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This article will discuss in brief
the early immigration of Muslims into Britian*.
It traces the contributing factors for such immigration and discusses the
problems faced by early immigrants. It analyses immigrants’ initiatives
to live as Muslims and their encounters with other faiths, especially Christianity.
Finally, the article highlights some of the contemporary problems faced
by the community living in Britain.
Development of the Community
Although Muslim migration to Britain
began from the mid-nineteenth century, the immediate opportunity was brought
about in 1869 by the opening of the Suez Canal. This facilitated increased
trade between Britain and its colonies, and a contingent force of labourers
to work on the ships and in the ports. The obvious choice of such labourers
were the Yemenis. They were the first group of Muslim migrants who arrived
at the British ports of Cardiff, Liverpool, Pollockshields and London.
Between 1890-1903, nearly forty thousand seaman arrived on British shores
and about thirty thousand of them, according to one report, spent some
part of their lives in Britain.
Inevitably, there was a language barrier
between the Yemeni workers and their British employers. This, the Yemenis
solved in tribal fashion. Yemeni workers, upon their arrival at British
ports, assigned themselves to a particular leader for their daily needs
and work requirements. The leaders were usually chosen because of their
relatively better communication skills, and their awareness of employers’
needs and government requirements. Sometimes this transit period could
be extended by months, and this could be a very difficult time for Yemeni
sailors. Bit by bit, some of them began to settle for longer periods and
married local British girls. In port cities like Cardiff and Liverpool,
there are now several generations of Muslims in the community.
Additionally there were others who
migrated and settled in Britain. Civil servants of the British Raj used
to visit Britain either to acquire work experience or to take civil service
examination in order to gain promotion in their jobs. A small number of
them settled in Britain. People such as Abdullah Yusuf Ali, a civil servant
and translator of the Qur’an into
English, lived, married and died in Britain.
On the one hand, then, we have the
British Empire, which attracted increasing numbers of immigrants to Britain,
whilst on the other, we have native Britons who were attracted to the faith
and beliefs of these immigrants. Pursuant to their regular visits to Muslim
countries, these Britons were attracted by the mystical dimension of Islam.
Others came into contact with Muslim professionals and students in Britain
because they mingled with the British aristocracy; they shared a similar
background. These two factors played an important role in establishing
Islam in Britain.
During the latter part of the last
century and until the beginning of the Second World War, two key institutions
emerged, one in Liverpool and the other in Surrey. William H Quilliam,
a lawyer in Liverpool, visited Morocco in 1887. There he was attracted
to Islam, and soon became a Muslim, founding The Liverpool Mosque and
The Muslim Institute. He edited The Islamic World (begun
in 1890) and The Crescent, a weekly publication in which he wrote
extensively about Islam and Muslims. A number of tracts were also published.
Quilliam also established Madina House, a house for orphans in Liverpool.
His works attracted both Muslims and non-Muslims alike and also seem to
have had a lasting audience abroad. He received a personal gift from the Amir of Afghanistan and the Ottoman
Sultan invited him to visit Istanbul and soon appointed him Shaykh al-Islam.
The Muslim Institute established a Muslim College where it
enrolled both Muslim and non-Muslim students. Quilliam’s activities attracted
a large number of critics and eventually he left Liverpool for Jersey,
later returning to work under a pseudonym.
The second important institution,
The Working Mission was initially begun by Dr Leitner, a Hungarian
Orientalist who established a mosque there in 1889, and as a result the
place was neglected for the next twelve years, until Khwaja Kamaluddin
from India arrived in 1912. Kamaludin’s sole objective was to remove misconceptions
about Islam in Britain and perhaps he expected that this would also influence
and reduce misconceptions about Islam throughout the Empire. In 1913, he
began publishing a monthly journal, Muslim India and Islamic Review
which later changed to Islamic Review. The Working Mission enjoyed
a considerable boost when Lord Headley converted to Islam. He came into
contact with Islam when he went to India in 1896 as a contract engineer.
