Leeds Makkah MasjidServing the Leeds Muslim Communities

British Muslims: challenges & opportunities

Administrator on June 12th, 2010

When the tragic events of 7 July 2005 occurred in London, the Muslim community shared the national sense of sadness and revulsion. But these emotions were soon to be clouded by an uncomfortable awareness that certain parts of society was associating the whole of the Muslim community with the mindless acts of a few individuals, and Muslims were being tarnished as “terrorists”, “extremists”, “fundamentalists” and “the other”.

In particular, for the British Muslim community of Leeds, the city from which a number of the instigators of the atrocities were from, the whole situation was extremely intense. The media attention that followed the attacks was a truly surreal affair; the narrow terraced streets of the suburbs of Hyde Park and Beeston were suddenly besieged by an international array of press and TV journalists presenting a community unrecognisable to the local residents, apart from the familiar sights of the local butcher’s shop, curry house and chip shop. Makkah Masjid itself – built some 2 years previously through the generosity and sincerity of the local Muslim community – became the preferred backdrop against which much of the media reporting took place.

The days that followed 7/7 were difficult. There was fear of reprisal from the far right and of heavy handed policing. Anger too at the way the events were being reported with the whole community being made to feel that it was on trial. And added to this, contradictory claims around how this was or was not connected to what continues to happen in Muslim lands such as Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan. No wonder then that the resulting confusion was made worse by attempts to reconcile the seeming ordinariness of the alleged bombers with the carnage that they had caused.

Given this situation Makkah Masjid felt that it was incumbent on it to take a number of positive actions to try to identify some of the factors that contributed to the atrocities, with the aim of working towards tackling these. The actions Makkah Masjid took included:

i)  increasing its engagement with the youth to identify factors which may have contributed to the catastrophic events, listening to the voices of disengaged youth to identify what they see as the key issues that are challenging their community and what mosques and Islamic institutes can do to overcome those challenges or what guidelines masajid can provide in respect of those challenges.

ii) Makkah Masjid also enhanced its mission of bringing to the locality an authentic Islamic voice which was both compassionate and scholarly – a voice that would convey a message rooted in sacred knowledge, branching out into a community in crisis.

iii) the Mosque has assumed a significant role in promoting understanding and tolerance between different cultural and faith groups.

In respect of engaging the youth, Leeds Muslim Council, the management committee of Makkah and Madina Masjids, held a number of workshops in Makkah Mosque, Madina Masjid and in Woodsley Community Centre. The workshops:

1)  Discussed the concept of the Muslim and British identity and the challenges that were likely to arise as a result of the catastrophic events of 7/7;

2) Inspired the youth to be proud of their multiple identities and work towards a higher aim of benefitting everyone with the best elements of those identities;

3) Addressed the barriers to our youth being successful in this life and the next;

4) implemented a local youth project in Leeds to start addressing some of the responsibilities British Muslim youth have towards each other and the wider community.

As part of the findings of the workshops it was decided that annual youth conferences would be held in order to discuss religious, social, political and economic challenges and opportunities that Muslims faces living in Britain. These workshops would also analyse how young British Muslims can contribute positively to all aspects of British life.

It was also agreed that in order to assess the progress, 5 years on from 7/7 a number of extended workshops would be held in the summer of 2010 to analyse whether:

-  the challenges faced by Muslims in Britain have been overcome;
- the engagement of Muslim youth has in fact increased;
- the disenfranchised British Muslim youth feel more engaged;
- the integration process has been streamlined;
- the distinction between “fundamental” and “modern” Muslim has disappeared or 
- the opportunities offered by Britain have been taken up by British Muslims;
-  the contribution of British Muslims to the social, political and economic fields has increased or decreased; and
- the vilification of British Muslims in the media has got better or worse.

It is now 5 years on from 2005 and Leeds Muslim Council and Young Minds has started the workshops. Young Muslims are portrayed in the media in the context of radicalisation, but their lives are far more complex than this. Much is written about young Muslims but their voices are rarely heard. These workshops aim to explore the issues of multiculturalism, Islamism and the experiences of Muslims in Britain in the light of the events of 9/11 and 7/7 and the policies and practices developed as a result of those tragic events.

These workshops are organised in partnership with the Mosques and National Advisory Board (MINAB): http://minab.org.uk/.

The first of these workshops took place on Sunday 16 May 2010. The theme of the workshop was “The Participation of Youngsters in the Mosque”.

The second of these workshops aims to identify the key challenges facing British Muslim youth today and explore practical ways in which these challenges can be managed or overcome.
This workshops will give youngsters an opportunity to air their views on issues including Mosques, madrashas, radicalization, Islamophobia, extremism, policing, body-scans, PREVENT agenda, citizenship, media, body-scans, hate crime, discrimination, challenging the violent extremist ideology
and supporting mainstream voices.

The third of these workshops will explore the opportunities presented by Britain and how Muslims are benefitting from those opportunities or can benefit from those opportunities. 

The next workshop will take place on Sunday 13 June 2010 at 2:30pm.

The third workshop will take place on Sunday 11 July 2010.

Makkah Mosque, Young Minds are committed to young people find their voices within mosques, their own community and throughout society so that their aspirations can be met and their contribution can be recognized. These workshops are aimed at achieving those aspirations.  

For further details, please contact: mail@makkahmasjid.co.uk or info@minab.org.uk

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