Contemporary Influences on the Role of Imams in Britain: A Critical Analysis of Leadership and Professionalisation for the Imamate in 21st Century Britain

Christine Victoria Hough,Edward Abbott-Halpin,Tariq Mahmood,Jessica Giles

doi:10.3390/rel12090771

Christine Victoria Hough, Edward Abbott-Halpin + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12090771

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Abstract

This article is based on the findings from a research project, referred to hereafter as #ImamsBritain, commenced with a series of discussions with Imams in the north of England. The role of the Imam has undergone far-reaching changes over the last thirty years chiefly due to the changing socio-economic and political climate, which in turn has directly affected the needs of Muslim communities. Consequently, Imams are now seen as professionals who need a wider range of pastoral care skills that go beyond those of their traditional role, which was mainly focused on religious teaching and spiritual guidance, The second stage of the data analysis for the research involved the exploratory Group Delphi technique, in which the Imam respondents underwent the processes of two critical reflections on the data collected. The resultant findings reflect their individual perceptions of the kind of training and development they need. This provides a unique framework for constructing a professional guide for Imams in Great Britain. The discussions and critical analyses in this paper draw on the discourses of professionalisation and pastoral care and relevant reports and reviews on Imam training in Europe and Canada.

Highlights

The central aim of the research project #ImamsBritain and was to explore how Imams, as faith leaders, could best address the current needs of South Asian Muslim families and communities’1 The traditional role of the Imam was that of providing “religious teaching, and spiritual guidance” (Schmid 2020, p. 2) to the local Muslim community
This paper draws on the findings from a British-based research project that originated from a series of discussions with Imams, in the north of England, about how their faith leadership could best address their communities’ current needs
These discussions sought the views of Imams on their evolving role and its wider responsibilities, and the research project aimed to: explore the range of issues the Imams dealt with and which they considered to be additional to their duties and responsibilities; identify the further skills the Imams perceived they needed to address these additional issues and to assess the Imams’ level of need for training and qualifications to establish those skills they considered as priorities for their own professional development

Summary

Introduction

This paper draws on the findings from a British-based research project that originated from a series of discussions with Imams, in the north of England, about how their faith leadership could best address their communities’ current needs These discussions sought the views of Imams on their evolving role and its wider responsibilities, and the research project aimed to: explore the range of issues the Imams dealt with and which they considered to be additional to their (traditional) duties and responsibilities; identify the further skills the Imams perceived they needed to address these additional issues and to assess the Imams’ level of need for training and qualifications to establish those skills they considered as priorities for their own professional development

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