107-577: Mohammed Shafiq (born 25 January 1979) is a British media personality known for his commentary on Islam in the United Kingdom . Shafiq has spoken out against extremism and terrorism since 2001, condemning the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack . In October 2013, he was warned by anti-terrorist police about death threats being made by the Al-Shabaab terrorist group. In January 2014, he led a campaign in reaction to Maajid Nawaz tweeting an image from
214-496: A Hajj to Mecca in 1853, although later in life he declared himself an atheist. Abdullah Quilliam was a 19th-century Englishman who converted to Islam and built what is argued to be the first mosque in the country in Liverpool. He was known locally for his work advocating trade unionism and divorce law reform and persuaded more people in Liverpool to convert but they faced abuse from the wider society. An August 2017 survey by
321-454: A neoconservative think tank whose Associate Director, Douglas Murray, supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq and has described Islamophobia as "a crock". In 2006, Murray also called for an end to "all immigration into Europe from Muslim countries". In December 2017, Quilliam released a report entitled "Group Based Child Sexual Exploitation – Dissecting Grooming Gangs", concluding that 84% of offenders were of South Asian heritage. This report
428-461: A "radicalisation awareness programme". On 30 December 2008, just days after the outbreak of the Gaza War , Husain condemned the "ruthless air strikes and economic blockade" of Gaza city by Israel. He predicted that the result would be "rightful support for the beleaguered Palestinian peoples – and a boost to the popularity of Hamas by default". On 14 June 2010, a strategic briefing paper with
535-601: A "rent a quote" beloved of journalists for his controversial views, In interviews and in published articles regarding the Rochdale sex trafficking gang , Shafiq has made controversial statements regarding members of the Pakistani community who had been involved in grooming girls, blaming them for harbouring a racist attitude towards white girls. He observed there was an over representation of Pakistani men convicted of child sexual exploitation and on-street gang grooming in which
642-655: A Metropolitan middle class. Chain migration played a significant role, as many of the early migrants helped bring their family members to the UK. Today, the British Mirpuri diaspora is one of the largest Kashmiri communities outside of South Asia, with strong ties to cities like Bradford, Birmingham, and Manchester. People of Bangladeshi descent are the second largest Muslim community (after Pakistanis), 15% of Muslims in England and Wales are of Bangladeshi descent, one of
749-738: A captain of the East India Company who in 1810 founded London's first Indian restaurant , the Hindoostanee Coffee House . Between 1803 and 1813, there were more than 10,000 lascars from the Indian subcontinent visiting British port cities and towns. By 1842, 3,000 lascars visited the UK annually, and by 1855, 12,000 lascars were arriving annually in British ports. In 1873, 3,271 lascars arrived in Britain. Throughout
856-605: A coin with an Arabic inscription, largely a copy of coins issued by a contemporary Abbasid ruler, Caliph Al-Mansur . In the 16th century, Muslims from North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia were present in London, working in a range of roles, from diplomats and translators to merchants and musicians. Bengal was annexed by the East India Company from the quasi-independent Nawabs of Bengal following
963-714: A controversial speech in Germany, and Shafiq appeared on Sky News and BBC News 24 to discuss the issue. Shafiq was a senior presenter and head of News and Politics on Ummah Channel and presents various shows including the Debate Night show and is also the main English-speaking presenter. Shafiq also regularly reviews the newspapers on Stephen Nolan 's weekend late night show on Fridays at midnight on BBC Radio 5 Live along with former Conservative MP Jerry Hayes . He has been accused by MEP Daniel Hannan of being
1070-807: A convert to Islam, provided the first complete English-language translation of the Qur'an by a British Muslim in 1930. Under the British Indian Army , a significant number of Muslims fought for the United Kingdom during the First and the Second World Wars (a number of whom were awarded the Victoria Cross , Britain's highest honour). In the decades following the latter conflict and the Partition of India in 1947, many Muslims (from what
1177-544: A counter petition calling for Clegg to discipline Shafiq received 8,375 supporters. Islam in the United Kingdom Islam is the second-largest religion in the United Kingdom , with results from the 2021 Census recording just under four million Muslims, or 6.0% of the total population in the United Kingdom. London has the largest population and greatest proportion (15%) of Muslims in
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#17327938863421284-483: A covering letter signed by Nawaz and Hussain was sent to Charles Farr , director of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT). The briefing paper was intended to be a confidential review of the UK government's anti-terrorism "Prevent" strategy following the 7 July 2005 London bombings , and was "particularly critical of the view that government partnerships with non-violent yet otherwise extreme Islamists were
1391-575: A further 130,000 Turkish Cypriots to leave the Island for the United Kingdom. Migrant workers from the Republic of Turkey began to arrive in large numbers in the 1970s, followed by their family members in the late 1970s and 1980s. Many of these workers were recruited by Turkish Cypriots who had already established businesses such as restaurants. These workers were required to renew their work permits every year until they became residents after living in