Both Kamaluddin and Lord Headley gave direction to the Mission. In 1914,
Headley established The British Muslim Society, aiming perhaps to
give a contextual image of Muslims and Islam as part of British society.
While The Working Mission progressed, in London Marmaduke Pickthall
announced his conversion to Islam. He too had been in constant touch with
The Working Mission. Pickthall translated the Qur’an into English and published a journal from London called The Muslim
Outlook. In this way, Britain’s contact with Islam continued to deepen
at the intellectual as well as the grassroots levels.
Migration after World War II
The mass migration to Britain of Pakistanis
(including Bangladeshis) had its origin in colonialism. For example, many
soldiers who joined the British army in the war were posted to the British
Isles, and some of them began to settle there. Initially, however, their
number was very small, until after the partition of India. Partition caused
the displacement of large populations, especially in the Punjab and Mirpur
(a significant sector of the populations who joined the British army),
who then began to look to their future in Britain over a longer term. The
second important factor which contributed to migration was the construction
of the Mangla Dam in Pakistan. This, in effect, displaced 100,000 people,
especially the Mirpuris. With their compensation money, some settled in
other parts of Pakistan; others, however, looked for the sponsorship of
their relatives in Britain and subsequently settled there in large numbers.
Their initial intent was to earn enough money to buy a plot of land and
build houses for their families and settle in Pakistan. The rapid increase
in demand for unskilled labour in British industries also occasioned large
scale migration, the pattern being the same as for the Punjabis or Mirpuris,
namely, sponsorship and initial help have tended towards single males,
who share houses and work long hours, and then visit families and friends
at home for a long break, usually every year or two.
The economic climate in post-war Britain
changed rapidly. There were fewer jobs and opportunities for people compared
with the early 1950s. Inevitably, the government began to restrict migrant
workers and in 1961, the commonwealth Immigration Act was passed which
came into force the following year. Arguably, this Act was the turning
point in the growth of the Muslim population in Britain. The eighteen month
long gap between the passing of the Immigration Act and its enforcement
provided time for reflection for those who were working in Britain: did
they want to return to their country of origin, or make Britain their home?
Basically, the Act imposed restrictions on adults intending to work in
Britain. By 1964, the Ministry of Labour stopped granting permission for
the unskilled to work in Britain. The impact of this legislation was such
that each single male who had formerly shared a house with others, now
began looking for houses for their families in a nearby neighbourhood.
Once their families arrived, the immediate concern of the parents was for
their children. They wanted to impart religious education by teaching the
Qur’an, basic beliefs and the
practices of Islam to their children. This meant allocating a house for
their children’s education in the neighbourhood and using the same house
for the five daily prayers. Muslim dietary laws saw the development of
halal butcher shops and the import of Asian spices. This also gave birth
to the Asian corner shops in Britain. In this way, the growth of the Muslim
neighbourhood had begun.
The second wave of migration came
from East African countries. Asians who were occupied in the wholesale
and distributive trade in Africa, provided the necessary banking and financial
services. Their participation in the economy was checked by the Africanization
policy of the newly independent African countries. Banks and private businesses
were nationalized. This left Asian businessmen and their families with
a stark choice between African enterprise, under strict regulation, or
leaving the country. They opted for the latter. A large number of Asians
had British passports, and so, they decided to come to Britain. This resulted
in the Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1968, which removed the right of
entry to the U.K. for passport holders living abroad.
By the early 1960’s, there seems to
have been a considerable determination by Muslim countries to send their
students for higher education in Britain. This was demonstrated by a slow
but steady growth in student populations from Malaysia, Iran, Pakistan,
Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. These overseas students started
to form Islamic Societies in various British universities. This was within
the framework of University and Student Union policies. In 1962, the Islamic
Societies felt the need to form a Federation of Islamic Societies in order
to provide basic guidance to new students arriving in Britain, and facilities
for Friday prayers in university campuses. They also held annual ‘Islamic
Weeks’, consisting of lectures, exhibitions and video shows and in general,
they helped Muslim students with support for their needs. Gradually, a
number of students decided to stay and came to play a leading role within
the community. A number of organizations also came into existence including
The U.K. Islamic Mission (1962), The Muslim Student’s Society
(1962), The Union of Muslim Organizations (1970), The Islamic Council of
Europe (1973), Young Muslims (1984), The Islamic Party (1989), The Islamic
Society of Britain (1990), and, more recently, The Muslim Parliament, The
U.K Action Committee of Islamic Affairs, The World Islamic Mission, Jamiat’Ulama
-i- Islam and many others. These Muslim organizations and their role
is beyond the scope of this article.
