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The ] is an umbrella organisation for many local, regional and specialist Islamic organisations in the United Kingdom. | The ] is an umbrella organisation for many local, regional and specialist Islamic organisations in the United Kingdom. | ||
==Organization of British ex-Muslims== | |||
The ] was launched on Thursday the 21st of June, 2007 for the purpose of supporting individuals who have chosen to apostatize themselves from their former religion and provide society with information about the members which more accurately represents their views and numbers.<ref></ref> The launch was sponsored by the ] and the ]. The group hopes to emulate the results achieved by similar organizations in other European nations.<ref></ref> | |||
==Political organisations and pressure groups== | ==Political organisations and pressure groups== | ||
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*] - Cricketer | *] - Cricketer | ||
*] - Cricketer | *] - Cricketer | ||
==British non-Muslims relating to Islam== | |||
* ] | |||
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==Notable mosques== | ==Notable mosques== |
Revision as of 19:53, 23 June 2007
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Islam is the largest minority religion in the United Kingdom with a total of 1,591,000, (or 2.8% of the total population) Muslims.
History
Early History
Although Islam is generally thought of as being a recent arrival in the United Kingdom, there has been contact between Britons and Muslims for many centuries. An early example would be the decision of Offa, the eighth-century King of Mercia (one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms existing at that time), to have coins minted with an Islamic inscription on them - copies of coins issued by the near-contemporary Muslim ruler Al-Mansur. It is thought that they were minted to facilitate trade with the expanding Islamic empire in Spain.
Muslim scholarship was well-known among the learned in Britain by 1386, when Chaucer was writing. In the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, there is among the pilgrims wending their way to Canterbury, a 'Doctour of Phisyk' whose learning included Razi, Avicenna (Ibn Sina)(Arabic ابن سينا) and Averroes (Ibn Rushd)(Arabic ابن رشد). Ibn Sina's canon of medicine was a standard text for medical students well into the 17th century.
The first English convert to Islam mentioned by name is John Nelson, a 16th century sailor. 16th century writer Richard Hakluyt claimed he was forced to convert, though he mentions in the same story other Englishmen who had converted willingly.
- This king had a son which was a ruler in an island called Gerbi, whereunto arrived an English ship called the Green Dragon, of the which was master one M. Blonket, who, having a very unhappy boy on that ship, and understanding that whosoever would turn Turk should be well entertained of the king's son, this boy did run ashore and voluntarily turned Turk.. The king had there before in his house a son of a yeoman of our Queen's guard, whom the king's son had enforced to turn Turk; his name was John Nelson.
Captain John Ward of Kent,was one of a number of British sailors who became pirates based in the Maghreb who also converted to Islam. Later, some unitarians became interested in the faith, and Henry Stubbes wrote so favourably about Islam that it is thought he too had converted to the faith.
In 1625 it was reported that Lundy, an island in the Bristol Channel which had been a pirate lair for much of the previous half century, had been occupied by three Turkish pirates who were threatening to burn Ilfracombe; Algerine rovers were using the island as a base in 1635, although the island had itself been attacked and plundered by a Spanish raid in 1633.
There was apparently a Muslim community in England already in the 17th century. A Puritan pamphlet from 1641 warns of a sect of 'Mahometans' discovered in London and says that 'this sect is led along with a certaine foolish beliefe of Mahomet, which professed himselfe to be a Prophet'.
Immigration
The first large group of Muslims in Britain arrived about 300 years ago. They were sailors recruited in India to work for the East India Company, and so it's not surprising that the first Muslim communities were found in port towns. Ships' cooks came too, many of them from Sylhet in what is now Bangladesh. There are records of Sylhetis working in London restaurants as early as 1873.
The first Muslim community which permanently settled in the United Kingdom consisted of Yemeni sailors who arrived in ports such as Swansea, Liverpool and South Shields shortly after 1900. Later some of them migrated to inland cities like Birmingham and Sheffield where there are 23,819 Muslims.
