I think this might be the most controversial post that I’ve written. I sat on it for a few days because I was quite wound up about it. I thought about it, wrote about it to get it out of my head and then I parked it for a few days. However, I have decided that being silent isn’t a positive option.
A lunch date with someone unfamiliar
Recently, I met some family friends for lunch. I have never been out with them before.
We decided to drive to the restaurant together. I usually love carpooling. I think it’s better for the planet, and it’s a way to connect with others during the drive.
Unemployment
So we’re in the car and Fred (not his real name) started talking about the people he noticed on the street. About 10 or 15 people were walking on either side of the road. They were going in different directions. They didn’t appear to have anything in common, other than that they were human and out and about.
Fred formed the opinion that they were all unemployed; otherwise, they wouldn’t be walking around at this time of day. I suggested that they might be doing shift work and therefore going to, or coming from, work.
He felt that there were lots of them, and it was really bad for our economy.
In reply to my comment about shift work, he said he assumed that because they looked miserable, it meant that they were unemployed and that they were roaming the streets instead of looking for work.
So every working person he knows is really happy in their role?
Yep, he didn’t seem to recognise that there are plenty of people who work and look miserable! I gave examples about why employed people may be unhappy, e.g. they hate their job, they don’t like the team they’re working with, they feel like they’re not getting paid enough etc etc etc
He wants to know where we’re going
The conversation didn’t go anywhere after that because he said he noticed a black man looking at us in the car. He felt that the guy wanted to know where we were going. He implied that he wanted to rob us or hurt us in some way. Someone else who was in the car tried to tell him that what he was saying was ludicrous but he wasn’t having it.
Claiming benefits
Without any prompt that I could recognise, he started talking about benefits and that the majority of the people who are claiming benefits are Pakistani and that they’re all liars.
He said there’s one person who comes into the shop where he works. He said that this guy claims benefits, and he goes to Cyprus every two weeks! He said he’s having a wonderful time, and yet he is receiving benefits.
We talked about how anyone would know what the makeup of benefit claimants is nationally. He felt that they were all from Pakistan, in the area where he worked; therefore, it must be the same nationally.
Yes, recent DWP statistics for Universal Credit (June 2025) show ~1.3 million claimants (16.4% of 7.9 million total) were non-UK/Irish nationals, with over 1 million born overseas; ~700,000 were pre-Brexit EU citizens, 1.5% refugees, and 0.7% via safe routes (e.g., Ukraine/Afghanistan). Detailed country-of-origin breakdowns are planned for future releases,
Data shows immigration status of benefit claimants for first time – BBC News
He didn’t say it outright, but I felt like he was saying that the majority of benefit claimants were Muslim and that their claims are fraudulent.
No, there are no publicly available official statistics directly breaking down UK benefit claimants (e.g., Universal Credit, housing benefits) by religion. The Department for Work and Pensions does not collect or publish religion data for claimants, and sources like the ONS Census 2021 provide indirect insights via economic inactivity or disability rates by religious affiliation, but not benefit claims.
Religion by housing, health, employment, and education, England and Wales – Office for National Statistics & ‘Facts’ in a graphic about UK Muslims are mostly wrong – Full Fact
I asked him if he knows how much benefit claimants receive and if he thinks they can make ends meet, knowing that this sum has to cover their bills, food, transport and so on.
We talked about the fact that some years ago, MPs were challenged to survive on benefit payments alone, and they couldn’t do it because the amount wasn’t enough! They ‘cheated’ by asking others to host them for meals, so they didn’t have the cost burden attached to some of the meals.
…the 2013 controversy involving Iain Duncan Smith (then Work and Pensions Secretary), who claimed he could “live on £53 a week” in benefits—the amount a market trader said he was left with after housing costs under welfare reforms.
This sparked widespread backlash, including a Change.org petition signed by over 450,000 people demanding he prove it by surviving on that sum for a year (he dismissed it as a “stunt” and cited his own past unemployment).
No formal week-long trial occurred, but it drew attention to prior MP experiments: in 2013, Labour’s Helen Goodman survived a week on £18 for food (post-bedroom tax deductions) and called it “impossible”; in 1984, Tory MP Matthew Parris lasted a week on £26.80 in supplementary benefit but described it as “bleak” and unsustainable, highlighting the gap between policy and reality
I could live on £53 in benefits a week, says Iain Duncan Smith | Iain Duncan Smith | The Guardian, It’s a stunt! Iain Duncan Smith dismisses demands to live on £53 a week | The Independent | The Independent & Iain Duncan Smith ridiculed over ‘£53 a week’ claim | News | | The Week UK
He didn’t believe that he was being informed by whatever he had heard or read.
