Introduction: Leadership, Authority and Representation in British Muslim Communities

Sophie Gilliat-Ray,Riyaz Timol

doi:10.3390/rel11110559

Abstract

Highlights

Leadership, Authority and Representation in British Muslim CommunitiesSophie Gilliat-Ray *and Riyaz Timol *School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UKReceived: 12 October 2020; Accepted: 22 October 2020; Published: 28 October 2020Keywords: Islam; Muslims in Britain; leadership; authority; representation; mosques; religious institutions; darul uloom; islamic education; imams; ulema
Since its launch in 2005, the Islam-UK Centre at Cardiff University has initiated a range of projects concerned with issues of leadership, pastoral care, and the training of religious professionals working in British Muslim communities (Gilliat-Ray 2006; Gilliat-Ray 2010; Gilliat-Ray 2011; Ali and Gilliat-Ray 2012; Gilliat-Ray et al 2013; Gilliat-Ray 2018)
When we were approached with an invitation to act as guest editors of the international peer review journal Religions, this seemed a good opportunity to invite others to contribute to a focussed scholarly discussion of the debates around these topics

Summary

Introduction

Since its launch in 2005, the Islam-UK Centre at Cardiff University has initiated a range of projects concerned with issues of leadership, pastoral care, and the training of religious professionals working in British Muslim communities (Gilliat-Ray 2006; Gilliat-Ray 2010; Gilliat-Ray 2011; Ali and Gilliat-Ray 2012; Gilliat-Ray et al 2013; Gilliat-Ray 2018). We were clear that the term ‘leadership’ should be interpreted widely given that it takes many forms It includes liturgical and ritual leadership from imams (who may be paid, unpaid, or low-paid) and educational leadership from academics or those serving in madrassahs, seminaries, and other kinds of private establishments. A range of regional and national organisations have developed to ‘represent’ the interests of Muslim communities in civil society, often headed by those with skills derived from a variety of public service and charitable roles. Bodies such as the Muslim Council of Britain and their affiliates exercise national influence while various councils of mosques advocate on behalf of broad regional congregations. We are pleased that the articles gathered here explore issues of leadership from an interdisciplinary perspective, enabling scholars of religion, sociology, political science, history, and Islamic Studies to bring synergistic focus to a topic of current academic and political debate

Academic Contributions

Practitioner Perspectives

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