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Shabana Syed | Arab News
As the debate continues within the British government on how to win the hearts and minds of Muslims and why, according to them, Muslims have problems integrating, the facts on the ground point to a very different reality.
According to recent estimates Muslim contribution to the British economy is over £31 billion and there are over 10,000 Muslim millionaires in the country.
As the British media continue to misunderstand and misrepresent Islam, an interesting paradox appears to have emerged: Islam is the fastest growing faith in the United Kingdom and Muslims may now number as many as 2 million.
The last published official estimate of the size of the Muslim community in Britain was 1.6 million, based on the findings of the 2001 census. Recent Whitehall estimates confirm the position of Islam as the second largest faith group after Christianity. The increase in the size of the community demonstrates its position as the fastest growing faith in Britain, also reflecting the age structure with more than one-third under the age of 16 at the time of the 2001 census.
There has been a Muslim presence in Britain for at least 300 years. The East India Company recruited seamen from Assam, Gujarat, Bengal and Yemen, a number of these created settlements in port towns and cities around the country. It was only a matter of time that a house proved too small a place to accommodate the ever-increasing number of Muslims. One of the earliest mosques was established in Woking, Surrey in 1889 and was funded by Sultan Shahjahan Begum, the ruler of Bhopal, India. It soon became a center for the Muslims in the UK and a number of prominent notables contributed to the popularity of the mosque: Among them was the Cambridge educated Peer Lord Al-Farooq Headley; the author of the meaning of the glorious Quran Marmaduke Pickhall and Lady Evelyn Zaineb Cobbold, one of the first women to go to Makkah for a pilgrimage in 1934.
Britains Muslim population after 1950s, 60s, and 70s was mainly comprised of immigrants from the Subcontinent. During the first quarter of the 20th century it was estimated that there were around 10,000 Muslims in Britain; now there are about two million (about 4 percent of the population), and over half of them were born in Britain.
The age profile of Muslims in Britain is different from that of the majority population. A higher proportion is under 25 and a lower proportion is under sixty. Because of these demographic facts, the community is set to increase in size over the next twenty years. In fact, the Muslim population in the European Union is set to double by 2015 from 15 million people in 2003.
Muslim presence in Britain over many decades demonstrates that there is no contradiction between being a Muslim and living in the West.
Their contribution to many aspects of British society has ranged from being involved in the manufacturing and textile industry to driving buses and trains, from being domestic workers, to nurses and doctors in the NHS and of course running the local corner shops, the cornerstone of every high street and the only shops prepared to be open seven days a week through very late hours.
The former British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on her last trip to Pakistan also highlighted the valuable contributions of the two million British Muslims to every aspect of life.
Muslims play a full and active part in British society, in politics from Parliament to local government, in the armed forces, policing, the professions the arts and the sports and of course business, she said.
She also pointed out that there are two Muslim ministers in the government, 220 local councilors and a growing number of lawmakers.
An ICM/Guardian poll last year revealed that 91 percent of British Muslims are loyal to Britain and 80 percent wanted to live and accept western society. After the 7/7 London subway attack, British Muslims came under increasing pressure, however their resilience has not faded and they continued to focus on the positive.
In 2007 the Islamic Bank of Britain in association with Carter Anderson a PR Company decided to fight this negativity by highlighting the success of the community. They organized The Muslim Power 100 a remarkable event held at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, involving a galaxy of Muslim dignitaries who were recognized for their valuable contribution to social, cultural, educational and economic well being of Britain.
The list included a variety of people from all walks of life ranging from lords to lawyers, from authors to sporting icons, pre-eminent academics to giants of industry.
On the list were cricketer turned politician Imran Khan, Labour peer Lord Patel of Blackburn, Lord Nazir Ahmed and actor Art Malik, Lawyer Imran Khan, boxer Amir Khan singer Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, and Harrods boss Mohamed Al-Fayed.
Excellence awards were also given to nine guests, including Dr. Hany El Banna, founder of Islamic Relief, and Haifa Fahoum Al-Kaylani, chair of the Arab International Womens Forum.
A spokesman for the Islamic Bank of Britain, Sultan Choudhury, said the event was the culmination of nine months preparation and voting. We wanted to highlight the positive contributions made by British Muslims to society-contributions that are in complete contrast with media connotations that somehow Muslims are linked to terrorism, are not as educated, or are segregating themselves, said the spokesman. The opposite is true-we are integrating and contributing across a wide range of fields.