…in the UK, Channel 4’s 2014 “Benefits Street” documentary series featured residents of James Turner Street in Birmingham (90% on benefits) sharing their lives, including how they managed on limited welfare payments with no other income—effectively a real-world “experiment” in survival on benefits alone. It highlighted struggles like food poverty and debt, though it was observational rather than a controlled study.
Grok.com
Education
After that, we went past a school, and he saw a few women wearing Hijabs, so he commented on the fact that schools are full of Muslims nowadays.
I asked why he thought that they were all Muslim, and he referred to their scarves, to which I responded that the majority of them didn’t have headscarves on. He said he could tell that the others were Muslim too. There was a mixture of men and women, of different ages, from different races, and yet he thought they were all Muslim.
He then referred to their curriculum and that schools are being forced to change their curriculum to cater for the community, which means the schools aren’t balanced.
He said when he went to school, it wasn’t like this. I told him that when I went to school, there were 2 ‘Indian’ looking girls, 1 Indian boy and a few Black people. The rest were all White. He said it was the same for him.
How is that balanced? He was implying that it was balanced before, and isn’t any more, but it wasn’t balanced then either!
He made it sound like the National Curriculum, reflecting the school’s population and making it more accessible to the pupils, was a bad thing. It was almost like he thinks the teachers are covering Islam to the extent that they’re preaching it and converting everyone!
In the UK, where a third of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, over 80% of teachers call for more diverse curricula; initiatives like Hackney’s “Diverse Curriculum – the Black Contribution” (adopted by 660+ schools since 2021) integrate topics on Windrush, activism, and multicultural arts/science for ages 5–14. Ofsted endorses these changes for better minority ethnic pupil outcomes, with ongoing national reviews (reporting autumn 2025) emphasizing equity.
Diversity in schools – How to diversify your curriculum | Attainment and Assessment | The Headteacher
Ryan Lloyd Haynes talks about going back to where you came from – this link will take you to a Reel on Instagram. If you don’t have an account with Instagram, you can view a recording of the Reel by clicking on this link.
My thoughts about the quote above
- A third isn’t the majority
- Ethnic minorities don’t equate to Muslim
- Teachers are calling for the changes so it’s not being forced upon the schools
I was a teacher for 18 years, and there were plenty of White children who couldn’t access the resources we used. They couldn’t relate to them, so we adapted them to make them more relevant. Should we not have done that?
He doesn’t seem to understand that the National Curriculum cannot be changed in the way he’s describing and that it’s actually faith schools and free schools that can teach in a way that’s focused on one specific religion. They can be of any faith i.e. the Church of England, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim etc.
In the UK, schools are adapting several subjects to reflect the diverse student population, particularly in response to the increasing proportion of minority ethnic pupils (over a third of students). Key subjects being revised include:
History: Curricula are incorporating topics like the transatlantic slave trade, Windrush migration, Black British history, and colonial legacies to better represent contributions from African, Caribbean, and Asian communities. For example, Hackney’s “Diverse Curriculum – the Black Contribution” (used in 660+ schools since 2021) includes these for ages 5–14.
English/Literature: Texts by authors from diverse backgrounds (e.g., Malorie Blackman, Benjamin Zephaniah) are added to reflect students’ cultures and address themes like identity and migration. This aligns with calls from 80% of teachers for more inclusive content.
PSHE (Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education): Lessons now cover anti-racism, cultural identity, and diversity to foster inclusion and empathy, responding to Ofsted’s push for equity in outcomes.
Science and Arts: Contributions from non-Western scientists and artists (e.g., Islamic Golden Age scholars, South Asian mathematicians) are increasingly included to diversify role models.
These changes aim to engage diverse students, reduce achievement gaps, and reflect the multicultural makeup of UK schools, though implementation varies by region and school.
Grok.com
Amish Tripathi speaks with Bikramjeet Dutta about Colonial rule and religion – this link will take you to a Reel on Instagram. If you don’t have an account with Instagram, you can view a recording of the Reel by clicking on this link.
He referred to children being excused from assembly, claiming that they’re all Muslim and that they don’t want to partake in the mainstream.
He didn’t accept the fact that even when we were at school, there were children who were removed from assembly because their parents didn’t want them to be part of them. In my experience, they weren’t Muslim!
Yes, UK statistics from surveys indicate low but slightly increasing numbers of children withdrawn from school assemblies (collective worship) or RE, often linked to religious or secular reasons.
In primary schools, 96% reported all pupils receiving RE in 2022, dropping to 87% in 2024, suggesting a rise in withdrawals or non-provision.
For 2023–24, 82% of primary schools reported no RE withdrawals.
In 2019, 31.7% of schools had at least one RE withdrawal.
A 2018 national survey (312 schools) found 94.1% had fewer than 4 students withdrawn from RE/collective worship (61.9% had zero), with only 0.3% exceeding 25 students.
