Racism and religious discrimination prevents recent migrants of all faiths and backgrounds from feeling like fully-fledged members of society, according to a new report published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. With a focus on residents in Birmingham, Bradford and the London borough of Newham, 'Immigration, faith and cohesion' explores the significance of social interaction, participation and belonging on the lives of Muslims and people of other faiths or of no faith, both recent arrivals and those established.

With a focus mainly on Muslim communities in Birmingham, Bradford and Newham, the report is based on interviews with 319 individuals and idenitifies a number of important trends:

• A vast majority of recent migrants - of all faiths and background - said they placed the highest value on democracy, fairness, justice and security in Britain.
• All Muslim interviewees' closest relationships were with family and others from similar backgrounds.
• Non-Muslim immigrants were more likely to mix with people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Racial and religious discrimination were key barriers to a sense of belonging in Britain. Race discrimination was reported by nearly 50 per cent of minority ethnic established and new residents, including Muslims. Thirty per cent of recent Muslim migrants had experienced religious discrimination.

For a free download of the full report - click here