Mick Hartley

in over 70% of all marriages that take place, where the spouse is an English citizen and the other spouse is a foreign national from the Asian sub-continent, there is an element of force or coercion before the marriage takes place.

These figures reflect the crisis that has loomed within the Muslim community without being noticed or dealt with for the past two decades. The figures that are reported to the authorities are only the tip of the iceberg…

Young Muslims in Britain are under siege from their elders and parents because of the generational and cultural gap. They are alienated from the Mosques because these Mosques are mainly controlled by the elder generation. There is no comprehensive fusion for them in society as a whole because there remain signs of mistrust, prejudice and discrimination. Coerced and forced marriages are a reality for many young Muslims directly or indirectly, through someone they know. As stated at above the incidence of the vast majority of these marriages occurs when the British citizen is coerced into marrying someone from the original homeland of their parents or family.

Ruth Gledhill in the Times has more details.