1498-459: A government line or not." With the sudden cut in 2011, Quilliam operated at a loss that year. According to its political liaison officer, Jonathan Russell, the removal of public funding has been to Quilliam's advantage, as "it can remain ideas-focused, non-partisan and continue its own pursuits." In 2012, the foundation received $ 75,000 from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation , which funds
1605-501: A large Muslim population. The first educated South Asian to travel to Europe and live in Britain was I'tisam-ud-Din , a Bengali Muslim cleric, munshi and diplomat to the Mughal Empire who arrived in 1765 with his servant Muhammad Muqim during the reign of King George III . He wrote of his experiences and travels in his Persian book, Shigurf-nama-i-Wilayat (or 'Wonder Book of Europe'). In South Asia, specifically,
1712-558: A long presence in the country. The earliest known Englishman to convert to Islam was John Nelson of the 16th century. Thomas Keith was a Scottish soldier who converted to Islam and became the governor of Medina . The pirate Jack Ward , one of the inspirations for Captain Jack Sparrow , converted to Islam in the early 1600s. Another famous convert was the Victorian explorer Richard Francis Burton who successfully completed
1819-428: A secular Muslim, posted a " Jesus and Mo " image on his Twitter account. The image depicts Jesus saying "Hey" and Mohammed saying "How ya doin". Shafiq then posted on Twitter "We will notify all Muslim organisations in the UK of his despicable behavior and also notify Islamic countries." Shafiq further Tweeted "Ghustaki Rasool Quilliam," linking Nawaz's anti-extremist think tank with an Urdu term which means "defamer of
1926-440: A selection of the various groups and institutions active in the UK which are broadly sympathetic to Islamism. Whilst only a small proportion will agree with al-Qaida's tactics, many will agree with their overall goal of creating a single 'Islamic state' which would bring together all Muslims around the world under a single government and then impose on them a single interpretation of sharia as state law." Politicians described by
2033-420: A source for real reform. This gave him the time and financial freedom to set up [Quilliam]." The organisation was named after Abdullah Quilliam , a 19th-century British convert to Islam who founded Britain's first mosque. The organisation was originally called The Quilliam Foundation , but later rebranded as simply Quilliam . Quilliam defined Islamism in the following terms: It is the belief that Islam
2140-530: A strong point in Islam, often opening large mosques such as East London Mosque and Brick Lane Masjid , as well as opening madrassas and Islamic TV channels. There are large numbers of Gujarati Muslims in Dewsbury , Blackburn (including Darwen ), Bolton , Preston , Nottingham , Leicester , Nuneaton , Gloucester and London ( Newham , Waltham Forest and Hackney ). People of Arab origin in Britain are
2247-573: A track record of distinguishing between legal tolerance and civil tolerance – we oppose banning non- violent extremists ... yet we see no reason why tax payers should subsidise them. It is in this context that we wish to raise awareness around Islamism." On 8 October 2013, it was announced that the co-founders of the English Defence League (EDL), Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll, had had meetings with Quilliam and intended to leave
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#17327938863422354-582: Is a political ideology, as well as a faith. It is a modernist claim that political sovereignty belongs to God, that the Shari'ah should be used as state law, that Muslims form a political rather than a religious bloc around the world and that it is a religious duty for all Muslims to create a political entity that is governed as such. Islamism is a spectrum, with Islamists disagreeing over how they should bring their 'Islamic' state into existence. Some Islamists seek to engage with existing political systems, others reject
2461-632: Is also a fairly large Punjabi community from East Africa found in London. People of Pakistani extraction are particularly notable in West Midlands , West Yorkshire , London, Lancashire / Greater Manchester and several industrial towns such as Luton , Slough and High Wycombe in the Home Counties. There are smaller numbers of Sindhis in Greater London . Pakistanis were traditionally working class but are slowly progressing into
2568-640: Is because the label was originally developed during the study of European history to mark the period in between the fall of the Roman Empire and the fall of Constantinople . Such classifications done by British historians throughout their long period of rule paved the way for a more cohesive Muslim identity. In the eighteenth century, this seemed unlikely. Muslims who hailed from Afghan, Turk, Persian, or Arab roots did not find their Muslim identities especially salient. Mughal courts divided not into Hindu or Muslim factions but Persian and Turkish ones. Converts to
2675-695: Is broadly the same as that of violent Islamists; they disagree only on tactics." Quilliam's report claimed that a unit within Scotland Yard called the Muslim Contact Unit, and a separate independent group called the Muslim Safety Forum , intended to improve the relationship between the police and the Muslim community, were respectively "Islamist-dominated" and "associated with Jamaat e-Islami". Other organisations listed by
2782-404: Is not Islamism". It also argues that "[Islamists] are extreme because of their rigidity in understanding politics". The organization's goals were mainly communicated in three ways: through the publication of reports, through involvement with the media, i.e. by taking part in interviews and discussions across Europe and the Middle East, and through its "Outreach and Training" unit, which delivers