Mosques also appeared in British seaports at this time; The first mosque in Britain is recorded as having been at 2 Glyn Rhondda Street, Cardiff, in 1860. From the 1950s, with large immigration to Britain from the former colonies of Britain, large Muslim populations developed in several British towns, and cities.
Demography and ethnic background
According to the 2001 census 1,536,015 Muslims are living in England and Wales, where they form 3% of the population, in Scotland they represent 0.84% of the population (42,557). The Northern Ireland census indicated 1,943 Muslims.
Number of Muslims | Muslims as % of ethnic group | Ethnic group as % of Muslims | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 179,733 | 0.4 | 11.6 |
White British | 63,042 | 0.1 | 4.1 |
White Irish | 890 | 0.1 | <0.1 |
Other White | 115,841 | 8.6 | 7.5 |
Mixed | 64,262 | 9.7 | 4.2 |
White & Black Caribbean | 1,385 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
White & Black African | 10,523 | 13.3 | 0.7 |
White & Asian | 30,397 | 16.1 | 2.0 |
Other Mixed | 21,957 | 14.1 | 1.4 |
Asian or Asian British | 1,139,065 | 50.1 | 73.7 |
Indian | 131,662 | 12.7 | 8.5 |
Pakistani | 657,680 | 92.0 | 42.5 |
Bangladeshi | 259,710 | 92.5 | 16.8 |
Other Asian | 90,013 | 37.3 | 5.8 |
Black or Black British | 106,345 | 9.3 | 6.9 |
Black Caribbean | 4,477 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
Black African | 96,136 | 20.0 | 6.2 |
Other Black | 5,732 | 6.0 | 0.4 |
Chinese | 752 | 0.3 | <0.1 |
Other Ethnic Group | 56,429 | 25.7 | 3.7 |
Total | 1,546,626 | 3.0 | 100 |
Local authorities with a large Muslim population percentage are:
- London Borough of Tower Hamlets 36.4% 71,389
- London Borough of Newham 24.3% 59,293
- Blackburn with Darwen 19.4% 26,674
- Bradford 16.1% 75,188
- London Borough of Waltham Forest 15.1% 32,902
- Luton 14.6% 26,963
- Birmingham 14.3% 139,771
- London Borough of Hackney 13.8% 27,908
- Pendle 13.4% 11,988
- Slough 13.4% 15,897
- London Borough of Brent 12.3% 32,290
- Oldham 11.1% 24,039
- Leicester 11.0% 30,885
- Kirklees 10.12% 39,312
- Glasgow ~3.17% 20,000 +
The Yorkshire towns of Batley and Dewsbury each have large Muslim populations. However, they are part of the district of Kirklees, which is only 10.12% Muslim. The Savile Town area of Dewsbury is often seen as the Muslim centre of the country, being "some 97-100% Muslim" and having the largest Islamic seminary in the country with the Markazi mosque, one of the largest purpose-built mosque in Europe. It is also one of the most orthodox centers of Muslim learning in the West. Most large cities have one area that is a majority Muslim even if the rest of the city has a fairly small Muslims population; see, for example, Harehills in Leeds.
The local authorities with the highest percentages and absolute numbers of Muslims in Wales and Scotland are Cardiff (3.7%, 11261) and Glasgow (3.1%, 20,000) respectively. In rural parts of Scotland, Wales, South West, North East and North West England the Muslim percentage of the population is far below 1%.
Pakistani Kashmiris from the Mirpur district (part of Pakistan Administered Kashmir, Northern Pakistan) were the first South Asian Muslim community which settled in Britain permanently. The first of them arrived in Birmingham and Bradford in the late 1930s. Immigration from around the district of Mirpur grew from the late 1950s onwards. It was accompanied by immigration from other parts of Pakistan, mainly the north of the Punjab and the area around Attock in the North-West Frontier Province province of Pakistan.
