UK Mosques Respond to Islamophobia

Ishtiaq Ahmed

London: The 6th Annual “British Beacon Mosque Awards” were held in Oldham, Lancashire.
It is an initiative of the British-based Muslim organisation ‘Faith Associates’. The brochure that accompanied the awards event states, “The Beacon Mosque Awards were created to highlight the pivotal role mosques and Islamic centres play in local communities and the contributions they make to the social fabric of society.”
Shaukat Warriach, CEO of Faith Associates, wrote, “The need to reward and celebrate the great achievements of our mosques has never been greater. The UK mosque leadership, and thousands of volunteers have excelled despite the challenges of anti-Muslim hatred, rising Islamophobia, and limited resources.
He went on to add, “The awards are taking place at a time when there is total devastation being inflicted on Gaza and 1000 Palestinians have been killed. Mosques have risen to the challenge to raise voices for Palestinians as well as raise much-needed funds for the millions that have been displaced.”
Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqobi of the Royal Aal Al-Bayat Institute wrote, “Mosques are the heartbeat of the Muslim community and sacred sanctuaries.”
This year there were eleven awards for eleven separate categories: Best Run Mosque, Most Innovative Service, Best Youth Service, Best Madrassah Service, Best Women’s Service, Best Outreach Service, Best Mosque Volunteer, Most Impactful Imam, Most Impactful Alimah, Best Future Design,and Best Convert Support Service. The eleven winners were selected from three hundred contenders voted for by 70,000 people. The process was overseen by a panel of judges with strict criteria.
Britain has over 1500 mosques of varying sizes serving the Muslim community of 3.9 million (2021 census). Mosques are faced with the challenge of staying relevant to the needs of British Muslims in a society undergoing socio-economic, environmental, and cultural change where religious identity is increasingly being squeezed and pushed to the margins by growing secularisation.

Muslims have added pressure from Islamophobia and racism to contend with. Therefore, the mosques have to be fit for purpose. The British Beacon Mosque Project endeavours to identify and celebrate models of good practice that could be replicated by others.
The beacon mosque concept is now reaching out to other European countries. I wonder whether there would be a scope for something similar in Pakistan, begs the question.