2889-545: Is to prevent people getting killed and committing terrorism, it is good and it is right." Douglas Murray described this attitude as 'appallingly illiberal'. Sayeeda Warsi , the first female Muslim member of a British Cabinet, described Quilliam in her book The Enemy Within (2017) as "a bunch of men whose beards are tame, accents crisp, suits sharp, and who have a message the government wants to hear". After Quilliam folded in April 2021, Malia Bouattia , former president of
2996-418: Is today Bangladesh , India and Pakistan ) settled in Britain itself. Today, South Asians constitute the majority of Muslims in Britain in terms of ethnicity, although there are significant Turkish , Arab and Somali communities, as well as up to 100,000 British converts of multiple ethnic backgrounds. Islam is the second most widely practiced religion in the United Kingdom, with its followers having
3103-604: The Balkans , Middle East and North Africa have led to many Muslims migrating to the United Kingdom. In 1992, with the outbreak of the Bosnian War , a large number of Bosniaks who fled the ethnic cleansing and genocide ended up settling in Britain. Their numbers currently exist at between 10,000 and 15,000 including their descendants. Just over three years later, an insurgency in Kosovo beginning in 1995, eventually evolving into
3210-716: The Battle of Plassey in 1757. The manufactured goods produced in Bengal directly contributed to the Industrial Revolution in Britain, with the textiles produced in Bengal being used to support British industries such as textile manufacturing , aided by the invention of devices such as the spinning jenny . With the establishment of Crown control in India after 1857 , the British Empire came to rule over
3317-552: The Bertelsmann Stiftung foundation found that among British Muslims, 75% were Sunni and 8% were Shia. A September 2017 survey by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research found that among British Muslims, 77% were Sunni, 5% were Shia, 1% were Ahmadiyya, and 4% were members of other denominations. 14% of British Muslims said they did not know or refused to answer the survey. Quilliam (think tank) Quilliam
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3424-690: The Cyprus conflict , many Turkish Cypriots began to leave the island for political reasons in the 1950s, with the numbers increasing significantly after the intercommunal violence of late 1963 . With the subsequent division of the island in 1974 (followed by the declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983) an economic embargo against the Turkish Cypriots by the Greek Cypriot controlled Republic of Cyprus, caused
3531-797: The David Horowitz Freedom Center . Quilliam also won a grant of over $ 1 million from the John Templeton Foundation . The organisation also received £35,000 from banker and BBC chairman , Richard Sharp via his charity, the Sharp Foundation. When asked why he did this, Sharp said he was impressed by Quilliam's "efforts to combat radicalism and extremism". Despite Quilliam's claims to oppose extremism of any kind, it had numerous critics. According to Alex MacDonald in Middle East Eye ,
3638-637: The East Midlands . Although data is short, findings indicate Maghrebis make up a substantial community in Europe and the United Kingdom. Britain has long ties with Maghrebis, through contact with the Maghrebis . Nevertheless, Britain has a far lower count of Maghrebis in comparison to France, the Netherlands and Spain, where the majority of Muslims are Maghrebi. A 2009 government paper estimated
3745-814: The Elizabethan age , contacts became more explicit as the Tudors made alliances against Catholic Habsburg Spain , including with the Ottoman Empire . As the British Empire grew, particularly in India , Britain came to rule territories with many Muslim inhabitants; some of these, known as the lascars , are known to have settled in Britain from the mid-18th century onwards. In the 19th century, Victorian Orientalism spurred an interest in Islam and some British people, including aristocrats, converted to Islam. Marmaduke Pickthall , an English writer and novelist, and
3852-592: The Home Affairs Committee in 2011 claimed that there was 500,000 British Turks, made up of approximately 150,000 Turkish nationals, 300,000 Turkish Cypriots , and the remainder from other countries. As of 2013 , there was a growing number of ethnic Turks from the modern diaspora in Western Europe ; for example, Turks with German and Dutch citizenship (i.e. Turkish Germans and Turkish Dutch ) had also immigrated to Britain in accordance with
3959-619: The Jesus and Mo cartoon. He was criticised by many in the media and social media as whipping up hatred against Nawaz. In August 2005, he became press spokesman of the Ramadhan Foundation, a group aimed at helping young Muslims in the United Kingdom and fostering interfaith dialogue . Whilst representing the Foundation, he has become a regular face in British media, commenting on British-Muslim issues and perspectives. Shafiq
4066-920: The Kosovo War in 1998, would see 29,000 Kosovo Albanians flee their homes and settle in Britain. It is commonly believed that many Albanians from Albania moved to the United Kingdom at this time, posing as refugees from Kosovo, in search of a better life in the UK. A mere decade later, the Arab Spring (and later Arab Winter ) brought a wave of Muslim refugees fleeing civil war in Syria , war in Iraq , two wars in Libya , war in Yemen and countless other insurgencies by political groups and other terrorist organisations which exerted control over vast swathes of territory in
4173-895: The London Muslim Centre – all of which have connections with the Bangladeshi political party, the Jamaat-e-Islami . Other large groups include another Sunni movement, the Fultoli (founded in Sylhet), and the Tablighi Jamaat – which is a missionary and revival movement, and avoids political attention. The Hizb ut-Tahrir calls for the Khilafah (caliphate) and influences by publishing annual magazines, and lectures through mainly political concepts, and
