just read and understood a lot of what you are saying. There are a few things i'm not to happy with though. Unfortunately drugs, anti social behaviour, crime, binge drinking, and yes teenage pregnancy are a part of british life. To surggest that muslim parents do not want their children to become part of such as you put it "barbarity" is to surggest that british parents on the hole are quite happy to have thier children involved in such "barbarity". Well let me tell you they are not almost all parents are scared of their children falling into these groups. You comment on institutional racism yet rather than become a part of the country as other minorities have done in the past you seek to become a self segregating section of the country that believes it is above the country that it lives in and is above the laws of the country it lives in. Why should your needs be above the rest of the countries. This is a democratic country no one person has more rights than any other person, no religious comunnity has rights above another religious community (unless of course you smoke then you have less rights than every one. sorry should'nt joke). If you truly believe that this country is such a terrible place then why do you not live in a muslim country ?

sorry one more point that i think should be addressed with your statement is that it all seems to be about what british culture is doing wrong and how british culture should change to fit in with muslim culture. Let me ask you another question how could muslim culture change to fit in with british culture ?

The anniversaries of the independence of Pakistan and India have created lots of celebration and reflection. Yes my roots definitely shape who I am - being able two embrace two cultures have definitely made me a more rounded person. I am proud to be a British Asian and I am proud of the contribution that British Asians have made to this country.

Deepak, good to know, lets hope people like you carry on like this, because we need everyone to work towards a united country, not one which is split

What is all this British this and British that... I do not say I am British Christian, or British white Christian. I am British..My son emmigrated to another country and I hope me never says I am ...... British. I just hope the country he picked to live in and was excepted, he says I belong to that country....Not to have some ideology belonging to Britain that did not help him when he needed it, and he left. He cannot change were he was born, but just because you were born in a country does not always make it the best country. Also if I emigrated somewere I would acept that country, not somehow try to belong to some place I left because it did not help me.