A new report on Muslims in Britain has called on the Government to outlaw religious discrimination.

The study by Warwick University's Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations said Muslims were one of the most deprived groups in Britain, and it made a host of recommendations to give greater equality.

But the report also revealed how some Muslims felt reluctant to engage in British life.

Some of the 87 people questioned for the survey mentioned the "Christian bias in religious education and the misrepresentation and denigration of Islam" in schools.

The cover of the 78-page report features a photograph of a young Muslim woman member of the British Army in combat fatigues.

But it said Muslims were often deterred from joining the armed forces because "both recently and historically this has meant fighting Islamic countries". It added, "Many Muslims do not want to put themselves in situations where they will sometimes end up fighting against other Muslims."

Britain's 1.8 million Muslims have faced an increase in anti-Islamic attitudes since the September 11 attacks, it went on, and Government policies were inadequate in areas from health and education to the legal system.

A crucial change would be passing legislation making religious discrimination illegal in the same way as racial and sexual discrimination, it said.

Half the respondents to the survey said the education system was "actively hostile" to Islam and that mainstream schools lacked facilities for Muslim prayer, halal food and an understanding of the needs of fasting pupils.

Muslims also faced problems of overcrowding in housing, added the report, which was funded by the European Commission.

"The lack of four-bedroom council houses was seen as threatening the Muslim way of life," the study said.

One interviewee said, "Modern houses are too small for Muslim families.

"They need larger flats and houses.

"Often on the local authority housing list they are discriminated against."

There was racism amongst the police against Muslims, and a "large minority" of interviewees felt the criminal justice system was discriminatory.

And although the number of Muslims in prison has increased from 731 in 1991 to 5,670 in 2002, the Prison Service still discriminated against them and jails lacked facilities for practising their religion.

Author Professor Muhammad Anwar said he feared war with Iraq would cause huge problems for the Muslim community in Britain.

"The danger is that any damage which is going to be done will take us decades to repair," he said.

Second and third generation Muslims in Britain were less likely to accept unequal treatment or discrimination than Muslims who arrived in the UK as migrants, he said.

Asked if a war could result in a repeat of the scenes in Oldham, Bradford and Burnley in summer 2001, he said, "If they react to unequal treatment then that is going to lead to some sort of dissatisfaction or alienation and that could lead to something else.

"I can't comment on a particular situation or a potential situation."