4280-496: The Muslim world whilst empowering " moderate Muslim " voices. The organisation opposed any Islamist ideology and championed freedom of expression. The critique of Islamist ideology by its founders―Nawaz, Rashad Zaman Ali and Ed Husain ―was based, in part, on their personal experiences. Quilliam went into liquidation in 2021. Quilliam was established in 2007 by Ed Husain , Maajid Nawaz and Rashad Zaman Ali , three former members of
4387-683: The National Health Service (NHS). British Asians (both Muslim and non-Muslim) faced increased discrimination following Powell's "Rivers of Blood" speech and the establishment of the National Front (NF) in the late 1960s. This included overt racism in the form of " Paki bashing ", predominantly from white power skinheads , the National Front, and the British National Party (BNP), throughout
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4494-545: The National Union of Students , stated that "for 13 years Quilliam reinforced the idea that Muslims are a suspect community and supported the draconian “counter-terrorism” policies being pushed by the government." She claimed the foundation "leaves behind a toxic legacy, which will continue to harm the Muslim community in the United Kingdom and beyond." Quilliam worked with the Henry Jackson Society ,
4601-433: The Nazis in World War II , where Muslim soldiers accounted for up to 40% of the 2.5 million troops serving the British Indian Army. David Lloyd George , British Prime Minister from 1916 to 1922, stated: "we are the greatest Mahomedan power in the world and one-fourth of the population of the British Empire is Mahomedan. There have been no more loyal adherents to the throne and no more effective and loyal supporters of
4708-459: The Newham Youth Movement following the murder of Akhtar Ali Baig in 1980. The majority of mosques founded after World War II in Britain are reflective of the major strands of Sunni Islam predominating in the Indian subcontinent; namely Deobandi and Barelvi (the latter of which is more Sufi -orientated). There are also a smaller number of Salafi -oriented mosques, inspired by Abul A'la Maududi and Jamaat-e-Islami , are representative of
4815-407: The Office for National Statistics estimates that, as of 2009, this figure had risen to around 65,000. According to estimates by the Iraqi embassy, the Iraqi population in the UK is around 350,000–450,000. Turks in the United Kingdom represent a unique community in the country because they have emigrated not only from the Republic of Turkey but also from other former Ottoman regions; in fact,
4922-434: The Surat and Bharuch districts started to arrive from the 1940s when India was under British colonial rule , settling in the towns of Dewsbury and Batley in Yorkshire and in parts of Lancashire. The single largest group of Muslims in the United Kingdom are of Pakistani descent . Pakistanis were one of the first South Asian Muslim communities to permanently settle in the United Kingdom, arriving in England first in
5029-405: The 1970s and 1980s. Drawing inspiration from the civil rights movement , the black power movement, and the anti-apartheid movement, young British Pakistani and British Bangladeshi activists began a number of anti-racist Asian youth movements in the 1970s and 1980s, including the Bradford Youth Movement in 1977, the Bangladeshi Youth Movement following the murder of Altab Ali in 1978, and
5136-444: The 2021 census for England and Wales, the main places of birth were the United Kingdom at 1,974,479 people (51.0% of the total Muslim population), South Asia at 993,415 (25.7%), Africa at 366,133 (9.5%), other parts of Europe at 262,685 (6.8%) and the Middle East at 231,261 (6.0%). Among individual countries outside of the UK, the countries of Pakistan; Bangladesh; Somalia; India; Iraq; Turkey; Afghanistan; Iran; Syria; and Italy made up
5243-468: The Arab mainstream or are associated with the UK Turkish Islamic Trust. In addition to this there are Twelver Shīʿa Mosques. The Murabitun World Movement founded by Abdalqadir as-Sufi (born Ian Dallas) in 1968 is a branch of the Sufi Darqawi - Shadhili - Qadiri tariqa which was run out of Achnagairn in the Scottish Highlands . Martin Lings , an English Muslim scholar, published a biography of Muhammad in 1983 entitled Muhammad: His Life Based on
5350-433: The Bengal region, to work for the East India Company on British ships, some of whom settled down and took local wives. Due to the majority being lascars, the earliest Muslim communities were found in port towns. Naval cooks also came, many of them from the Sylhet district of British Bengal (now in Bangladesh). One of the most famous early Asian immigrants to England was the Bengali Muslim entrepreneur Sake Dean Mahomet ,
5457-423: The British Empire had a Muslim population of 94 million, larger than the empire's 58 million Christian population. By the 1920s, the British Empire included roughly half of the world's Muslim population. More than 400,000 Muslim soldiers of the British Indian Army fought for Britain during World War I , where 62,060 were killed in action. Muslim soldiers of the British Indian Army later fought for Britain against
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#17327938863425564-401: The British government. The article also said that some "members of the Government and the Opposition" had questioned the wisdom of "relying too heavily on a relatively unknown organisation … to counter extremism". From 2011 onwards, Quilliam received no government, i.e. "public", funding. In the BBC programme HARDtalk , Nawaz explained that "the reason it was cut was because we disagreed at
5671-444: The British ruled over one of the largest Muslim populations in the world. Upon coming into contact with such a population, the British authorities forged a uniquely Muslim identity for the local believers. This was, in part, due to the way British historians periodised South Asian history into an "ancient" Hindu one and a "medieval" Muslim one. Under the system, the colonial period was classified as "modern". Debate rages on concerning
