Tom Wilde

Exactly - probably none at all. It's just typical identity politics. If they lived under sharia law these same young people would turn against it in about 5 mins and be the first to rebel against it.

Besoeker

I wasn't condoning it.

Internationalist

My first thought was along these lines: that it all depends on what they understand by the term and it may be little more than expressing their identity as Muslims. However, to check this I looked at the figures in the report giving levels of support for specific aspects of sharia, and the results there are in many ways much more shocking than the headline figure. For example, I cited the figure of 31 per cent of all Muslims (not just young people) believing that someone converting from Islam should be executed. Another figure in the report is that 61 per cent of all Muslims believe that homosexuality should be illegal. The proportions for young people were higher and some may moderate their views as they get older but we should not be complacent about it.

The fact is that many people do follow through on their beliefs, just like those youthful idealists at Cambridge in the 1930s who ended up working for the Soviets and badly compromised our security. It is also often the case that general sympathy for an idea can translate into a much larger movement if there are events that help to polarise opinion. A few more bombs on the Underground and a consequent backlash against Muslims would create a much greater polarisation in which this "identity politics" could form into outright hostility towards our society. (And there I would suggest that groups like the BNP and radical Islamists share a common cause.)

The other point is that it may be fair to assume that people would turn against sharia if it was ever imposed, but by then it will be too late. We must prevent support for sharia gaining ground if we possibly can.

I never meant to suggest for one moment that you were condoning it, just that the figures in the report are possibly more significant than at first they might appear (as I argued above).

Besoeker

Possibly so.