British Muslim Research Articles

Identity work responses to workplace stigmatization: Power positions, authenticity, religious coping and religious accommodation for skilled practising Muslim professionals

AbstractDespite the challenges Muslims face because of their stigmatized religious identity, little is known about how they navigate that identity in the workplace. Adopting an interpretivist perspective of identity work, this study investigates this issue by building on two‐round in‐depth interviews (35 in round‐one and 21 in round‐two) with skilled practising British Muslim professionals. It extends work on power positions to show the privileges those in senior managerial positions have, including assertiveness and control over workplace interactions and outcomes. It further advances understanding of authenticity, revealing that, despite their experiences of stigmatization, these professionals tend to remain true to their religious identity, openly practising their religion in the workplace. They perceive identity re‐interpretation to be part of authenticity, and a responsibility to contest religious stigma. Importantly, this study conceptualizes proactive religious coping as an identity work response to workplace stigmatization, theorized in this organizational context as turning to God and religious rituals for meaning, comfort, resilience and reconciliation, whilst also being proactive and fighting to challenge experiences of stigmatization. However, unlike for other stigmatized groups, inclusive organizational practices, particularly religious accommodation, are not a driver for authenticity, but rather a signal for environment‐fit and authenticity is instead driven by religious identity.

British South Asian and Muslim Community's Perceptions and Experiences of Addiction and Traditional Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services.

Within traditional drug and alcohol (D&A) treatment services, the majority of those accessing support are of white ethnicity, with only a small percentage of people from the British South Asian (BSA) and Muslim community engaging in treatment services. This paper aims to explore perceived barriers to accessing traditional D&A services within the British South Asian and Muslim communities, based on qualitative data from interviews with family members and a practitioner. Qualitative data were obtained via 11 semi-structured interviews involving a practitioner (n = 1), and family and friends (n = 10) of those with historic and current D&A use in the community. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed four themes: (1) awareness of drug and alcohol use in the community, (2) drug and alcohol use as a taboo topic and the impact of admitting use, (3) knowledge of services for treatment, (4) how to increase awareness and accessibility of treatment. There was an increasing awareness of D&A use in the BSA and Muslim community. Despite this, limited conversations and misconceptions around D&A use and recovery led to those using D&A and their family members feeling stigmatised within their community and unable to seek support. This paper concludes by recommending increased communication between the BSA and Muslim communities and D&A treatment services to ensure accessibility of treatment by improving cultural competency.

The Impact of Islamic Extremist Terrorist Attacks on the British Muslim Community

This study investigates the impact of Islamophobic hate crimes on the British Muslim community in the aftermath of the 2017 terrorist attacks in the UK (United Kingdom), which were largely linked to Islamic extremism. Using qualitative research methods, the project explores the psychological and social consequences experienced by Muslim communities, focusing on hate crimes and discrimination. Through participant questionnaires, the study identifies key themes such as heightened anxiety, fear of public safety, and altered online behaviours. Respondents reported feelings of paranoia, identity questioning, and social withdrawal, reflecting the emotional and mental toll of Islamophobia. Additionally, the rise in Islamophobic abuse, both in person and online, demonstrates the widespread prejudice faced by Muslims post-terrorist incidents. The research highlights gaps in current counter-terrorism strategies, particularly in addressing the secondary harm inflicted on Muslim communities. Victims often felt neglected by law enforcement, leading to calls for more robust protective measures, such as increased police presence in vulnerable areas and better communication between authorities and Muslim communities. Participants also recommended educational reforms to raise public awareness of Islamophobia and more responsible media coverage to prevent further stigmatization of Muslims. The study emphasizes the importance of policy changes to reduce hate crimes and foster social cohesion.

‘Every One of You Is a Leader’: Investigating the Experience of Being a Brown British Muslim Woman in Professional Contexts

‘Every One of You Is a Leader’: Investigating the Experience of Being a Brown British Muslim Woman in Professional Contexts

The British Broadsheet Press and the Representation of “The Mosque” in the Aftermath of Post-7/7 Britain

The role of the mosque has become increasingly vital, particularly in contemporary societies such as Britain, where both the place and status of religion in public life are constantly discussed and debated. Indeed, in the contemporary period, the role of the mosque has several dimensions, ranging from a social space, educational and cultural exchange, and community cohesion centre to a knowledge hub. In this context, this paper suggests that a mosque should be seen as an independent religious institution, although these are influenced by and responsive to governments, elites, pressure groups, public bodies, etc. Using a thematic analysis of news items in The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph over a period of two years (8 July 2005–7 July 2007), it finds that in the aftermath of 7/7, the mosque as a religious place and an institution for British Muslims is largely seen as incompatible and a threat to secular British society and that it is linked with radicalisation and terrorism. According to Quranic texts and revelations, it is indeed a fact that mosques are open to all. This is logical since God’s mercy, love, and forgiveness are for all of mankind without any distinction, which is perhaps why the mosque has been the sacred house of God Himself. This study aims to reveal the development of visible hostility in some sections of the British media and political campaigns. Moreover, it intends to trace the determination and idea of the mosque as a religious place and an institution for British Muslims rather than only a place for worship. Finally, this study will argue the role of the mosque in promoting community cohesion and mutual understanding within the Muslim and other faith communities located in Britain.