People of Pakistani ethnic background are particularly strong in the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Lancashire/ Greater Manchester and industrial towns in South East England like Luton, Slough and Oxford. There are also many Muslims from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh and from the Gujerat region of India living in Britain. The Sylhetis, (who speak a dialect of Bengali) are concentrated in Tower Hamlets, London. However, they also possess significant communities in Luton, Birmingham, Manchester, Oldham, Hyde, Bradford, Keighley and Sunderland. There are large numbers of Gujerati Muslims in Dewsbury, Blackburn, Bolton and Preston.
Apart from these peoples, a considerable portion of South Asian Muslims trace their origins back to South Asian communities in East Africa that either simply moved or were forced out due to anti-Indian activities of African revolutionaries in countries such as Uganda and Zanzibar.
There are also communities of Somali, Nigerian and other Subsaharan African peoples, especially in London as well as Bosnian and Albanian Muslims from Kosovo in Britain. Since the Iraq War, there has been an increase in the number of Kurds in Britain. Again, they may be concentrated in certain areas, such as the Ravensthorpe area of Dewsbury.
There are also a growing number of converts, usually from a White British or Caribbean background. Most British/Turkish Muslims live in north London and there are also many Yemeni Muslims in Sheffield. Algerians live in Haringey. Such clusters can be found throughout the Isles. Marriage between the Muslim nationalities is rare.
Religious currents and organisations
The vast majority of British Muslim population, 96%, follow Sunni Islam.
A large number of British Muslims are of South Asian descent, following many different movements within Islam. Many British Asian Muslims follow the Barelwi sect. The most influential movement of the Barelwi group is the World Islamic Mission . Many also follow the Deobandi movement as well. The Tablighi Jamaat is an important subgroup of the Deobandis; its center is located in Dewsbury. The Ahl-i Hadith is another trend, which in general is opposed to Sufism. Islamic Mission is the counterpart of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami which follows the ideology of Abu l-Ala Mawdudi.
South Asian Shias are predominantly from Pakistan or Gujarat (the Khoja, who are usually found under the umbrella organisation "The World Federation"). There are also Shias from Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq. The al-Khoei foundation, belonging to one of the most important Iraqi Shia families, is located in London. Among the Gujarati Ismaili Muslims, both branches of Ismailism - the Dawoodi Bohras and the Nizaris - are represented. The Ahmadiyya, who are considered heretical by mainstream Muslims, have relocated their centre to Tilford near Farnham in Surrey from Pakistan due to the UK's partnership with the Ahmadiyya cult during colonial times.
Much of the congregation of London's most famous mosque (London Central or Regent's Park Mosque) are of Arab descent. In Birmingham much of the Arab community is centered around the Muath Trust more commonly known as the 'Amaanah'. The Hizb ut-Tahrir is a political party (in exile) originally from the Palestinian territories.
Most Turkish Muslims are Sunnis. The religious authority of Turkey runs a mosque in London. The Alevi minority owns several cemevis.
The United Kingdom also has a large diaspora of African and Afro-Caribbean Muslims, hailing both from the Muslim communities in British colonies in Africa and the Caribbean and also from British-born converts.
The Salafi movement has gained some prominence within the British Muslim community in recent decades as well.
The Muslim Council of Britain is an umbrella organisation for many local, regional and specialist Islamic organisations in the United Kingdom.
Organization of British ex-Muslims
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain was launched on Thursday the 21st of June, 2007 for the purpose of supporting individuals who have chosen to apostatize themselves from their former religion and provide society with information about the members which more accurately represents their views and numbers. The launch was sponsored by the British Humanist Association and the National Secular Society. The group hopes to emulate the results achieved by similar organizations in other European nations.
Political organisations and pressure groups
- British Muslim Forum
- Muslim Council of Britain
- Sufi Muslim Council
- Islamic Human Rights Commission
- Conservative Muslim Forum
- Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board
- Muslim Association of Britain
- Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK
- JUSTPEACE
- Islamic Society of Britain
- Islamic Forum Europe
- The World Federation
- Muslim Parliament
British Muslim Personalities
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Academic
- Akbar Ahmed - Oxford academic and commentator on Islamic world history
- Abdul Ahad - distinguished Muslim astronomer and space science researcher
- Haroon Ahmed - is Master of Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.
