Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

One in five British Muslims depend on food banks due to cost of living crisis, study reveals

Around 40 per cent of British Muslims have had to choose between paying one bill at the expense of another in the past year.

One in five British Muslims depend on food banks due to cost of living crisis, study reveals

British Muslim households are struggling to pay bills due to the cost of living crisis and one in five Muslims have been depending on food banks since August last year, according to a study.

The survey of 1, 568 Muslims by Muslim Census has revealed that 50 per cent of Muslims live in poverty in Britain compared to 18 per cent of the wider population.


More than half of British Muslims, it continued, had some trouble paying at least one household expenditure, and a further 65 per cent had to take on debt of some kind to cover daily expenses. .

Urging the authorities to create better finance options for UK Muslims, the study added that 45 per cent of the respondents said they either missed or were late to pay their rent or mortgage at some point in the last year.

Usmaan Mufti, head of research at Muslim Census, said that wages are not maintaining their real value as inflation is rising. Price hike of gas and electricity are creating more troubles.

Mufti pointed out: “The Institute of Fiscal Studies noted that the annual rate of inflation for the poorest percent of households is a quite a bit higher. It’s three percent higher than it is for the richest 10 per cent of households.”

The study, supported by Algbra and the National Zakat Foundation, added that Muslims now rely on their credit cards, utilising an overdraft or a buy now, pay later scheme or having to take out a long-term or pay-day loan.

It added that people in low household incomes and in receipt of benefits, social or council housing disproportionately impacted by the crisis.

Compared to 8 per cent of Muslims with household earnings over $100,000, the crisis had a significant impact (48%) on British Muslims with household incomes between $20,000 and $40,000.

Reports said that Muslim population is disproportionately represented in poorest 10 per cent of households in the UK.

The survey also discovered differences by region and ethnicity, with black, African British Muslims and those residing in the North West being the most adversely affected by growing living expenses.

“The majority of the British Muslim population sits at the intersection of working class, urban and low-income communities. They have less liquidated assets, they have less of an ability to absorb those rising costs, and data suggests half of the Muslim population is in poverty compared to 18% or one out of five of the general population of the UK," Mufti reported to have said.

He believes that current financial institutions should look into possibilities that serve Muslim communities as well as other groups that reject interest-bearing financial goods.

A pilot programme for no interest loans supported by the Treasury was tested earlier this year. With the intention of helping up to 20, 000 people, the No-Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) was expanded to the rest of the UK in September.

More For You

Trump

Trump said the suspect had been arrested earlier for 'terrible crimes,' including child sex abuse, grand theft auto and false imprisonment, but was released under the Biden administration because Cuba refused to take him back.

Getty Images

Trump says accused in Dallas motel beheading will face first-degree murder charge

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has described Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah, the Indian-origin motel manager killed in Dallas, as a “well-respected person” and said the accused will face a first-degree murder charge.

Nagamallaiah, 50, was killed last week at the Downtown Suites motel by co-worker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, a 37-year-old undocumented Cuban immigrant with a criminal history.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer Mandelson

Starmer talks with Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty

Starmer under pressure from party MPs after Mandelson dismissal

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer is facing questions within the Labour party after the sacking of US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson was removed last week after Bloomberg published emails showing messages of support he sent following Jeffrey Epstein’s conviction for sex offences. The dismissal comes just ahead of US president Donald Trump’s state visit.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

Officials greet newly-elected Prime Minister of Nepal's interim government Sushila Karki (R) as she arrives at the prime minister's office in Kathmandu on September 14, 2025. (Photo by PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

NEPAL’s new interim prime minister Sushila Karki on Sunday (14) pledged to act on protesters’ calls to end corruption and restore trust in government, as the country struggles with the aftermath of its worst political unrest in decades.

“We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” Karki said in her first address to the nation since taking office on Friday (12). “What this group is demanding is the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality. We will not stay here more than six months in any situation. We will complete our responsibilities and hand over to the next parliament and ministers.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer arrive at Trump International Golf Links on July 28, 2025 in Balmedie, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

THE British government has announced over £1.25 billion ($1.69bn) in fresh investment from major US financial firms, including PayPal, Bank of America, Citigroup and S&P Global, ahead of a state visit by president Donald Trump.

The investment is expected to create 1,800 jobs across London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester, and deepen transatlantic financial ties, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

Protesters wave Union Jack and St George's England flags during the "Unite The Kingdom" rally on Westminster Bridge by the Houses of Parliament on September 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

MORE THAN 100,000 protesters marched through central London on Saturday (13), carrying flags of England and Britain and scuffling with police in one of the UK's biggest right-wing demonstrations of modern times.

London's Metropolitan Police said the "Unite the Kingdom" march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by nearly 150,000 people, who were kept apart from a "Stand Up to Racism" counter-protest attended by around 5,000.

Keep ReadingShow less