One important point to remember though,
is that the Muslim community’s development in Britain has been overwhelmingly
on religious lines, as Punjabis from Pakistan and Sylhetis from Bangladesh
have nothing in common culturally, socially, or linguistically. The Punjabi
dress, shalwar qamis, and the Sylheti lungi for men and sari
for women are not comparable. Differences in eating preferences have
similarly affected the varying vocabularies. For example, a Punjabi might
ask whether you have had a roti, (meaning did you have your dinner),
whilst a Bengali will emphasize bhat (rice). However, in Britain,
Bengalis and Punjabis co-operated in establishing mosques and schools for
their children. This co-operation was based more on denominational lines
rather than geographical or linguistic grounds. Nonetheless, the Punjabis
and Bangalis have obtained Local Authority grants on linguistic and cultural
grounds. This is due to the fact that the Local Authorities’ help is available
on ethnic, linguistic and racial grounds and not on religious ones.
Muslims, Race and Law
Such growing immigration in the country
began to present another problem, which eventually led the government to
include racial discrimination in the Statute Book as a crime. The Race
Relations Act (1976) was passed, and any discrimination on the basis of
race in opportunities for employment was considered a criminal offence.
This was an advancement in one direction to consider the needs of the immigrant
community and to protect those needs. But soon, protection on the basis
of race began to create its own problems. Muslims are a faith community
and do not fit into a strict racial definition. Their needs and priorities
are different, more to do with religion rather than race. Muslims, in the
eyes of the Race Relations Act, do not constitute an ethnic group and,
therefore, in order to prove religious discrimination, Muslims have to
prove that they have been discriminated against as a racial group in which
their religion is a dominant fact. The victim’s geographical and ethnic
origin has also to be taken into consideration to establish the discrimination,
and this is extremely difficult. But even in this situation, a significant
number of British Muslims, such as European or Afro-Caribbean Muslims,
could not be protected. An Asian Muslim woman, for example, can claim protection
under the law to adjust her uniform or apparel in a High Street shop according
to Islamic norms and most likely the employer will accept this. But, a
European or Caribbean Muslim woman will not be able to make a similar appeal.
For example, an incident in a bed and breakfast establishment where a White
man kept shouting and using abusive language at a White Muslim woman, obviously
intending to insult her, was not considered as racial harassment by the
local Race Relations officers because the assailant and the victim were
both White.
Fostering and adoption laws, again,
take a racial stance. For example, the adoption or fostering of a Black
child is always to be by a Black family. Here a Muslim would be content
to see that a white Muslim child be given to a Black or Asian Muslim Family
or vice versa but would be very uncomfortable to see a Black Muslim child,
say of Somali origin, fostered into a Black Caribbean Christian family.
But, the Race Relations Act recognizes the latter situation, not the former.
In brief, the Muslims in Britain are classified as ‘Asian’ and their common
needs across race and ethnic divides have so far received little or no
response from the authorities. Now the Commission for Racial Equality is
proposing – and has received a great deal of support, including that of
the Inner Cities Religious Council – to amend the Public Order Act, 1986
and include discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, along
with the present grounds of colour, race and nationality (this includes
citizenship, ethnic or national origin). This amendment will now extend
to cover the British mainland, since in Northern Ireland, incitement on
grounds of religious hatred has been incorporated in the Act since 1987.
This, if incorporated, will redress, to some extent, the current imbalance.