- Tariq Modood - Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy, University of Bristol.
- Mohammed Zaki Badawi (late) - Former Chairman of the Council of Mosques and Imams and Former Principal of Muslim College
- Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood - Author and commentator on women in Islam
- Akbar Simon Mahmood al-Hardmanwi - Children's author
- Dr. H.A. Hellyer - Warwick University academic and author on Muslims in Europe, Islam in the modern age, and political philosophy - see www.hahellyer.com
- Dr Timothy Winter, also known as Abdal-Hakim Murad - Academic professor
- Dr Farhan Nizami - founding Director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
- Dr Tariq Mahmood - Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist, Honorary Senior Lecturer with University of London, Council Member Higher Education Academy of UK
- Muhammad Isa Waley - Curator of Turkish, Persian and Arabic texts at the British Library.
Activism
- Muhammad Abdul Bari- Secretary General of Muslim Council of Britain
- Unaiza Malik - Treasurer of Muslim Council of Britain.
- Dr Mohammad Naseem - Chairman of Birmingham Mosque Trust
- Sir Iqbal Sacranie - Former General Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain
Arts
- Peter Sanders also known as Abdal Adheen Sanders, professional photographer (see his website)
- Shaheen Khan, Actor.
- Shazia Mirza, comedian
- Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam - Musician, artist, writer and Islamic education reformist
- Danny Thompson - Musician
- Richard Thompson - Musician
- Ian Whiteman, also known as Abdullateef - Graphic Designer and Musician
Media
- Fareena Alam - Editor of Q News
- Yahya Birt - Journalist and son of former BBC Director General John Birt
- Saira Khan - TV Presenter
- Ehsan Masood - Journalist.
- Mishal Husain - Journalist and presenter with the BBC
- Sarah Joseph - Commentator on women's issues and editor of emel magazine
- Yvonne Ridley - Journalist, activist and television presenter
- Ziauddin Sardar - Author, presenter and journalist
- Shahban Aziz - Student at Manchester University and featured in a prominent BBC article about British Muslims Young UK Muslims: Shahban Aziz
- Saira Shah - Journalist and news presenter
- Adam Yosef - Journalist and activist
- Dr Tariq Mahmood - Program on world broadcast 'The Asian Factor' Presenter ARYone world TV Sky Channel 819
Politics
- Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed - Labour peer
- Waheed Alli, Baron Alli - Politician, Labour peer and media mogul
- Mohammad Asghar - Plaid Cymru
- Syed Kamall - Conservative MEP
- Sajjad Karim - Liberal Democrat MEP
- Sadiq Khan - Labour MP for Tooting
- Khalid Mahmood - Labour MP for Perry Barr, Birmingham
- Shahid Malik - Labour MP for Dewsbury
- Adam Patel, Baron Patel of Blackburn - Labour peer and former Home Office advisor
- David Musa Pidcock
- Mohammed Sarwar - Labour MP
- Mohamed Iltaf Sheikh - Chair of the Conservative Muslim Forum.
- Manzila Uddin, Baroness Uddin - Peer
- Sayeeda Warsi - Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party
- Salma Yaqoob - Vice-chair of the Respect Coalition and chair of Birmingham Stop the War Coalition
- Hamid Murshid - Freelance Journalist
- Dr Tariq Mahmood - Contested national parliamentary elections 2005 from Uxbridge on Liberal Democrat Party seat. Switched to Conservative Party in 2006.
