British Muslims prefer Iran and Russia to US, bombshell poll finds

Net favourability ratings towards different countries exposed particular anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiments.

While the general public's stance towards the US was -16 per cent and -22 per cent for Israel, the figure dropped to -41 per cent and -52 per cent among British Muslims.

However, British Muslims gave Iran a net positive score of 22 per cent, narrowly behind 25 per cent for the UK.

They also handed China a net score of 22 per cent and Russia a narrow advantage of two per cent.

In contrast, Iran scored -42 per cent among the wider British public, with China slumping to -22 per cent and Russia dropping to -52 per cent.

Polling firm JL Partners also found that 45 per cent of British Muslims believe Iran was not a significant threat before the US-Israel airstrikes, despite Tehran-backed sleeper agents attempting to carry out 20 terror plots on British soil since 2022.

Meanwhile, fewer than one-in-seven of the general respondents stated Iran poses a threat.

There was a similar disparity when respondents were asked if they held positive or negative views on Iran, with 39 per cent of British Muslims being favourable to Tehran and the number slumping to just eight per cent among the general public.

Half of British Muslims also described the airstrikes as "definitely wrong", with 40 per cent believing that gaining control of oil supplies is the primary motive.

That figure compared to just 17 per cent and 15 per cent among the general public, respectively.

Dr Rakib Ehsan, author of the Policy Exchange report 'Worlds Apart: British Muslim Attitudes on the Iran Conflict', said: “The data shows that modern Britain is anything but on the same page in terms of how it views the Iran conflict and the wider international system.

"As well as being notably more hostile towards the United States and Israel, British Muslims hold much warmer feelings towards Iran than the wider public do.

"Part of their overarching anti-Americanism is their dramatically less negative views on China and Russia, revealing a broader scepticism of Western geopolitics."

Dr Ehsan added: "The relatively youthful British Muslim population is also different to the wider public in how they get their news and information on the Iran conflict, relying more than the general population on ‘non-legacy’ sources in the social media sphere such as Instagram and TikTok."

Foreign policy also appears to have become a more significant theme in domestic British politics.

The Green Party was accused of deploying divisive political rhetoric towards Benjamin Netanyahu and Narendra Modi to win over Muslim voters in the Gorton & Denton by-election.

Hannah Spencer, who won the seat with a 4,402-vote majority over Reform UK, also campaigned in Urdu ahead of polling day.

The 2024 General Election also exposed how events in Gaza had an impact domestically, with shock wins for pro-Palestine independent candidates in Birmingham Perry Barr, Blackburn, Burnley, Dewsbury & Batley, and Leicester South.

The public now fears tensions in the Middle East will worsen ethno-religious tensions in modern Britain.

Two-in-five members of the UK public warned the conflict in Iran made race relations worse, compared to just 18 per cent who believe it is getting better.

Ahead of the release of Policy Exchange's report, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch vowed to root out tribalism in the UK.

Speaking beside a memorial wall for October 7 and Islamic Republic victims, the Tory leader said: "I'm standing in Golders Green by a wall, which used to be covered in pictures of hostages taken on October 7.

"Today, it is completely covered by pictures, mostly of young people, who have been murdered by the regime of Iran.

"Golders Green is mostly known as a Jewish community, but there's an Iranian community too.

"And when this war broke out, the Jewish community and the Iranian community stood side by side in solidarity against the brutal and repressive Iranian regime. And that's what we want to see in this country: integration, communities working together.

"Despite the Al Quds march being banned, protesters were chanting, 'Khamenei make up proud' and 'Death to the IDF'. These sort of attitudes are fuelling antisemitism in our country, making it less safe for Jews.

"Golders Green is an example of different communities living side by side, integrating and supporting each other. It's what we want to see more of. Enough of this separatism.

"We are going to root it out. Conservatives do not believe in a country of different tribes and different groups. We want to see a shared British identity that everyone is living under, and we're going to fight for that."