UK's response to Islamism "make things worse"-study

LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) Attempts by the British government to combat the growth of Islamic extremism among a minority of young Muslims are only making the situation worse, a report by an independent think-tank said today.

Research by Policy Exchange found that young British Muslims were much more likely to be influenced by a political form of Islam than their parents because of changes to society and loss of shared national identity.

The government's attempts to engage with the country's 1.8 million Muslims were failing because it treated Muslims as a homogenous group, leaving some feeling excluded and ignored.

''Government policies to improve engagement with Muslims make things worse,'' the report's lead author Munira Mirza said.

''The government should stop emphasising difference and engage with Muslims as citizens, not through their religious identity.'' The issue of Muslim integration was rammed home in July 2005 when four British Islamists carried out suicide bombings in London's transport network killing 52 people.

The extent of the growth in extremism was made clear last year by Britain's domestic spy chief who said security services were monitoring 1,600 mostly British-born suspects.

Prime Minister Tony Blair and his ministers say promoting better community relations is vital to tackling the rise of Islamic extremism, and have launched a number of initiatives to achieve this.

However their approach has been criticised, most notably in a row over Muslim women's use of the full veil which Blair described as a ''mark of separation''.

''The government approach is too much teacher/pupil and 'we know better' about how to dress and how to speak,'' Azad Ali, chairman of the Muslim Safety Forum which advises the police, told Reuters last week.

Today's think-tank report said there was growing religiosity among young Muslims because of a ''search for meaning and community'', a sense of disengagement that was shared by young people generally.

The study found 37 percent of 16-24-year-old Muslims would prefer to live under Islamic sharia law than under British law compared to just 17 percent of those aged over 55.

There was also far greater support for exhibiting their religious identity in public with 74 percent of young Muslims preferring women to wear a veil or hijab compared to 28 percent of the older generation.

Thirteen percent of those aged 16-24 also agreed with the statement that they ''admire organisations like al Qaeda that are prepared to fight the West'' as opposed to just 3 percent in the 55 and over age bracket.

Reuters DH VP0505