5778-433: The EDL. Robinson said that street protests were "no longer effective" and "acknowledged the dangers of far-right extremism ". However, he also said that he intended to continue to combat radical Islamism by forming a new party. Both Robinson and Carroll began taking lessons in Islam from Quilliam member Usama Hasan , and stated their intention to train in lobbying institutions. However, in December 2015 Robinson, who founded
5885-418: The Earliest Sources . The publication of Salman Rushdie 's novel The Satanic Verses in 1988 caused major controversy . A number of Muslims in Britain condemned the book for blasphemy . On 2 December 1988, the book was publicly burned at a demonstration in Bolton attended by 7,000 Muslims, followed by a similar demonstration and book-burning in Bradford on 14 January 1989. Recently, several wars in
5992-414: The Empire in its hour of trial." This statement was later reiterated by Gandhi in 1920. Winston Churchill also stated in 1942: "We must not on any account break with the Moslems, who represent a hundred million people, and the main army elements on which we must rely for the immediate fighting." The Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking was the first purpose-built mosque in Britain, and was built in 1889. In
6099-452: The Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir . Husain left in 2011 to join the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Douglas Murray , who founded the Centre for Social Cohesion (which later morphed into the Henry Jackson Society ), claimed: "Around the time Ed Husain came to public notice, I recruited him to work with me (through Civitas , the organisation that originally hosted the CSC). He liked my views and I had great hopes for him to become
6206-409: The Islamist group Islam4UK . In October 2016, the U.S. Southern Poverty Law Center accused Nawaz of being an "anti-Muslim extremist". In June 2018, the SPLC apologised and paid $ 3.375 million to Nawaz and Quilliam "to fund their work to fight anti-Muslim bigotry and extremism". The Quilliam Foundation Ltd was put into liquidation on 9 April 2021. The same day, Nawaz posted on Twitter : "Due to
6313-422: The Middle East. Britain took on 20,000 refugees from Syria and 11,647 from Iraq. The growing number of Muslims resulted in the establishment of more than 1,500 mosques by 2007. Year of arrival (2021 census, England and Wales) According to the 2021 United Kingdom census , Muslims in England and Wales numbered 3,868,133, or 6.5% of the population. Northern Ireland recorded a population of 10,870, or 0.6% of
6420-414: The Muslim population, larger than any other ethnic group. Other smaller Bangladeshi Muslim communities are present in Newcastle upon Tyne , Bradford , Manchester , Sunderland , Portsmouth , and Rochdale . There are groups which are active throughout Bangladeshi communities such as The Young Muslim Organisation. It is connected to the Islamic Forum Europe , associated with the East London Mosque and
6527-432: The Nigerian Muslim community at 12,000 to 14,000 people. The community is concentrated in London. Nigerian Muslims in the UK are represented by several community organizations including the Nigeria Muslim Forum . The United Kingdom, with 43,532 Somalia-born residents in 2001, and an estimated 101,000 in 2008, is home to the largest Somali community in Europe . A 2009 estimate by Somali community organisations puts
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#17327938863426634-453: The Quilliam report included the Muslim Council of Britain and its rival the Muslim Association of Britain , both said to be "associated with the Muslim brotherhood ". Also said to have Islamist sympathies or to be associated with Islamist groups were the Islamic Human Rights Commission , the Federation of Student Islamic Societies , the Cordoba Foundation , and the Islam Channel . The report said of these organisations: "These are
6741-401: The Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking and the East London Mosque . Other aristocratic British converts included Sir Archibald Hamilton, 5th Baronet , Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley , St John Philby and Zainab Cobbold (the first Muslim woman born in Britain to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca ). Large-scale immigration of Muslims to Britain began after World War II , as a result of
6848-536: The Somali population figure at 90,000 residents. The first Somali immigrants were seamen and traders who arrived in small numbers in port cities in the late 19th century, although most Somalis in the UK are recent arrivals. Further more Somali European such as from Holland or Denmark have been emigrating in recent years. Established Somali communities are found in Bristol , Cardiff , Liverpool and London, and newer ones have formed in Leicester , Manchester and Sheffield . The history of native British Muslims has
6955-403: The Thousand Nights and a Night . At the beginning of World War I , there were 51,616 South Asian lascars working on British ships, the majority of whom were of Bengali descent. In 1932, the Indian National Congress survey of 'all Indians outside India' (which included modern Pakistani and Bangladeshi territories) estimated that there were 7,128 Indians living in the United Kingdom. By 1911,
7062-471: The UK to take action, citing the murder of Lee Rigby as an example to follow. Shafiq was later offered special protection by the police. Shafiq was a member of the Labour Party for two months in 1997 but resigned when the government introduced tuition fees against the promises before the election. He joined the Liberal Democrats . In February 2008, he was asked to resign as vice-chairman of Rochdale Liberal Democrats, following comments he posted online under
7169-415: The US counterjihad movement, Fear Inc., by the Center for American Progress , identified its key activists including Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy and David Horowitz of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, both conspiracy theorists who have claimed Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin is an agent of the Muslim Brotherhood ; as well as Pamela Gellar and Robert Spencer, the co-founders of Stop