‘Double vision’ in the interlegal: the situated pluri‐legal consciousness of British Muslim women

‘Double vision’ in the interlegal: the situated pluri‐legal consciousness of British Muslim women

Somebody who understands the culture and their needs that can cater for them in their retirement time: a peer research study exploring the challenges faced by British Muslims with palliative care needs during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundInequities in palliative and end-of-life care access exist, with evidence of lower uptake of these services among people from the British Muslim community. Little research exists exploring the experiences of...

Diversity and practice: local decision-making practices on multi-cultural diets for British Muslim school children (BMSC) and implications for social justice.

British Muslim School Children (BMSC) are required to follow special halal dietary requirements in accordance with their religion, which is often not accounted for in British schools. This often leaves BMSC limited to a vegetarian diet while at school, despite this not being their chosen diet or preference. This study explores the perceptions of key stakeholders regarding fairness and accessibility of school meals for BMSC, as well as discussing school food provision for those maintaining a religious diet in light of social justice. This is in the context of limited knowledge previously being explored in the North East of England regarding procurement and decision-making at a systems level to cater for BMSC. A qualitative research design was conducted. A total of 62 participants (39 BMSC, 15 parents, and 8 school and catering staff) took part in a semi-structured interview or focus group. Participants were recruited from six schools, with these schools selected based on their differing levels of BMSC in attendance. This project took place between March 2022 and October 2023. Results suggested that where schools already catered for diverse food requirements, inclusive of BMSC dietary needs, food choices were still limited in the options and amount available. School and catering staff stated that cost implications contributed to their menu development process. Despite this, there was an evident willingness to learn about the cultural food options and how these can be implemented in future school menus. Suggestions discussed included an increase in the use of halal meat in order to provide a more inclusive school food experience for BMSC.

Exclusion-politicization: Salafism, democracy, and counterpublic politics in the UK

ABSTRACT This article examines the politicization of Salafism in the UK over the past two decades – shedding light on why and how some Salafi actors, particularly those belonging to Haitham al-Haddad’s network, are increasingly engaging in formal and informal political activities rather than da’wa (missionary work). It is based on more than 70 interviews with British Salafis and 20 months of participant observation within Salafi communities in London between 2017 and 2020, as well as content analysis of Salafi websites and social media. It argues that owing to increased exclusion and marginalization of British Muslims within the British public sphere, some Salafis have begun to organize protests, vote in UK elections, campaign, wage legal battles, and contest the marginalization of British Muslims through the production of counterhegemonic discourses. It draws on counterpublic theory to explain how exclusion from the public sphere can lead to greater political activity by highlighting how counterpublics enable marginalized communities to regroup and train for agitational activities. This article contributes to our understanding of the causes and consequences of the politicization of Salafi actors in European Muslim-minority contexts, as well as to our understanding of the politicization of religious actors more generally.

British Muslims and the census: the need for statistical visibility vis-a-vis government surveillance concerns

ABSTRACT The National Census of Population is conducted every 10 years and produces the most comprehensive set of statistics about Muslims living in the United Kingdom. Yet, despite the census data’s utility, research among a sample of British Muslims, as discussed in this article, identified concerns on how such statistics can be misconstrued, due to a widespread normalisation of Islamophobia within British society and the media. Furthermore, a lack of trust in the government’s intentions to use such data to benefit Muslim neighbourhoods and communities is discussed as contributing towards both apathy and hesitancy in sharing personal information on survey forms. The findings of this study are important for agencies and relevant government departments, as well as academics and organisations for developing strategies for community engagement with official surveys. The benefits of doing so would be to encourage greater accuracy of data on Muslims, particularly hard-to-reach communities, better allocation of funds for local services and planning, and an increased trust between Muslims and relevant government agencies.

