London

The London borough of Waltham Forest has, for a long time, been a place where immigrants to Britain have settled and made their homes. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many migrants who settled there were Jews who had come to Britain to escape persecution in Central and Eastern Europe. The majority lived in the East End of London for a short period of time, then made their way to the more affluent northern outskirts of the city.

The largest influx into the area from overseas took place, as elsewhere in Britain, in the postwar years, with the arrival of immigrants first from the Caribbean and then South Asia, particularly Pakistan. Other immigrants who have settled in the borough include Africans, Mauritians, Chinese, Greeks, Turks, and Irish; the most recent newcomers from abroad have been refugees from Somalia and Eastern Europe.

The 2001 census revealed that Islam is the second largest religion in London after Christianity; 8.5 percent of London’s population, 607,000 people, identified themselves as Muslims. This data was echoed in Waltham Forest, where Christians form the largest religious group at 57 percent, followed by people with no declared religion at 15 percent, and also Muslims at 15 percent.

Waltham Forest has one of the largest concentrations of Muslims in the UK and the third largest Muslim community in London. The focus on the Waltham Forest allows for a more nuanced understanding of the interaction between residents and policymakers where Muslims form a higher proportion of the population than within the city or state as a whole. A study of the local level also examines whether these demographic circumstances at the district and neighborhood level have encouraged the development of practical solutions to social policies that respond to the needs and views of local Muslim populations.