7276-443: The United Kingdom in among other places Cardiff and the South Shields area near Newcastle . The UK has a significant Iraqi Kurdish population. Iraqi Kurds are mostly Sunni Muslims. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government , the Iraqi Kurds make up the largest group of Kurds in the country, exceeding the numbers from Turkey and Iran . The 2001 UK Census recorded 32,236 Iraqi-born residents, and
7383-405: The anti-Islamic organisation Pegida UK after leading the EDL, claimed that Quilliam had paid him a total of around £8000 over a period of six months so they could take credit for his exit from the EDL, although he said that he had already decided to leave the movement before coming into contact with Quilliam. Quilliam subsequently acknowledged that they had paid Robinson, although they characterised
7490-412: The best way to fend off Jihadism ". Although sent "by hard copy alone" with no electronic version, both letter and briefing paper were leaked by being scanned and published on the internet, provoking protests from various groups which had been identified in the Quilliam briefing as sympathetic or supportive of Islamist extremism. According to the briefing document, "The ideology of non-violent Islamists
7597-425: The country for five years. By the 1980s, intellectuals, including students, and highly educated professionals arrived in the country, most of which received support from the Turkish Cypriot community. Mainland Turks settled in similar areas of London in which the Turkish Cypriots lived in; however, many have also moved to the outer districts, such as Essex . The Turkish community have established several mosques in
7704-651: The country. The vast majority of British Muslims in the United Kingdom adhere to Sunni Islam , while smaller numbers are associated with Shia Islam . During the Middle Ages , there was some general cultural exchange between Christendom and the Islamic world . Nonetheless, there were no Muslims in the British Isles ; however, a few Crusaders did convert in the East, such as Robert of St. Albans . During
7811-765: The country. The first was Shacklewell Lane Mosque , established by the Turkish Cypriot community in 1977. There are numerous other Turkish mosques in London, mainly in Hackney, including the Aziziye Mosque and Suleymaniye Mosque . Notable Turkish mosques outside London include Selimiye Mosque in Manchester , Hamidiye Mosque in Leicester , and Osmaniye Mosque in Stoke-on-Trent . Turks from
7918-558: The demographics of national populations. However, it is not possible to conclude that this is representative of all group-based CSE offending. Writing in The Guardian , Cockbain and Tufail wrote of the report that "The two-year study by the Home Office makes very clear that there are no grounds for asserting that Muslim or Pakistani-heritage men are disproportionately engaged in such crimes, and, citing our research, it confirmed
8025-728: The descendants of Arab immigrants to Britain from a variety of Arab states or entities, including Yemen , Syria , Iraq , Lebanon , Jordan , Egypt and the Palestinian Authority . Most British Arabs are Sunni Muslim, although some – such as those of Iraqi and Lebanese origin – are Shi'ite. The main Arab Muslim communities in the UK live in the Greater London area, with smaller numbers living in Manchester , Liverpool , and Birmingham . There are also sizable and very long-established communities of Muslim Yemenis in
8132-409: The destruction and labour shortages caused by the war. Muslim migrants from former British colonies, predominantly India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, were recruited in large numbers by government and businesses to rebuild the country. Large numbers of doctors recruited from India and Pakistan, encouraged by health minister Enoch Powell in the early 1960s, also played a key role in the establishment of
8239-563: The early 19th century lascars visited Britain at a rate of 1,000 every year, which increased to a rate of 10,000 to 12,000 every year throughout the late 19th century. A prominent English convert of the 19th century was Henry Stanley, 3rd Baron Stanley of Alderley , who became a Muslim in 1862. Although not a convert himself, the Victorian Age adventurer, Sir Richard Francis Burton visited Mecca in disguise, documented in The Book of
8346-741: The ethnic groups in the UK with the largest proportion of people following a single religion, being 92% Muslim . The majority of these Muslims come from the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. Many mosques opened by the British Bangladeshi community are often named after Shah Jalal and other Sufi saints who took part in the Islamic conquest of Sylhet in 1303. British Bangladeshi Muslims are mainly concentrated in London ( Tower Hamlets and Newham ), Luton , Birmingham and Oldham . The Bangladeshi Muslim community in London forms 24% of
8453-490: The existing systems as illegitimate but do so non-violently, and others seek to create an 'Islamic state' through violence. Most Islamists are socially modern but others advocate a more retrograde lifestyle. Islamists often have contempt for Muslim scholars and sages and their traditional institutions; as well as a disdain for non-Islamist Muslims and the West. Quilliam argued that Islam is a faith, not an ideology, and that "Islam
8560-566: The freedom of movement under EU law. Turkish Cypriots first began to migrate to the United Kingdom in 1917. At the time, the British Empire had already annexed Cyprus and the residents of Cyprus became subjects of the Crown. Migration continued through the 1920s; during the Second World War , the number of Turkish-run cafes increased from 20 in 1939 to 200 in 1945 – creating a demand for more Turkish Cypriot workers. However, due to