Reflections on co-producing an obesity-prevention toolkit for Islamic Religious Settings: a qualitative process evaluation

BackgroundIslamic leaders, staff, and Muslim parents in the UK are supportive of healthy lifestyle intervention delivery through Islamic Religious Settings. Such interventions are necessary given high obesity rates in British South Asian (40%) compared to White British (32%) children of equivalent age. Co-production can facilitate the development of culturally appropriate health interventions, however it can be theoretically and practically challenging, and evaluation of co-production within an Islamic Religious Setting context is lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of taking a co-production approach to develop an obesity-prevention toolkit for Islamic Religious Settings.MethodsAn obesity-prevention toolkit for use in Islamic Religious Settings, incorporating physical activity, healthy diet, and organisational change, has been co-produced to be evidence-informed and contextually relevant. A qualitative process evaluation was employed to examine experiences of co-production. Semi-structured interviews (n = 15) and a focus group (n = 5) were conducted with toolkit co-production stakeholders, e.g., subject experts, an Islamic scholar, and Islamic Religious Setting staff. Transcripts were analysed inductively using reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsThe analysis revealed four major themes regarding stakeholders' experiences of co-producing a childhood obesity-prevention toolkit for Islamic Religious Settings. These themes are: (1) attitudes towards obesity-prevention through Islamic Religious Settings, (2) benefits of co-production including capacity building and ownership (3) negotiating involvement, power, and perspectives within the co-production process, and (4) the complexities of effective communication in co-production.ConclusionThis study adds to the evidence-base in support of delivering health promotion through faith settings. Taking a co-production approach to develop an obesity-prevention toolkit for Islamic Religious Settings provided benefit to the toolkit product and local stakeholders. The toolkit is currently being implemented across Bradford, UK and there is potential to adapt the toolkit to other geographical contexts, and for evaluating effectiveness for preventing obesity in British Muslim families.

De-Islamophobia di Inggris melalui Sepak Bola: Kajian terhadap Mohamed Salah dan Liverpool

This article aims to explain the role of Muslim professional sports actors in the activity of reducing prejudice against Islam in the UK, where in the last 10 years the trend of Islamophobia has increased sharply. This idea is important to see how the da'wah of Islam by using a soft power approach turns out to make a meaningful contribution to the development of Islamic da'wah today. This study uses a qualitative approach to understand the role of Muhammad Salah who is able to change the image of Islam in the UK, from a frightening image to a pleasant and entertaining image. Data was obtained from a number of secondary sources from social media metrics that developed in the UK. This article finds that the appearance of a professional Muslim sportsman who focuses on his field of expertise, is productive in the sense of being the best, and remains consistently a Muslim with good attitudes and behavior, is able to change the views of people outside Islam to find out more about Islam, and behave towards it in a professional and friendly manner.

British Muslim Women in the Cultural and Creative Industries, written by Saskia Warren

British Muslim Women in the Cultural and Creative Industries, written by Saskia Warren

The influence of religiosity on food choice among British Muslims: A qualitative study.

Background: Religiosity is known to have a socio-cultural influence on food choice. However, to date, research exploring the influence of Islam on food selection has almost exclusively focused on fasting during Ramadan and has not explored the influences of Islam on everyday food choices among Muslim people. Aim: This qualitative study explored the influence of Islamic religiosity on everyday food choices among Muslim people. Methods: Thirty-two adult participants residing in the United Kingdom (n = 16 faith leaders and n = 16 lay Muslim people) were recruited from three Sunni mosques, and data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and a constant comparison method was applied to draw out similarities and differences between faith leaders and lay Muslim people. Results: The results revealed that Islamic religiosity had an influence over food choice with two main overarching themes 1) Demonstrating religious obedience through food choices and, 2) Spheres of influence on food choice; and five sub-themes 1a) Trusting in familiar food providers, 1b) Verification of halal authenticity, 1c) Seeking purity within food, 2a) The Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) as a role model for food choice and, 2b) Islamic jurisprudence. Conclusion: These findings provide important insights into the influence of Islam on food choice and could be used support the design of faith-informed dietary interventions among Muslim people. Further research is required to examine the role of faith-informed dietary intervention in the Muslim community.

Acknowledging religion in cognitive behavioural therapy: The effect on alliance, treatment expectations and credibility in a video-vignette study.

Developing mental health services which are accessible and acceptable to those from minority backgrounds continues to be a priority. In the United Kingdom, individuals who identify with a religion are underrepresented in Talking Therapies services as compared to those with no religion. This necessitates an understanding of how therapy is perceived. This online study explored the impact of explicitly acknowledging religion on anticipated alliance, treatment credibility and expectations of therapy in a non-clinical sample of British Muslims. A video-vignette experimental design was used in which participants who self-reported as either high or low in religiosity were randomly allocated to receiving information about cognitive behavioural therapy either with or without an explicit mention of religion as a value in the therapeutic process. One hundred twenty-nine British Muslim adults aged 18-70+ years from various ethnic backgrounds participated in the study. Between-subjects ANOVAs showed that scores on the perceived credibility of therapy and treatment expectations were significantly higher when religion was explicitly mentioned by the 'therapist', but that acknowledging religion did not impact upon anticipated alliance. These findings suggest that mentioning religion as a value to be considered in therapy has some positive impacts upon how therapy is perceived by British Muslims. Although video vignettes do not provide insight into the complexity of actual therapeutic encounters, acknowledging religion in mental health services more broadly remains an important consideration for improving equity of access and may bear relevance to other minoritized groups.

