As more local authorities declare climate emergencies, the role of mosques in Britain on environmental issues was explored at the 'Eco-Mosques: Past, Present and Future' event on 24 January 2020, co-organised by The Circle Circle, IFEES and MCB.
"Consumption is a problem. We don’t have plastic cups in the mosque, people must bring their own"
Shahida Rahman, Cambridge Mosque
"Environmentalism is very much embedded within shariah and Islamic culture"
- Kamran Shezad, Bahu Trust
With many women facing barriers to accessing spaces or management roles in some mosques in Britain today, this toolkit gives guidance on holding a focus group session to explore practical solutions to the issue.
Both women and men are encouraged to take part in the conversations to address how we can make access better for Muslim women at mosques in Britain today.
Centre for Media Monitoring hosts 23 students from Luther College in Iowa, USA
23 students from Luther College in Iowa, USA along with Professor Robert Christman and Scott Hurley, were on a fact finding mission about Islamophobia in Europe and the misrepresentation of Muslims in the media. Following their tour of mainland Europe, the visited the MCB's Centre for Media Monitoring in London.
Professor Christman and Hurley said “This was a strong start to our UK trip. Many people we have met with in Europe have spoken about the role of the media but not in the kind of detail or with the evidence base that CfMM has presented.”
Constantinian Order Interfaith Event
Harun Khan, MCB Secretary General, spoke at a New Year reception of the Constantinian Order at the Slovakian Embassy celebrating interfaith dialogue. He said, “Personally I’m not a great fan of the word tolerance. I’m born and bred in this country – and ‘tolerance’ is literally the last line. We need to be much more than that”.
Upcoming Events and Campaigns
Save the date! Report Launch on 27 February
Have you ever felt unheard or unable to change the narrative on how Muslim communities are discussed in relation to terrorism, counter-terrorism and Islamophobia?
We're excited to announce the date for the first report launch of the National Listening Exercise on 27th February 2020, 6.30-8.30pm in Manchester.
Get expert advise on running your #VisitMyMosque open day! Free-to-attend workshops are taking place at over 8 cities this year at weekends during March 2020, including:
We're on the look out for enthusiastic people to fill the following vacancies:
Advocacy and Policy Co-ordinator
Press & Media Officer
Projects Officer
Social Media Assistant (Voluntary)
Grants Writing Assistant (Voluntary)
Interested to apply? Deadlines are fast approaching! Find out more and apply online at: www.mcb.org.uk/careers
Are you a mosque with adjacent land or property?
Last year the MCB launched a landmark report on Elderly & End of Life Care for Muslims in the UK and we are now exploring further research into sustainable care home options for ageing Muslims in the UK.
If you are a mosque with adjacent land or property that might serve as a pilot faith-sensitive care home project for Muslims, we want to hear from you! There are many advantages in locating care homes next door to places of worship, as is already being done by many other faith communities, with much best practice to share. To find out more or get involved, email us on [email protected]
MCB Leadership Activities
2nd January 2020
Maswood Ahmed, Assistant Secretary General, co-ordinated an MCB submission to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse highlighting that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, including in religous organisations and settings.
6th January Hassan Joudi, Deputy Secretary General,met with team members at Minhaj-ul-Quran International in London.
12th January
Hassan Joudi and Lamees Hafeez, Operations Manager attended the two year celebration of the Discovery Space, a youth-focused leadership programme in North London run by Evolve Initiative.
15th January
Dr Jamil Sherif, Research & Documentation Committee, attended a meeting with the Historic England Places of Worship Forum. MCB highlighted the need for non-lottery funds to be made available for mosques' heritage and conservation projects. For further details contact [email protected].
Hassan Joudi,met with community members in Slough to discuss #VisitMyMosque Day and other campaigns.
16th January Harun Khan, Secretary General,spoke at a New Year reception at the Slovakian Embassy celebrating the role of faith communities and interfaith dialogue.
20th January Rizwana Hamid, Director for Centre for Media Monitoring, met with Daisy Scalchi, Commissioning Editor, BBC Specialist Factuals regarding religious illiteracy in the media as well as Muslim contributors and talent for their religious and documentary programming.
