Quote du Jour | The thistle and the crescent

Scottish Muslims have greater economic power than their English counterparts: many are involved in business, and arrived with the means to set themselves up (a large proportion are from Punjab, a relatively rich Indian state). Most English Muslims hail from poorer bits of Pakistan and Bangladesh, and often went into industries that have since faltered. In Scotland ethnic minorities sometimes benefit from “reverse discrimination”: as the National Health Service was the first employer to send minorities to some of Scotland’s farther-flung areas, it is often assumed that non-whites are doctors. Mohammad Sarwar, a Scot, was Britain’s first Muslim MP.

The Economist vraagt zich af hoe het komt dat Schotse moslims zoveel beter integreren dan moslims in Engeland. Volgens het blad komt het vooral door de sociale en economische klasse waaruit emigranten afkomstig zijn in het herkomstland. Ondernemers en hoger opgeleiden ervaren meer binding met het bestemmingsland.

h/t Aisha Akhiat