Sport
- Chris Eubank - Boxer
- Naseem Hamed - Boxer
- Amir Khan - Boxer
- Haroon Khan - Boxer
- Zesh Rehman - Footballer
- Danny Williams - Boxer
- Franck Ribery - Footballer
- Nicolas Anelka - Footballer
- Kolo Touré - Footballer
- Robin van Persie - Footballer, said to be a convert
- Abou Diaby - Footballer
- Mohamed Sissoko - Footballer
- Ali Jacko - Kick Boxer
- Kabir Ali - Cricketer
- Usman Afzaal - Cricketer
- Sajid Mahmood - Cricketer
- Majid Haq - Cricketer
- Omer Hussain - Cricketer
British non-Muslims relating to Islam
Notable mosques
- Al-Rahma mosque
- Birmingham Central Mosque
- East London Mosque
- Finsbury Park Mosque
- Glasgow Central Mosque
- London Central Mosque
References
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Islam in the United Kingdom" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
- Gold imitation dinar of Offa, British Museum
- BBC
- Voyager's Tales, 3, The voyage made to Tripolis in Barbary, in the year 1584, Richard Haklyut
- History of Lundy
- How Islam influenced British culture and civilisation 400 years ago, Muslim Media
- Islam and Britain, BBC
- KS07 Religion: Key Statistics for urban areas, results by population size of urban area
- ANALYSIS OF RELIGION IN THE 2001 CENSUS: Summary Report, Scottish Executive
- Northern Ireland Census 2001 Key Statistics
- Ethnic Group by Religion
- http://www.kirklees-pct.nhs.uk/fileadmin/documents/meetings/march_07/KPCT-07-42%20Report%20estate%20strategy.doc paragraph 4.3
- Islam In Dewsbury
- World Islamic Mission
- The Guardian - The courage of their convictions
- Muslim World Cup Players Promote Image, Islam Online
Literature
- Joly, Danièle: Britannia's crescent: making a place for Muslims in British society, Aldershot: Avebury, 1995 ISBN 1-85628-680-0
- Philip Lewis: Islamic Britain: religion, politics and identity among British Muslims ; Bradford in the 1990s, London: Tauris, 1994 ISBN 1-85043-861-7
- Matar, Nabil Turks, Moors, and Englishmen in the Age of Discovery,Columbia University Press 2000 ISBN 0-231-11015-4
- S.E.Al-Djazari The Hidden Debt to Islamic CivilisationBayt Al-Hikma Press September 2005 ISBN 0-9551156-1-2
See also
- Eurabia
- Islam by country
- Londonistan (term)
- Muslims in Western Europe
- Religion in the United Kingdom
- The Muslim Weekly
- British Muslims
- Islam in Scotland
- Islam in London
External links
- Ummah Pulse- News, Analysis and engagement on Isssues affecting British Muslims
- Muslim Demographics in the UK
- masud.co.uk website covering traditional Islam, comments on 9/11 and British Muslim Heritage
- Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain
- Muslim Songs of the British Isles
- DeenPort Portal for Muslims
- Muslims in the UK
- World Islamic Mission London
- The diary of a British Muslim activist
- Ranking of Local Authorities in England and Wales according to percentage of Muslim population in the 2001 census
- Census 2001: Key Statistics of Scotland (PDF, religion KS027)
- Muslim Council of Britain
- A history of Muslim workers in Britain, published in International Socialism journal
- Islam in the United Kingdom
- Shia Muslim Organisation in Bury, Greater Manchester
- BBC: Islam and Britain Before the 20th Century
- Some articles on British Muslim history
- Article about British seafarers who became Muslim
- Why Muslims reject British values by A. Sivanandan, published in The Observer, October 16, 2005
- The Veil and the British Male Elite
- The Muslim Weekly
- Radical Islam and British Universities, Assyrian International News Agency, 17 January 2007
- Weaver v NATFHEIn the Weaver v NATFHE race discrimination case, an Industrial Tribunal upheld a union’s decision not to assist a member of an ethnic minority, a Muslim woman, who brought a case of racial harassment against a fellow worker because he could lose his job. The Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the decision. Also known as the Bournville College Racial Harassment Issue
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