8667-498: The government through Prevent – are attempting to set themselves up as arbiters of who is and is not an acceptable Muslim." A Home Office spokesman told the press that the report had not been solicited, but added: "We believe the Prevent programme isn't working as effectively as it could and want a strategy that is effective and properly focused – that is why we are reviewing it." Nawaz told The Daily Telegraph : "Quilliam has
8774-533: The hardship of maintaining a non-profit during COVID lockdowns, we took the tough decision to close Quilliam down for good. This was finalised today. A huge thank you to all those who supported us over the years. We are now looking forward to a new post-covid future". When Quilliam launched in 2007, the Home Office provided it with £674,608 of funding. In January 2009, The Times published an article claiming that Quilliam had received almost £1 million from
8881-526: The late 1940s. Immigration from Mirpur in Pakistan grew from the late 1950s, accompanied by immigration from other parts of Pakistan especially from Punjab , particularly from the surrounding Punjab villages of Faisalabad , Sahiwal , Sialkot , Jhelum , Gujar Khan and Gujarat , in addition to from the north-west Punjab including the chhachhi Pathans and Pashtuns from Attock District , and some from villages of Ghazi , Nowshera and Peshawar . There
8988-404: The majority of British Turks are Turkish Cypriots who migrated from the island of Cyprus from the British colonial period onwards. The second largest Turkish community descend from Turkey. There has also been ethnic Turkish migration waves from Arabic-speaking countries (such as Iraq and Syria ) as well as the Balkans (including Bulgaria , Greece , and Romania ). A report published by
9095-528: The majority of victims are white. In October 2013, Shafiq was alerted by anti-terrorist police that he, as well as a number of other prominent Muslim figures in the UK, had been specifically mentioned in a propaganda video created by Al-Shabaab , the terrorist group responsible for the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya. The video attacked Shafiq and others for "selling out" and had urged jihadists in
9202-587: The name "Deeplish Lad", accusing a colleague of racism and using "tricks from the BNP handbook" – a move said by Lib Dem sources to be "the final straw". He returned to the Labour Party in 2015. He was born to parents from Pakistan. Shafiq attended Springhill High School in Rochdale and Bury College . He is married, having four daughters. In January 2014 Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Maajid Nawaz ,
9309-463: The organisation was "regularly accused [...] of authoritarianism as well as targeting Muslim groups across the UK and tarring them with the "extremist" label with little evidence." In October 2009, The Guardian revealed that Husain was in favour of Muslims being spied upon by the British state even if they were not suspected of committing crimes; Husain is quoted as saying, "It is gathering intelligence on people not committing terrorist offences. If it
9416-557: The other which is a movement within Sunni Islam is the Salafi – who view the teachings of the first generations after Muhammed as the correct teachings, and appeals to younger Muslims as a way to differentiate themselves towards their elders. All these groups work to stimulate Islamic identity among local Bengalis or Muslims and particularly focus on the younger members of the communities. The British Bangladeshi community has held
9523-483: The payments as remuneration "for costs associated with outreach that he & Dr Usama Hassan did to Muslim communities after Tommy's departure from the EDL". Quilliam had previously persuaded another member of the EDL, Nick Jode, to leave the EDL. Jode had been persuaded by the writings and on-line videos of Maajid Nawaz speaking on behalf of Quilliam, being particularly impressed by Nawaz's debate with Anjem Choudary of
9630-560: The population, with the highest number of Muslims recorded in Belfast at 5,487, or 1.59% of the population. The equivalent census was conducted a year later in Scotland and recorded a population of 119,872, or 2.2% of the population. In Scotland, Glasgow recorded the highest number of Muslims at 48,766, or 7.86% of the population. The top 25 local authorities in the United Kingdom with the highest percentage of Muslims in 2021 were: In
9737-774: The present day with the East London Mosque recently expanding into a large former car park where the London Muslim Centre is now used for prayers, recreational facilities and housing. Most people regard themselves as part of the ummah , and their identity is based on their religion rather than their ethnic group . The 2001 census recorded that there were 179,733 Muslims who described themselves as 'white'. 65% of white Muslims described themselves as "other white", and would likely have originated from locations such as Bosnia and Herzegovina , Kosovo , Adygea , Chechnya , Albania , Turkey , Bulgaria ,
9844-413: The prophet". Maajid Nawaz has since received a number of death threats. Shafiq also reportedly organized an on-line petition to Nick Clegg to have Nawaz removed as a Liberal Democrat candidate, though when the organizers of the petition, named as SA et al., were contacted by the press they distanced themselves from Shafiq. The online petition asking Clegg to suspend Nawaz eventually had 22,927 supporters,
9951-418: The recent growth to "recent immigration, the higher than average birth rate, some conversion to Islam". In 2017, Pew Research Center projected the population of Muslims in the United Kingdom to grow to 6.56 million (12.7% of the population) by 2050 under a zero migration scenario, or to 13.48 million (17.2%) under a high migration scenario. Several large cities have one area that is a majority Muslim even if
10058-575: The region of East Macedonia and Thrace in Northern Greece , and North Macedonia . The remainder of white Muslims are converts and mostly identified themselves as White British and White Irish. Islam is the third-largest religious group of British Indian people, after Hinduism and Sikhism . 8% of UK Muslims are of Indian descent, principally those whose origins are in Gujarat , West Bengal , Telangana and Kerala . Gujarati Muslims from