British Muslims thriving against all odds
As the debate continues within the British government on how to win the hearts and minds of Muslims and why, according to them, Muslims have problems integrating, the facts on the ground point to a very different reality.
According to recent estimates Muslim contribution to the British economy is over £31 billion and there are over 10,000 Muslim millionaires in the country.
As the British media continue to misunderstand and misrepresent Islam, an interesting paradox appears to have emerged: Islam is the fastest growing faith in the United Kingdom and Muslims may now number as many as 2 million.
The last published official estimate of the size of the Muslim community in Britain was 1.6 million, based on the findings of the 2001 census. Recent Whitehall estimates confirm the position of Islam as the second largest faith group after Christianity. The increase in the size of the community demonstrates its position as the fastest growing faith in Britain, also reflecting the age structure with more than one-third under the age of 16 at the time of the 2001 census.
There has been a Muslim presence in Britain for at least 300 years. The East India Company recruited seamen from Assam, Gujarat, Bengal and Yemen, a number of these created settlements in port towns and cities around the country. It was only a matter of time that a house proved too small a place to accommodate the ever-increasing number of Muslims. One of the earliest mosques was established in Woking, Surrey in 1889 and was funded by Sultan Shahjahan Begum, the ruler of Bhopal, India. It soon became a center for the Muslims in the UK and a number of prominent notables contributed to the popularity of the mosque: Among them was the Cambridge educated Peer Lord Al-Farooq Headley; the author of the meaning of the glorious Quran Marmaduke Pickhall and Lady Evelyn Zaineb Cobbold, one of the first women to go to Makkah for a pilgrimage in 1934.
Britains Muslim population after 1950s, 60s, and 70s was mainly comprised of immigrants from the Subcontinent. During the first quarter of the 20th century it was estimated that there were around 10,000 Muslims in Britain; now there are about two million (about 4 percent of the population), and over half of them were born in Britain.
The age profile of Muslims in Britain is different from that of the majority population. A higher proportion is under 25 and a lower proportion is under sixty. Because of these demographic facts, the community is set to increase in size over the next twenty years. In fact, the Muslim population in the European Union is set to double by 2015 from 15 million people in 2003.
Muslim presence in Britain over many decades demonstrates that there is no contradiction between being a Muslim and living in the West.
Their contribution to many aspects of British society has ranged from being involved in the manufacturing and textile industry to driving buses and trains, from being domestic workers, to nurses and doctors in the NHS and of course running the local corner shops, the cornerstone of every high street and the only shops prepared to be open seven days a week through very late hours.
The former British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on her last trip to Pakistan also highlighted the valuable contributions of the two million British Muslims to every aspect of life.
Muslims play a full and active part in British society, in politics from Parliament to local government, in the armed forces, policing, the professions the arts and the sports and of course business, she said.
She also pointed out that there are two Muslim ministers in the government, 220 local councilors and a growing number of lawmakers.
An ICM/Guardian poll last year revealed that 91 percent of British Muslims are loyal to Britain and 80 percent wanted to live and accept western society. After the 7/7 London subway attack, British Muslims came under increasing pressure, however their resilience has not faded and they continued to focus on the positive.
In 2007 the Islamic Bank of Britain in association with Carter Anderson a PR Company decided to fight this negativity by highlighting the success of the community. They organized The Muslim Power 100 a remarkable event held at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, involving a galaxy of Muslim dignitaries who were recognized for their valuable contribution to social, cultural, educational and economic well being of Britain.
The list included a variety of people from all walks of life ranging from lords to lawyers, from authors to sporting icons, pre-eminent academics to giants of industry.
On the list were cricketer turned politician Imran Khan, Labour peer Lord Patel of Blackburn, Lord Nazir Ahmed and actor Art Malik, Lawyer Imran Khan, boxer Amir Khan singer Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, and Harrods boss Mohamed Al-Fayed.
Excellence awards were also given to nine guests, including Dr. Hany El Banna, founder of Islamic Relief, and Haifa Fahoum Al-Kaylani, chair of the Arab International Womens Forum.
A spokesman for the Islamic Bank of Britain, Sultan Choudhury, said the event was the culmination of nine months preparation and voting. We wanted to highlight the positive contributions made by British Muslims to society-contributions that are in complete contrast with media connotations that somehow Muslims are linked to terrorism, are not as educated, or are segregating themselves, said the spokesman. The opposite is true-we are integrating and contributing across a wide range of fields.
British Muslims thriving against all odds