Hassan Joudi met with Aziziye Mosque and other Muslim community members in Hackney, North London.
Zainab Gulamali, Public Affairs Manager, attended the Equality and Human Rights Commission's (EHRC) Strategic Reference Group meeting.
22nd January Lamees Hafeez, Zainab Gulamali and Sakinah Abdul Aziz (Project Coordinator), attended the Great British Spring Clean 2020 launch at the Houses of Parliament with Keep Britain Tidy.
23rd January Mehboob Asaria, Research & Documentation Committee, attended an ONS Census Advisory Group meeting and inputted into the Census 2021 design and outputs preparations.
25th January
Dr Shuja Shafi and Dr Jamil Sherif, supported an MCB affiliate in North London with their AGM and election proceedings.
Harun Khan attended the Climate Assembly UK inaugural event in Birmingham organised by the House of Commons.
27th January
Harun Khan attended the annual Holocaust Memorial Day event at Central Hall in Westminster.
29th January
Hassan Joudi and Lamees Hafeez met with representatives from Friends of the Earth to explore ways to improve environmental awareness in Muslim communities.
31st January Zainab Gulamali participated in a Q&A with Sir Keir Starmer MP on Britain's future relationship with Europe.
MCB in the Media
Financial Times, Muslims treated differently by newspapers, says press watchdog. Miqdaad Versi of the Muslim Council of Britain, said enforced corrections were rarely given as much prominence as the original misleading article. “It’s an incentive to lie and only correct when you get found out,” he said, pointing out that the now debunked story about the girl in foster care could still be read online.
Metro, Terror police recall guidance listing ‘standard Muslim beliefs’ as signs of extremismSecretary General of the MCB Harun Khan said: ‘Muslims are held in concentration camps in China, ethnically cleansed in Myanmar, and still under lockdown after 163 days in Kashmir. ‘This is clear oppression which everyone – not just Muslims – should be voicing concerns about.'
Hackney Gazzete, Motion to adopt Islamophobia definition MCB Secretary General Harun Khan said: "Islamophobia is rife across Britain, often perpetuated by elected politicians and the media, which then has real life implications for Muslims in terms of hate crime and abuse.
Daily Mail, 20,000 spring clean heroes!Harun Khan, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said : 'It is the responsibility of all of us to preserve our environment and make the world a cleaner place. 'Muslims are taught by Prophet Muhammad that 'cleanliness is half of faith', so the Muslim Council of Britain is pleased to be encouraging our members to get involved again with Keep Britain Tidy's Great British Spring Clean campaign.'
No progress made in Tory Islamophobia probe for nine months, An MCB spokesperson said: ‘The Equality and Human Rights Commission is meant to be the bastion for upholding fairness in the UK, but it is deeply disappointing that it is yet to act on Islamophobia in the Conservative Party. ‘This is not a case of a few rogue members, the problem is institutional, starts at the very top with the Prime Minister and has infected all parts of the party.
Community News
Videogame to combat Islamophobia
Islamic Relief UK has launched a videogame, "Virtue Reality" with the aim of teaching young people how international aid works and to tackle negative perceptions of Muslims.
Virtue Reality comes from a recognition that Muslims are often presented in a negative light in films, TV programmes and videogames – usually as ‘the bad guys’. It also addresses a gap in the knowledge of the general public with regards to how foreign aid works. It is now available to download for free on Apple and Google devices.
NZF Education Grants
National Zakat Foundation's Education Stream is now open for applications. The Education Stream provides grants for education and training to help Muslims who can demonstrate a high level of commitment to community service, to help them to better serve Islam and Muslims in the UK. Click here to find out if you are eligible.
British Imams Survey
Imams play a crucial role in the spiritual welfare of Muslim communities. That's why the MCB is supporting the largest ever national survey entitled Understanding British Imams, a three-year research project run by Cardiff University’s Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK.
Anyone can take part in the survey, whether you are a service user/worshipper at a mosque, a mosque committee member or an Imam yourself!
