CREST Publishes New Resources On British Muslims
© CREST
CREST has published a series of new resources giving an overview of Muslims and Islam in the UK.
These resources include a full report which synthesises open source, humanities and social science research on British Muslims and Islam. It draws on academic literature from Islamic studies, religious studies, history, sociology, anthropology, political science, education, social psychology, and policy and security studies, as well as information from a variety of websites produced by Muslim and Islamic groups, and material from news websites.
Written by CREST Researcher Professor Kim Knott, these resources come out of CREST’s Ideas, Beliefs and Values in Social Context project. They are all available to download for free from this link: www.crestresearch.ac.uk/BritishMuslims/ and are intended to inform and enrich discussions about Muslims in the UK.
While the report is fully annotated, it is produced in association with a number of shorter CREST Guides intended for those who want the information without the details of where it all comes from. The review and guides together are intended for practitioners, policy-makers, academics, journalists and a wider interested public.
The CREST Guides cover:
Charities and organisations
In addition to mosques and sectarian reform movements, the public face of Islam in the UK is composed of diverse organisations, including those that represent British Muslims, provide space for discussion, lobby and campaign, and raise funds for charity. This guide
focuses on a number of the better known and more influential organisations.
Demography and communities
This guide gives an overview of how many Muslims there are in the UK, and how these communities are characterised.
Families and family life
The family is the most important unit within British Muslim communities. It is the place where religious and social norms and values are shared and practised. This guide provides basic information on kinship structure and relationships, marriage and related issues, everyday family life, and children’s religious socialisation.
Gender and generations
Muslim women in the UK have been the subject of academic research and wider public debate, but discussion of their identities has too often focused around the subject of veiling. Male gender issues are under-researched. Common stereotypes, of British Muslim men as gangsters or terrorists, mask diverse masculinities, based on religion, class, educational achievement and other variables. This guide looks at gender identities in British Muslim communities, particularly among young people.
History
There have been Muslims in Britain since the 16th century, when North African and Turkish galley slaves were released from ships captured from the Spanish Armada. This guide describes the history of Muslim settlement in the UK and the formation of their communities.
Mosques
Mosques provide space for daily prayer, the weekly Jum’a and other community gatherings. They offer Qur’an classes for children, and the larger ones host Shari‘ah Councils. This guide provides an overview of mosques in Britain including what they are for, and how they are governed.
Sectarian movements
In the UK today, a large number of Islamic movements and networks are represented, most with their origins in either South Asia or the Middle East. This guide provides an overview of British Muslim sectarian movements and networks.
Full-length report
The fully annotated report that underpins the research presented in all the guides is divided into eight sections, on: (1) the history and demography of British Muslims and their communities; (2) mosques, (3) families, gender and generation; (4) education; (5) transnational connections; (6) Islamic movements and networks; (7) representative bodies, civil society organisations and campaigning groups, and; (8) cultural, secular and ex-Muslims. An executive summary of the full report is also available.
Download the full-length report.
Download the executive summary.
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