MUSLIMS have integrated more successfully north of the Border because of a shared sense of victimhood against an “imperialist and hegemonic England”, an academic has claimed.

The Muslim community in Scotland has enjoyed a better relationship with neighbours than in England as they are fewer in number, are more evenly spread among communities and often establish businesses and so are “not competing for public services” in the second half of the 20th century, according to the research.

Dr Stefano Bonino also said in an article published in the London School of Economics Religion and Public Sphere that a shared sense of grievance against England “has fostered a marriage of political convenience between Scotland and Islam”.

However, Scotland’s depiction as a more tolerant and inclusive country is tainted by its role in the British Empire.

The academic also raises concerns about racism directed against Pakistanis and the treatment of Muslims at Scottish airports.

Dr Bonino has argued that Scotland’s own sectarian tensions have partly cushioned its 77,000 Muslims from more serious prejudice.

The academic’s findings are included in a book about the Muslim community in Scotland post 9/11 in which he also said fewer worries about terrorism and the sociability of Scots have made Muslims’ integration easier than in England.

He said that while anti-Muslim sentiments exist and some Muslims still face difficulties “in reconciling cultural and religious practices with the surrounding social environment”, Scotland can and should become “a model of a relatively successful case study on the accommodation of Islam and Muslim diversity within a Western country”.

Mr Bonino said: “Several indicators evidence the relatively smooth integration of Muslims in Scotland.

“The community’s small numbers and the lack of ethno-religious clustering, save for Pollokshields and Govanhill in Glasgow, have facilitated contact between Muslims and non-Muslims.

“Pakistanis, many of whom originally migrated from the well-off area of Faisalabad in Punjab, have also preferred self-employment, therefore not competing for public services in the 1950s and 1960s.

“The sectarian tensions that have historically gnawed at the relationship between Catholics and Protestants, and pre-dated the settlement of the majority of the South Asian community, have partly cushioned other religious minorities including Muslims from more serious prejudice.”

He continued: “At the same time, a historical ‘oppressed Scottish identity’ has united two communities, the Scots and the Muslims, that have often felt the victims of an ‘imperialist’ and ‘hegemonic’ England and has fostered a marriage of political convenience between Scotland and Islam.”

“Here, the civic and more inclusive nature of Scottishness, as compared to the ethnic and more exclusive nature of Englishness, has facilitated the development of dual Scottish Muslim identities.”

He claims the Scottish opposition to the Trident nuclear programme, the more welcoming attitudes towards minorities, refugees and asylum seekers and continuing criticism of the UK Government are “political positions that are close to Muslims’ expectations and that can explain Muslims’ gradual shift in support from Labour to the SNP”.