Islam in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
has been present in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
since its formation
Treaty of Union
The Treaty of Union is the name given to the agreement that led to the creation of the united kingdom of Great Britain, the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which took effect on 1 May 1707...
in 1707, though it was not legally recognised until the Trinitarian Act in 1812. Today it is the second largest religion in the country with estimates suggesting that by 2010 the total Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
population had reached 2.869 million.
The growing number of Muslims has resulted in the establishment of more than 1,500 mosques. The majority of mosques are Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
; in 2010, the affiliation of the mosques was, 65% Deobandi
Deobandi
Deobandi is a movement of Sunni Islam. The movement began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India, where its foundation was laid on 30 May 1866.-History:...
, 20% Barelvi
Barelvi
Barelvi is a term used for the movement of Sufi , Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent.The Movement is known as Ahle Sunnat movement to its followers....
, 6% Salafi
Salafi
A Salafi come from Sunni Islam is a follower of an Islamic movement, Salafiyyah, that is supposed to take the Salaf who lived during the patristic period of early Islam as model examples...
, 3% Maudoodi-inspired; of the remainder many were part of other Sunni traditions or unaffiliated, while 66 were Shi'a (4%). The majority of mosque managers are of Pakistani and Bangladeshi
British Bangladeshi
A British Bangladeshi is a person of Bangladeshi origin who resides in the United Kingdom having emigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose parents did so; they are also known as British Bengalis...
origin, with many Gujarati
Gujarati people
Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
, and fewer Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
, Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
managed entities.
There are a number of UK-wide Islamic organisations, including; the British Muslim Forum
British Muslim Forum
British Muslim Forum is an organisation of Sunni Muslims which has emerged as the representative body for 500 Mosques across the UK. The BMF was relaunched after the "42-day detention" debate caused a split in the existing BMF leadership and led to two years of reform...
, the Muslim Association of Britain
Muslim Association of Britain
The Muslim Association of Britain is an Islamic organisation in the United Kingdom established in 1997.-Anti-war activities:Along with Stop the War Coalition and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, it has co-sponsored various demonstrations against the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq...
. the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...
, the Islamic Society of Britain
Islamic Society of Britain
The Islamic Society of Britain was set up in 1990 for British Muslims to promote Islamic values.Its youth wing is The Young Muslims UK .-Methods of working:The Islamic Society of Britain directs its work into the following areas:...
, the Muslim Council of Britain
Muslim Council of Britain
The Muslim Council of Britain is a self-appointed umbrella body for national, regional, local and specialist organisations and institutions from different ethnic and sectarian backgrounds within British Islamic society. It was established in 1997 to help Muslims, to increase education about the...
, the United Kingdom Islamic Mission (UKIM), the Sunni Dawat-e-Islami
Sunni Dawat-e-Islami
Sunni Dawat-e-Islami is a non-political Sunni movement to propagate the Quraan and Sunnah.-Foundation:Sunni Dawat-e-Islami was founded by Maulana Shakir Ali Noori in 1991 in India...
, the World Islamic Mission
World Islamic Mission
The World Islamic Mission is an international Muslim organisation of Sunni Muslims. It was started by Qaid-e-Ahle Sunnat Hazrat Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqi, Hazur Aalmi Muballigh e Islam Pir Syed Ma'roof Hussain Shah Arif Qadri Naushahi and Ra'ees-ul-Qalam Hazrat Allama Arshadul Qaudri in Holy...
, the Sufi Muslim Council
Sufi Muslim Council
The Sufi Muslim Council was launched on 19 July 2006. The SMC is a non-profit, non-governmental religious organization dedicated to working for the cause of Islam....
, the Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board
Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board
The Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board was launched in 2006 to promote best practice in the British mosques. It is an independent self-regulatory body to build capacity in mosques to help deliver standards. The new body seeks to ensure mosque personnel have a better understanding of British...
, Minhaj-ul-Quran UK
Minhaj-ul-Quran UK
Minhaj-ul-Quran UK is the UK branch of the moderate and inclusive Minhaj-ul-Quran International education and welfare organisation based in London. MQI started its work in the United Kingdom in 1986 and held its first international conference at Wembley Arena, London. Its first official centre was...
, the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK
Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK
The Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK is a not-for-profit British Muslim organization set up to address a perceived under-representation of Muslims in British politics...
, the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain and the Muslim Educational Trust
Muslim Educational Trust
The Muslim Educational Trust is a British based organisation offering information, advice and publications about Islam and the educational needs of Muslim children in particular. It is based at 130 Stroud Green Road, London, N4 3RZ....
.
A 2009 survey of the attitudes of British Muslims found them to identify more strongly with the UK than the rest of the population, with a much higher regard for the country's institutions, and to be more tolerant towards people of other religions. However, the vast majority of them have strongly conservative views on moral issues such as homosexuality and extra-marital sex, both differing dramatically from those held by the rest of the British population.
The vast majority of Muslims in the UK live in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
: of 1,591,000 Muslims recorded at the 2001 Census, 1,536,015 were living in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, where they formed 3% of the population in 2001; 42,557 were living in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, forming 0.84% of the population; and 1,943 were living in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
The emergence of the right wing English Defence League
English Defence League
The English Defence League is a far-right street protest movement which opposes what it considers to be a spread of Islamism, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in the UK. The EDL uses street marches to protest against Islamic extremism...
has resulted in demonstrations in British cities with large muslim populations.
See also
- Islam in EnglandIslam in EnglandIslam in England is the largest non-Christian religion, with most Muslims being immigrants from South Asia or descendants of immigrants from that region...
- Islam in Northern IrelandIslam in Northern IrelandIslam in Northern Ireland details Islam in Northern Ireland since its creation as a separate country within the United Kingdom on 3 May 1921, under the Government of Ireland Act 1920....
- Islam in ScotlandIslam in ScotlandThe larger immigration of Muslims to Scotland is relatively recent. The bulk of Muslims in Scotland come from families who immigrated during the late 20th century. In Scotland Muslims represent 0.9% of the population , with 30,000 in Glasgow...
- Islam in WalesIslam in WalesIslam is the largest non-Christian faith in Wales, with 22,000 members recorded in the country at the 2001 Census. The earliest recorded connections between Wales and the ‘Muslim world’ dates back to the early 12th Century...
- Religion in the United KingdomReligion in the United KingdomReligion in the United Kingdom and the states that pre-dated the UK, was dominated by forms of Christianity for over 1,400 years. Although a majority of citizens still identify with Christianity in many surveys, regular church attendance has fallen dramatically since the middle of the 20th century,...
External links
- Haq Islam: UK blog
- BBC: Islam and Britain Before the 20th Century
- Islam in the United Kingdom
- Muslim Council of Britain
- Muslim working class struggles, article published in International Socialism, 4 January 2007
- Timeline of Muslims in Britain hWeb
- Muslims In Britain, Guide and Directory