10165-516: The religion outside of courtly life, the majority of the Muslim population in the Subcontinent, too were more focused on their regional and lingual cultural identities-whether that be Bengali, Punjabi, Sindhi, or Gujarati. The first group of Muslims to come to Great Britain in significant numbers, in the 18th century, were lascars (sailors) recruited from the Indian subcontinent , largely from
10272-617: The report as "Islamist-backed" included Salma Yaqoob , then leader of the Respect Party , and George Galloway , also from Respect. Inayat Bunglawala , chairman of Muslims4Uk and a former spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, and Fatima Khan, vice-chair of the Muslim Safety Forum, both described Quilliam's list as " McCarthyite ". Bunglawala added: "In effect, Quilliam – a body funded very generously by
10379-508: The rest of the city has a fairly small Muslim population. In addition, it is possible to find small areas that are almost entirely Muslim: for example, Savile Town in Dewsbury . Initial limited mosque availability meant that prayers were conducted in small rooms of council flats until the 1980s when more and larger facilities became available. Some synagogues and community buildings were turned into mosques and existing mosques began to expand their buildings. This process has continued down to
10486-535: The same districts from their homeland tend to congregate in the same quarters in the UK. The majority live in capital city of London, particularly in Hackney , Haringey , Enfield , Lewisham , Lambeth , Southwark , Croydon , Islington , Kensington , Waltham Forest , and Wood Green . Outside London there are smaller Turkish communities in Birmingham , Hertfordshire , Luton , Manchester , Sheffield and
10593-664: The same year, Abdullah Quilliam installed a mosque in a terrace in Liverpool , which became the Liverpool Muslim Institute . The first mosque in London was the Fazl Mosque , established in 1924, commonly called the London mosque. Quran translators Yusuf Ali and Marmaduke Pickthall , who authored The Meaning of the Glorious Koran : An Explanatory Translation in 1930, were both trustees of
10700-410: The time with the direction the government was headed. Now that the strategy has changed, and the policy of government has changed, what we haven't done is revitalize those funding relationships; but rather now we're 100% privately funded, which I'm happy with because of course it allows me to do the work without having to face the questions about which government is funding you and whether we're pursuing
10807-484: The top ten most common countries of birth for Muslims residing in England and Wales. 59.7% of Muslims identified as either Pakistani / Bangladeshi / Indian , 6.2% were of other Asian heritage , 10.8% identified as Black , 7.2% identified as Arab , 5.9% were White , 3.7% were of Mixed heritage , and the remaining 6.6% identified with other ethnic groups. The Muslim population of England and Wales has grown consistently since World War II. Sophie Gilliat-Ray attributes
10914-544: The unreliability of the Quilliam claim". In openDemocracy , Tom Griffin criticised Nawaz for focusing on Islamism, and for defending " counterjihad " figures like Robert Spencer , Pamela Geller and Frank Gaffney . The emergence of the counterjihad movement had previously been noted in the journal of the Royal United Services Institute as early as 2008. The most comprehensive study of
11021-419: The utility and legitimacy of these labels themselves. Problems with these labels range from the connotations coupled with the word 'medieval' to the implications related to labelling the colonial era as "modern". The term medieval itself is quite controversial. Historians writing in journals relating to the time period have asked whether the term is a "tyrannous construct" or an "alien conceptual hegemony". This
11128-465: The youngest average age among major religious groups. Between 2001 and 2009, the Muslim population increased almost 10 times faster than the non-Muslim population. Reports suggest each year, approximately 6000 Britons, primarily women, choose to convert to Islam. The earliest evidence of Islamic influence in England dates to the 8th century, when Offa , the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia , minted
11235-475: Was a British think tank co-founded in 2008 by Maajid Nawaz that focused on counter- extremism , specifically against Islamism , which it argued represents a desire to impose a given interpretation of Islam on society. Founded as The Quilliam Foundation and based in London , it claimed to lobby government and public institutions for more nuanced policies regarding Islam and on the need for greater democracy in
11342-626: Was fiercely criticised for its poor methodology by Ella Cockbain and Waqas Tufail, in their paper "Failing victims, fuelling hate: challenging the harms of the 'Muslim grooming gangs' narrative" which was published in January 2020. In December that year, a further report by the Home Office was released, showing that the majority of CSE gangs were, in fact, composed of white men. Research has found that group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are most commonly white. Some studies suggest an overrepresentation of black and Asian offenders relative to
11449-604: Was the project manager for the first Muslim Unity Convention , held in the aftermath of the 7/7 attacks in 2005 at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester . He was a member of the organising committee of the second International Muslim Unity Convention held in October 2009 in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia . Shafiq has appeared regularly on television and radio since 2005, when the newly elected Pope, Benedict XVI made
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