Muslims and Interfaith Relations
Muslims have played a crucial role
and shown a consistent interest in interfaith activities. The formation
of The World Congress of Faiths and Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s participation
in that organization have been mentioned elsewhere. However, the arrival
of Muslims on British shores and cities has been a constant source of curiosity
for the churches. The plight of the early migrants attracted church responses
towards the end of the last century and early this century. The organized
dialogue between Christians and Muslims began with the emphasis on good
community relations and inter-religious understanding. The initiative came
from local churches, where the inner city population was fairly large,
and the local authorities faced an unprecedented challenge of community
relations. Against this background, as far as we know, the first bi-lateral
dialogue between Christians and Muslims took place in May 1973 with the
theme ‘Islam in the Parish’. The outcome of this dialogue was the formation
of a panel of Muslims and Christians, which in fact set the theme of the
subsequent second and third bi-lateral dialogues between the two communities.
‘The Family in Islam and Christianity’ (1974) was the theme of the second,
and ‘Worship and Prayer in Islam and Christianity’ (1975) was the theme
for the third meeting. All three dialogues were held at Woodhall, Wetherby,
with the co-operation of the local authority, and the proceedings were
edited by the Community Relations Chaplaincies of Bradford and Wakefield,
and published by the Bradford Metropolitan District Community Relations
Council. By 1974, churches began to feel the need to conduct a survey of
Muslims in Britain. The British Council of Churches (now Council
of Churches for Britain and Ireland (CCBI)) jointly appointed an advisory
group to study the presence of Islam in Britain. The Rt. Rev. David Brown,
Bishop of Guilford, also then a member of the panel of Muslims and Christians
of the Wetherby dialogues, was appointed Chairman of this advisory group.
He was chosen because of his experience of working amongst Muslims in Middle
East and Africa. But before the Committee could produce their findings,
the ‘World Festival of Islam’ (1976) caught the attention of the British
people. The advisory panel’s terms of reference were now widened, and the
question of the Festival’s impact was incorporated. The advisory panel
produced its findings in 1976 and published them under the tile `A New
Threshold: Guidelines for the Churches in their Relations with Muslim Communities.’
This dialogue between Christians and Muslims has continued ever since,
with formal and informal discussions on various issues being a regular
feature between the two communities.
Multi -lateral dialogue though, began
with the formation of The World Congress of Faiths, and at grass-root
levels the initiative began in 1972. Jews, Christians and Muslims took
initiatives to meet regularly and the stated aim was to provide a forum
in Europe for meetings among members of the three religious communities
who share a belief in one God, and find their roots in the figure of Abraham.
Since 1974, the JCM dialogue group has met bi-annually at the Hedwig Dronfeld
Haus Bendorf in Germany, and is overwhelmingly attended by young people
from Britain and Germany. Their Autumn gathering is exclusively for women.
This week-long gathering provides an opportunity to observe each others’
way of living, of praying and to understand what the other holds so precious.
Another multi-lateral dialogue is The Leeds Concord Inter-Faith Fellowship.
Here Muslims encounter not just Jews and Christians, but also Hindus, Buddhists
and Sikhs, many seeing these faiths at close quarters for the first time.
The constant growth of interfaith organizations at local and regional levels
prompted The British Council of Churches and its Committee for Relations
with people of other Faiths to form links with existing interfaith organizations.
A new organization was established in March, 1987 called Interfaith
Network, with the purpose of providing a service to existing interfaith
organizations. Over the last ten years, it has been able to provide a unique
platform for its affiliated member organizations to discuss pressing issues
among themselves, and collectively with government bodies, secular institutions
and the media.
Contemporary Challenges
Muslims in Britain came, overwhelmingly,
from Muslim majority countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Middle
Eastern countries. Arriving in a non-Muslim society, they faced language
difficulties, cultural apprehensions, and educational expectations; all
in all, an overwhelming situation. A substantial number of immigrants thought
they were entering into a Christian country. The perception of the West
and Western countries, such as Britain, was of a Christian population,
full of religious spirit, with churches full on Sundays. What they saw,
though, was a completely different and unexpected picture of a secular,
modern culture where Christianity is marginalized. It has merely a decorative
purpose but little value in the everyday lives of people. Furthermore,
critical inquiries about God, prophets, especially Jesus, and religion
in general were vilified on television and in their daily encounters with
fellow workers in factories and other places. These views on religion,
in general, baffled the Muslim community. This perception, rightly or wrongly,
remains in the Muslim psyche. Furthermore, the immigrant communities’ own
understanding of Islam was marinated with their cultural understanding
of Islam. Thus customs and traditions have played an important role in
defining their religion in Britain.
