Iranians in the United Kingdom

Iranians in the United Kingdom, also referred to as British Iranians, consist of people of Iranian nationality who have settled in the United Kingdom, as well as British residents and citizens of Iranian heritage.^[2] According to the 2001 Census, 42,494 Iranian-born people reside in the UK.^[3] This figure is thought to have risen to 58,000 by 2009, according to National Statistics estimates.

History

The vast majority of Iranians in the UK arrived after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. In the following five years, an estimated 8,000 Iranian asylum seekers arrived in the country. The 1981 census showed 28,617 persons born in Iran (18,132 men, 10,485 women). Iranians were not separately distinguished in the 1991 census.^[4] The 2001 census recorded 42,494 persons born in Iran.^[3] The Office for National Statistics estimates that, in 2009, 58,000 Iranian-born people were living in the UK.^[5] In 2004, the Iranian embassy in London estimated that as many as 75,000 Iranians might reside in the country.^[4] Most adults are themselves immigrants; the second generation are quite young. Though there is still a substantial amount of young adults of Iranian background born and raised in the UK.^[6]

Religion

Iran is a primarily Shia country, a fact reflected in the migrant population in the UK.^[7] However, similar to the Iranians within Iran^[8], a great deal of British-Iranians are secular. There are also Iranian Sufi orders in London.^[9] Some Iranians in the UK have converted from Islam to some form of Christianity, and there are a number of Iranian Christian fellowships across the UK.^[10][11] There is also an active Jewish community among the Iranians in London.^[12]

Culture

In the UK, there are numerous Iranian/ Persian restaurants, especially in areas where there are large Iranian/ Middle Eastern communities.

See also

• List of British Iranians
• Iran – United Kingdom relations

References

Notes

Sources

• Harbottle, Lynn (2004), Food For Health, Food For Wealth: Ethnic and Gender Identities in British Iranian Communities, The Anthropology of Food and Nutrition, Oxford: Berghahn Books, ISBN 978-1571816344 
• Spellman, Kathryn (2004), Religion and Nation: Iranian Local and Transnational Networks in Britain, Forced Migration, Oxford: Berghahn Books, ISBN 978-1-57181-576-7 

Further reading

• Spellman, Kathryn (2004), "Gendered spaces of exchange: Iranian Muslim religious practices in London", in Titley, Gavan, Resituating culture, Council of Europe. Directorate of Youth and Sport, pp. 151–161, ISBN 9789287153968 

External links

• The Flight from Tehran: British-Iranians 30 Years On, a series of radio programmes from the BBC