In the wake of the slaughter at Charlie Hebdo<\/em> in Paris the question of Muslim integration in the West has only become more vexed, but a report from the leftist think tank British Future (BF) is suggesting that it is \u201cunlikely\u201d to play a part in the general election in May<\/a>.<\/p>\n A survey carried out by the group showed that 58 percent of Britons believed that most Muslims in the UK opposed the extremism and violence of IS, while 12 thought the opposite (the remainder were neutral or did not know).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The poll was conducted in November, some months before the attack on the French satirical magazine, and the question was, even by the admission of BF, rather extreme in nature. Yet it has led the group to conclude that anti-Islamic sentiment<\/a> is unlikely to feature on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are certainly important public concerns about integration, but explicitly anti-Muslim campaigning could well be both contentious and unpopular.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This has not been the view of Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who told LBC Radio in the days after the Charlie<\/em> shooting that Britain had been infiltrated by a \u201cfifth column<\/a>\u201d because of a lack of migrant integration during the past few decades.<\/p>\n His comments are directly addressed in the report, with the authors stating that his anti-Islamic rhetoric might go down well with Ukip supporters but is less effective on others:<\/p>\n \u201cBeyond principled objections about the risks of doing so, it is also clear that this would be more likely to narrow the party\u2019s appeal than to extend it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The dispute highlight the problems fringe parties face in obtaining electoral success, rather than merely making headlines. As Ukip has risen there have been purges of the fruitier members of the party (most notably Godfrey Bloom of \u201cBongo Bongo Land\u201d fame), the intention being to broaden the party’s appeal.<\/p>\n But whether there is electoral wisdom in eschewing the core vote is\u00a0 a contentious thesis. By exorcising the sentiment that the party has built itself on Farage could risk alienating the core supporters of the party, as arguably has been the case with David Cameron’s rebranding of the \u201cnasty\u201d Tories.<\/p>\n