The British state, citizenship rights and gendered folk devils: The case of Shamima Begum

The revoking of Shamima Begum’s citizenship exemplifies much of the purposes of contemporary anti-Muslim racism and underlines its significant gendered element. Both state and media actors constructed the 15-year old as a problematic other, both to justify conditional citizenship ideologically, and to use her case to strengthen and add to the framework for making it legal. This comes in a context in which British Muslims and members of the British Windrush generation are being denied citizenship and the rights that go with it. We argue that Shamima Begum’s construction as a gendered folk devil must be understood in the context of nation states shifting their purpose and legitimacy from ‘civil rights’ to ‘national security’ and strengthening two-tier citizenship rights to control residents of colour, increase the state’s authoritarian purpose and, as part of an ongoing process, to transform the concept of ‘national security’ into legal reality, to further militarise the state and its borders against the ‘migrant crisis’ and, ultimately, to stifle dissent.

Identifying with Terrorists: Reading and Writing Others In Sunjeev Sahota’s Ours Are the Streets

Abstract: Sunjeev Sahota’s novel Ours Are the Streets tells the story of a young British Muslim man’s path to radicalization. It appears to be another fictional attempt to ‘get inside’ the terrorist mind. This essay argues, however, that the text dramatizes the pitfalls of empathic identification via a focalizing character whose mental state becomes unstable and his narrative increasingly unreliable. The protagonist’s uncontrolled Theory of Mind causes him to misrecognize others and their motives, even as he seeks solidarity. The reader too is led into an interpretative labyrinth which raises questions about the ethics of reading fiction and empathizing across cultural difference.

Muslims in Britain: History, Diversity, Socio-Economic Status

This paper examines the growing presence of Muslims in the United Kingdom (UK), a community that, despite being a minority, is expanding rapidly according to data from the Oxford-based Migration Observatory. This research examines the diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religious beliefs of British Muslims, setting the stage to explore the multifaceted emergence of Islam and Muslims in the UK. The study investigates the various phases of Muslim migration, pinpointing the principal reasons for their arrival and the routes chosen by individuals from countries such as Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Syria, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Yemen to settle in cities like London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bradford, Liverpool, Hull, and Sheffield. It identifies key factors driving the formation of Muslim communities in the UK, including political instability, ethno-religious conflicts, natural disasters, civil unrest, decolonisation, and labour shortages. Additionally, the paper assesses the socioeconomic status of Muslims in England and concludes with strategic recommendations for policymakers. JEL Classification: A14, Z1.

Facilitating consent, voyeurism, and power: improv and image theatre, sexual (mis)conduct, and the limits of critical pedagogy in drama workshops with British Muslim youth

ABSTRACT Drawing on two moments from drama workshops I conducted with British Muslim youth in Manchester, UK, this paper explores how we – as facilitators – should wield power vis-à-vis image and improv theatre. Through an intersectional racialised and gendered (auto)ethnographic analysis of the straight, Brown, Muslim, male theatre workshop facilitator’s role, I draw on embodied knowledge to argue that the positionalities and assumptions of the facilitator are themselves forms of power, ones that – unexamined and unaltered – risk turning techniques like improv and image theatre into tools of oppression rather than liberation, undermining the possibilities of critical performance pedagogy in the process.

The inter-generational construction of religious in/authenticity in the rituals of British Pakistani Muslims

This paper explores the phenomenon of rituals as a contested intersection of religion and ethnicity and demonstrates how changes in religio-ethnic inclinations of various generations of immigrant communities influence the religious authenticity/inauthenticity of rituals. Its focus is the British Pakistani Muslim community in the UK where the emerging second and subsequent generations of British Muslims have started to redefine and contest their religious and ethnic identities. The findings, derived through interview and observation, reveal that religion has become the preeminent marker of identity, eclipsing that of ethnic identity. Through reciprocal socialization, the first generation are relearning an Islam from younger generations that is unfettered by cultural bonds. We illustrate how and why rituals are deemed inauthentic and abandoned. Findings demonstrate that authenticity/inauthenticity provides a potential outlet for reflexive consumers to assert agency against ethnic norms and ideological hailings that are at odds with their emergent religious identities. Accordingly, the study conceptualizes emergent inauthenticity to explain this phenomenon and delineates the role of boundary work and contamination in the authentication and rejection of rituals.