Latest News – NATRE
By faith: The 2018 data shows 49% of withdrawals due to conservative religious views (primarily Jehovah’s Witnesses and Exclusive Brethren), 20.3% non-religious/secular beliefs, and 2.7% racism/Islamophobia (often partial withdrawals from Islam-specific content); no recent breakdowns available, but trends suggest persistence among minority conservative Christian groups.
Religious Education and the Right of Withdrawal
Sharia Law
He then started saying that this country would soon be run by Sharia Law because there are so many Muslims.
At this point, I suggested that we stop discussing these things as we aren’t going to agree and that I believe he’s racist.
No, it is extremely unlikely that the UK will accept or enforce Sharia Law as part of its legal system. The UK operates a secular common law framework where domestic law, including the Equality Act 2010 and human rights obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, always takes precedence. Sharia councils (around 30–85 in operation) provide voluntary, non-binding arbitration for personal matters like religious divorce, primarily for consenting Muslims, but their decisions have no legal force and must comply with UK law; they are not courts and cannot override civil judgments.
Islamic Law in the United Kingdom – Talk About: Law and Religion
I think he said he gets his news from GB News and he trusts it.
The government has explicitly stated no plans to regulate, restrict, or integrate such processes into the state system, viewing consensual use as an expression of religious tolerance—a core British value—while affirming Sharia “forms no part of the law of England and Wales.” Recent claims (e.g., by Donald Trump in September 2025) suggesting a push toward Sharia in London have been dismissed as “ridiculous nonsense” and false by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mayor Sadiq Khan, with no evidence of such momentum. Public fears of a “parallel system” persist in some discourse, but official policy and a 2018 independent review emphasize safeguards like mandatory civil marriage registration to protect rights, without endorsing enforcement.
Written questions and answers – Written questions, answers and statements – UK Parliament
Jimmy The Giant talks about the likelihood of Sharia Law being followed in the UK. This link will take you to the Reel on Instagram. If you don’t have an account with Instagram, you can view a recording of the Reel by clicking on this link.
Palestine
Somehow, we ended up talking about Palestine. He seems to feel that what’s happening to them is their fault.
I tried to reason with him and say that one can’t blame a whole group of people for something that a small minority of that same group has done, e.g. blaming all Muslims for the actions of Hamas or blaming all White people for enslaving Black people etc.
He thinks that all Palestinians are part of Hamas. When I challenged the likelihood of this, he said they could be.
Estimates from intelligence sources indicate Hamas has approximately 20,000–40,000 active fighters (primarily in Gaza) as of mid-2025, representing roughly 0.4–0.7% of the ~5.6 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Broader membership (including political and civilian wings) is not precisely quantified in public data but is believed to be somewhat higher, though still a small fraction of the population—far below levels of popular support (which polls show at 20–40% in recent surveys). These figures are approximate due to the secretive nature of the group and ongoing conflict dynamics.
Grok.com
Muslims are going to take over the world
I was talking to someone a few months ago, and he casually said ‘You may not agree with this, but Muslims are going to take over the world because they have the highest birth rate.’
I mean…what? How would you know this? Are all births reported with information like the faith of the parents? What if the parents have different faiths?
Are the figures shown below enough to convince you that Muslims will take over the globe?
Yes, Pew Research’s June 2025 report on global religious changes (2010–2020) confirms Muslims maintain the highest fertility rate (2.9 children per woman in 2015–2020), followed by Christians (2.6), Hindus (2.3), and Buddhists (1.6); the global average is 2.4, with rates declining across groups but remaining elevated for Muslims due to younger populations
The World’s Religious Groups: How Their Sizes Changed from 2010 to 2020 | Pew Research Center
What if they say they’re a certain faith, but they don’t practice it? Surely, their way of living is massively important. I know people who say they’re Jain, but they don’t practice Ahimsa, or they say they’re Hindu, but they eat Beef, or they say they’re Christian but they take the Lord’s name in vain etc.
No, the Pew Research data (2010–2020, including the 2025 report) does not distinguish between parents identifying as Muslim (self-reported affiliation) and actively practicing or living as Muslims. The statistics are based on religious affiliation reported in surveys and censuses, not on levels of religious observance or lifestyle.
Grok.com
Is silence better?
I believe that silence is as good as condoning behaviour, so I wouldn’t be comfortable with just being silent. However, I would love to respond to such things whilst being calm and collected on the outside and the inside.
Related reels from Instagram
I am grateful to Bikramjeet, Sonny, Ryan and Jimmy for giving me permission to share these recordings for those who don’t have an account with Instagram.
Sonny Green talks about what England means to him – this link will take you to a Reel on Instagram. If you don’t have an account with Instagram, you can view a recording of the Reel by clicking on this link.
