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Author of British Muslims: Media Guide, Ehsan Masood |
In an attempt to introduce the complex nature of Muslims living in Britain to the world, the British Council and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists have published a British Muslim Guide this year.
The 10-chapter, 73 -page Guide covers pertinent facets of British Muslim life such as politics, banking and Muslim media.
In a recent live dialogue with IslamOnline.net, Ehsan Masood, a writer and journalist based in London and the author of the Guide said that its purpose is to sensitize journalists to the complexities of Islam in Britain. "So they may have a more comprehensive understanding of what it means to be Muslim in Britain today," he said.
Placing a Face on the Community
In the introduction of the Guide, Lord Kinnock of Bedwellty, the Chair of the British Council writes: "Those in Britain and around the world who write about this country and its people sometimes need reminding that 'we' include almost two million Muslims. This is the basis of a new sense of ourselves – even perhaps a much-debated new sense of 'Britishness' and it is important to ensure that it includes all of us."
The Guide, which attempts to place a face on a community that consists of two million Muslims, is the product of an increased media interest in that community. The challenge of identifying and understanding that community is acknowledged by Masood, who says: "As yet there is no single resource that explains who British Muslims are; what they do; where they live; what they care about; what they enjoy, and so on."
Significant Contributions
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| One of the chapters in the Guide is dedicated to the issue of Muslim women. |
However, the heightened importance of the guide at this particular time is due to the prevalence of misrepresentation and misinformation that, according to Masood, is "largely because Western journalists have very little idea, sense or knowledge of Islam beyond what they might have seen in a Hollywood film, or have read about in the media itself, which as we all know isn't exactly accurate, nor sympathetic."
While the primary motive of many who migrated to Britain was the betterment of their economic situation the Guide points out that "their contributions to the culture, politics and infrastructure of Britain is significant and growing." (pg. 7)
The influence of these Muslim immigrants extends to language. "Living languages constantly acquire new words and phrases, often through the influence of words from other languages and cultures. The embedding of Islam in Western countries now means that, in English at least, words such as 'hijab', 'imam', and 'Shari`ah' among several others, are often no longer italicized, a sign that editors, writers and readers do not regard them as foreign." (pg. 9)
Multifunctional Community Centers
In the chapter discussing the role of mosques in the British Muslim community, titled "Minarets from the Motorway," the Guide explains that mosques are transforming from spaces for congregational prayers to "multifunctional community centers, providing educational and social, in addition to religious activities." A trend, the Guide adds, "that is similar to the one transforming mosques in the United States." (pg. 14)
One of the chapters in the Guide is dedicated to the issue of Muslim women and highlights their main institutions in the UK. Because an increasing number of Muslim women are seen on the street wearing the hijab, and because the hijab is triggering news stories in many neighboring European countries, a section within the chapter on women is dedicated to explaining the hijab's significance and different styles.
Pivotal Events
According to the Guide a few events have played a pivotal role in shaping the political experience of Muslims in Britain. These include the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1989 by British-born writer Salman Rushdie and which Muslim voluntary groups campaigned to have banned. Another crucial event is the rise of Al Qaeda, and terror attacks in the US, London and Madrid.
Scattered throughout the Guide are sections that explain concepts that have recently been under the media spotlight such as 'Islamophobia', 'hijab' and 'Islamists'. In addition, at the end of each chapter, there is a list of print and Internet sources for further readings, including research studies. In addition, the end of the guide offers a comprehensive directory of British Muslim organizations .
The Guide took little over a year to research and write according to Masood, who is also the author of Trust me I'm British: Britain and its Muslim Audiences in the Post 9/11 World, which was also published by the British Council.
"It is based on around one hundred interviews with Muslim and non-Muslims in Britain from all professions and all walks of life. I also had to undertake a reasonably extensive review of the research literature (particularly in the sections on data concerning Muslims). The manuscript was then peer-reviewed for relevance and accuracy by a panel of experts that included journalists and social scientists. For me this was perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of the assignments. In the media we often get things wrong, often because of a lack of time or because we bring untested assumptions to the stories we are documenting," he said.
The Guide can be downloaded as a PDF file from the website of Counterpoint, the British Council's think-tank on cultural relations: http://www.counterpoint-online.org/
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