MORE than half of Muslims in Britain think homosexuality should be illegal, while 47per cent believe teachers should not be gay, a survey has revealed.

A poll carried out by ICM also found that only 34per cent of British Muslims would tell the police if they thought someone they knew was getting involved with supporters of terrorism in Syria.

Commissioned for Channel 4 it will feature in a documentary called What British Muslims Really Think, presented by Trevor Phillips - former Equality and Human Rights Commission chairman. The programme is due to be broadcast tomorrow on Channel 4.

The survey was carried out to try and understand what British Muslims - not their representatives - think, and to discover why some young Muslims are being drawn to violence.

When asked to what extent they agreed that homosexuality should be legal in Britain, 52per cent said they disagreed, and 47per cent said it was unacceptable for a gay or lesbian person to teach in school.

Of the 1,000 people surveyed, 23per cent said they would support there being areas of Britain in which Sharia law was introduced instead of British law.

Four per cent of those polled said they sympathise with people who take part in suicide bombing to fight injustice.

More than one third - 39per cent - were also found to be of the view that "wives should always obey their husbands".

A large majority of British Muslims, 86per cent, said they felt a strong sense of belonging to Britain, with 94% saying they felt they were able to freely practise their religion.

Responding to the findings, Mr Phillips said they pose profound questions for society and the implications for future relations between Britain's Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

He added: "Hearing what British Muslims themselves think, rather than listening to those purporting to speak on their behalf, is critical if we are to prevent the establishment of a nation within our nation. Many of the results will be troubling to Muslims and non-Muslims alike - and the analysis of the age profile shows us that the social attitudes revealed are unlikely to change quickly.

"The integration of Britain's Muslims will probably be the hardest task we've ever faced. It will require the abandonment of the milk-and-water multiculturalism still so beloved of many, and the adoption of a far more muscular approach to integration."

Ratna Lachman is director of Just West Yorkshire, set up by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust in 2003 to promote racial justice in the region. Since its establishment it has become a leading voice in the North, promoting racial justice, civil liberties and human rights.

Ms Lachman said of the Channel 4 programme: "It is important to remember that while 2,000 Muslims were interviewed as part of the survey, there are three million Muslims living in the UK and more than 80per cent of those surveyed identified as British and said they were happy living here.

"Furthermore more than half of UK’s Muslim population are first generation immigrants and it is not surprising that they have socially conservative views and much more work needs to be done around building bridges of understanding.

"As a civil liberties and human rights organisation we believe that there should be absolute legal parity in terms of the protections and rights offered to the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans) community and Muslims alike and that means that both communities should have the right to religious and personal self-expression without prejudice or discrimination.

"JUST also considers that a teacher’s sexuality is a personal matter and s/he should be judged on the excellence of their teaching and the delivery of the national curriculum. Clearly a lot more work needs to be done among all socially conservative religious communities – both Muslims and non-Muslims alike – to create safe spaces to promote dialogue and greater understanding of LGBT discrimination faced by the gay community."

* ICM used face-to-face, in-home research to question a representative sample of 1,000 Muslims across Britain.