The Muslim Council of Britain said in a report on Thursday in London that the number of Muslims in England and Wales nearly doubled in a decade, bringing new challenges for the government and for British Muslim community.
It said a survey of census data showed the number of people identifying themselves as Muslims reached 2.71 million by 2011, up 75 per cent from 1.55 million in 2001.
According to the report, Muslims now make up 4.8 per cent of the population of England and Wales, with 8.1 per cent of school-age children.
“The ageing means the relatively young Muslim population is “increasingly shifting from school age towards young and middle-aged adults.
“The percentage of Muslim children of school age remains “very high” in some inner city areas,” it said.
It said there were many stakeholders rightly concerned with the well-being and educational potential of Muslims and BME (black and minority ethnic) youth.
The report, however, stressed the need to address issues such as underachievement, low teacher expectations, high rates of student exclusions, racism and Islamophobia, lack of role models and levels of parental involvement.
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