Muharram is one of the four sacred months for Muslims across the globe. Its coming heralds the beginning of the new hijri year and is a time for reflection and blessings.
The month marks many notable events in Islamic history; including Prophet Moses and his people being saved from the tyranny of the Pharoah, and the events of Karbala in which grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Imam Hussain, gave his life standing against injustice and tyranny.
Secretary-General, Zara Mohammed said:
“ The past year of battling a global pandemic, the plight of oppressed people across the world as well as a renewed focus on injustice and inequality still prevalent in society, shows the importance of constantly refreshing the stories and lessons of this month. We look forward to the new year with renewed determination and resolve in the spirit of Muharram.
I wish everyone a blessed new year”
Support the MCB
Support and uplift Muslim communities across the UK by giving Sadaqah to the Muslim Council of Britain
The MCB exists to serve, uplift and advocate on behalf of Muslim communities. Your invaluable support could help us deliver a wide range of vital projects and campaigns.
Be it supporting and developing mosques through capacity building initiatives like Our Mosques Our Future, bringing communities together through national campaigns like Visit My Mosque, tackling Islamophobia in the media through our dedicated Centre for Media Monitoring, or running transformative projects like the Women in Mosques Development Programme, that cultivates the women mosque leaders of tomorrow, and Proudly Muslim and Black, which addresses the anti-Black racism within our midst, your donations will support and uplift Muslim communities across the UK.
Owing to the announcement of remaining lockdown restrictions easing in England from 19 July 2021, the spread of the Delta variant increasing and the infection rate rising once again, it is vital that we come out of the lockdown in a way that finds a balance between safety and a return to worshipping as normal.
With input from health care professionals, scholars, mosque committees and Muslim community members, the MCB has produced an updated 8-step guidance for mosques in England to safely come out of lockdown. Click on the red button below to download the guidance and all associated resources.
CfMM organised a focus group for the BBC on their coverage of Muslims and Islam. Muslim community organisations and individuals who have done CfMM’s 'How to Monitor the Media' workshops fed back their views to the heads of Radio & TV Religious Programming, the Head of Creative Diversity as well as other editors, commissioning editors and programme makers.
Participants provided feedback on programmes, including: “Saturday Kitchen Eid Special”, “Being Muslim”, “Meet the Khans”, “Islam, Belfast & Me”, BBC Radio’s “Good Morning, Sunday”, BBC Asian Network’s “For Fasts Sake”, local radio’s “Muslim Reflections”, Bitesize educational resources for schools and much more. This was the first of many feedback sessions CfMM will be organising with the BBC.
The next phase of Pandemic has brought in new considerations and procedures:
Medical CRG
Booking vaccination talks for younger Muslims
Mental Health CRG
Preparations have begun for a mental health conference (October 2021)
Mosques CRG
Steering meetings with Muslim Council of Scotland and Muslim Council of Wales regarding re-opening plans
CBHUK webinar delivered ahead of Hajj 2021
Release of 8-Step Guide to Re-Opening of Mosques (England)
Economic CRG
Halal Student Loan campaign meeting at Department of Education
To get involved, please email [email protected] or look out for more information on MCB social media! The MCB's latest COVID-19 guidance for Muslim communities is regularly updated. Click on the red button below to visit our dedicated Coronavirus page for Muslim communities.
Faith in Action: West Midlands Muslim Community Covid Response Booklet Launch
The MCB congratulates our affiliates for their resilience and great work to serve Muslim communities throughout the pandemic. This booklet is a great recognition of your efforts and best practice to share with others.
For further information on the above event or booklet, please contact [email protected]
A summary of public engagements by MCB Office bearer & Committee's public engagements:
8 June - Mansur Safdar, ReDoc Chair - meeting with Dr Briony Hudson, Senior Research Manager, Marie Curie (with attendance by ReDoc members Mehboob Asaria, Jamil Sherif)
23 June - Zara Mohammed, Secretary General, met Layla Moran MP
6 July - SG spoke at British Pakistan Foundation leaders’ event. Talked about their personal challenges, and opportunities for women in leadership roles
7 July - Zara Mohammed, Secretary General, met Sarah Owen MP. They discussed how to continue supporting local and diverse communities
8 July - Hassan Joudi, Deputy Secretary General, attended the annual online Remembering Srebrenica memorial event marking the 26th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia
10 July - Zara Mohammad, spoke at FOMWA Youth Conference. She shared her journey as a young leader, the importance of parents not using culture as a barrier to supporting young people to dream big and do things differently
12 July - Zara Mohammed and Hassan Joudi met with the "Understanding British Imams" research team at Cardiff University
13 July - Hassan Joudi joined representatives of the Palestinian Forum in Britain for a meeting with the Algerian Ambassador
15 July - Zara Mohammed spoke at launch of Scottish CPG report on Islamophobia
15 July - Hassan Joudi attended the online AGM of the Inter Faith Network
15 July - Mehboob Asaria, ReDoc - meeting with Office for National Statistics, 'Census 2021 outputs consultation introduction'
July -Zara Mohammad spoke at webinar on Palestine
July -Zara Mohammad spoke at Management Today event on leadership challenges
27 July - Zara Mohammad met with Muslimah Sports Association. And looks forward to sharing their work nationally and seeing how we can use sport to continue to improve lives
MCB in the Media this Month
TRT World- Critics say EU court ruling on headscarves reinforces Islamophobia
Sunday Post- Zara Mohammed: For Scots Muslims, report on Islamophobia came as no surprise but the sheer scale of it still shocked
i News- Muslim doctors say Eid al-Adha celebrations should be ‘sensible’ as restrictions ease to avoid super-spreading
The Guardian - Southgate’s team represents real England’: Three Lions unite country
BritishPakistanFoundation- Zara Mohammed speaks to British Pakistan Foundation about her Journey to becoming General Secretary of MCB
BBC- Sean Fletcher and Nina Wadia cover talking points and exploring the ethical and religious issues of the day
TheGuardian- Keir Starmer, your party has a whole new race problem
Welcome New Affiliates
A wholehearted welcome to our new affiliates - welcome to the MCB Family:
Islamic Network - London
Convert Muslim Foundation - Leicester
Quwwat-ul-Islam Society - London
Muslim Research and Development Foundation - London
Rochdale Dawah Centre - Rochdale
Vacancy
Join our growing team of talented individuals working to strengthen the voice of British Muslims
Role:Public Affairs & Communications Manager
Ensure the MCB can effectively represent and communicate the interests of British Muslim communities to impact positive change in policy. The role requires strong management and leadership skills and the ability to respond in a fast-changing environment.