The indigenous community perceived
the newly arrived Muslim community as having a monolithic culture with
monolithic practices and religious beliefs. They saw Asian, but little
difference between Sikhs, Muslims or Hindus. Only five years ago, I attended
a Christian-Muslim dialogue group where at lunch time we were served lamb
and vegetables along with other items on the menu. One of our hosts asked
a member of the kitchens staff whether he had bought the meat from a halal
butcher. He replied yes, that he had bought it from an Asian butcher.
The host asked if the butcher was a Muslim. He did not know; he presumed
that all Asian butchers are halal and had not thought it important
enough to inquire about.
The growth of Muslims in Britain has
created in some ways a generation gap. In the early days of migration and
settlement, Muslims imported imams to run their local mosques and
teach their children basic Islamic education. The imams presumed
that the children they were teaching in the mosques and madrasahs were
the children of Mirpuris, Punjabis or Bengalis and treated them as such.
But the reality was different. During the day schools the children were
encouraged to question and reason but the same children, in their evening
classes in the mosques, were discouraged from questioning and reasoning,
rather the emphasis was on repeating and memorizing. A child perhaps wants
to know the reason behind what she or he was learning, but this was something
the imams invariably discouraged. Furthermore, the children’s language
of communication has increasingly become English, and now for the third
generation of Muslims, English is their first language. But in a large
number of madrasahs the imams still teach them in Urdu, or in other
Asian languages. It is not surprising that there is an increasing frustration
amongst the youth about such methods of teaching.
The increasing use of imams from
villages of the Indian sub-continent and the reliance of the congregation
of a mosque on day-to-day fiqh issues seems then, a problem rather
than a cure. Theological issues, rather than the juirisprudential issues
of living in Britain, have hardly been touched upon by imams, nor
do they think there is an urgency to do so. They lead daily prayers, they
conduct marriages, lead janazah (funeral) prayers and perform similar other requirements of the congregation.
However, very few possess the skills and the vision to understand the meaning
of living as a Muslim in a pluralist society. The community has recognized
this gap and opened up seminaries to train their imams. But the
tragedy is that the syllabus of such seminaries hardly reflects contemporary
challenges and needs. The only difference between an imported imam and
a local trained imam lies in the fact that the latter can convey his message
in English, whilst the former cannot.
Muslim youth who become actively involved
in Islamic activities during their college and university lives, discover
a sense of attachment as well as pride in their religion. Usually their
new found faith in Islam questions their parents’ beliefs and practices
in religion. At times, the youth seem to become born again Muslims, with
a zeal to change their families’ and friends’ way of practicing Islam.
Their missionary zeal convinces them to see themselves as right, and others
as wrong. They see their fellow Muslims as lapsed or inadequate Muslims,
and the non-Muslims as potential enemies of Islam, conspiring and colluding
against the wider Muslim community, with the general Muslim leadership
collaborating with them. The Satanic Verses for example, is presented
as a British conspiracy against Muslims. External factors such as the Gulf
crisis, the massacre of Muslims in Bosnia, and the issue of wearing the
head scarf (hijab)
in France strengthens their case.
Today, the Muslim community in Britain
is a relatively settled community. The idea of ‘going home one day’ is
rarely heard. As far as the youth are concerned, there are two tendencies:
one who associates with the religious ethos, and the other more inclined
to ‘bhangra’ culture. The two tendencies, though, have one thing
in common: they are both agitated groups. The future course of Muslims
in Britain largely depends upon their choice of future directions.
(Courtesy: "The Bulletin", organ of the
Henry Martyn
Institute of Islamic Sudies, India)
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