British & Believing: Muslims in the News: Collected Writings of a British Muslim Leader 2011-2017

By Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari

A digital volume of Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari’s most salient articles over the last decade. Exploring what it means to be British and Muslim in the 21st century; progressing from Britain’s Muslim communities to the wider British society as well as regional and global politics. Expanding on conversations covering Turkish politics and the Olympic legacy to counterextremism, race riots, spirituality and the rise of the far-right - these prolific articles shed light on socio-economic diversity as well as the rise and public acceptance of Islamophobia.

In this volume, the author explores contemporary Britain within the context of identity and integration, rising Islamophobia in the media and wider society, and the gradual shift towards the political right in the UK and Europe as a whole. He also examines areas of success, positive experiences and contributions of Muslims in Britain, including their charitable activities and participation in both civil society and the political system.

In this volume, the author explores contemporary Britain within the context of identity and integration, rising Islamophobia in the media and wider society, and the gradual shift towards the political right in the UK and Europe as a whole. He also examines areas of success, positive experiences and contributions of Muslims in Britain, including their charitable activities and participation in both civil society and the political system.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kube Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Jul 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781847741752

Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, community activist, author, parenting consultant and commentator on social and political issues. He has written for various newspapers, blogs and journals including The Huffington Post and Al-Jazeera English, and is the author of a number of books on marriage, family, parenting, identity and community issues from contemporary British Muslim perspectives.

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BRITISH AND BELIEVING

MUSLIMS IN THE NEWS

Collected Writings of a British Muslim Leader 2011-2017

MUHAMMAD ABDUL BARI

British and Believing: Muslims in the News – collected Writings of a British Muslim Leader (2011 – 2017)

First published in England by

Kube Publishing Ltd

Markfield Conference Centre, Ratby Lane,

Markfield, Leicestershire, LE67 9SY,

United Kingdom Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Website: www.kubepublishing.com

Copyright © Muhammad Abdul Bari 2021 All rights reserved.

The right of Muhammad Abdul Bari to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

CIP data for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-84774-169-1 Ebook

Cover Design by: Nasir Cadir

Typeset by: LiteBook Prepress Services

Cover image credits: Cambridge Mosque: cmglee Wikipedia, Istock and ELM

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Author’s Biography

Editors’ Foreword

Chapter 1: Integration and Some Attitudes

Chapter 2: The Media Machine: Islamophobia and the Press

Chapter 3: The Muslim Pound: Charity and the Economy

Chapter 4: Muslims in Politics

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As I started writing, after my early retirement in March 2011, on diverse British issues and, occasionally, on contemporary issues about the Muslim world, a number of my mentors and close friends urged me to compile these writings in an e-book form. In 2017, I consulted about this matter Nabeel al-Azami, my beloved young companion and co-teacher of a group of young Muslim activist leaders in fortnightly circles (Usrah in Arabic), which we started in 2011. Together we approached our Usrah members and solicited some volunteers to help bring this project to fruition. The first member to volunteer was Louiza Chekhar who had already made her mark as an apt organiser working with the British Red Cross. I felt assured that she would carry out the task efficiently with her usual professional rigour.

Louiza then sent me an initial proposal for the book structure with themes and chapters, which I approved. She started the work in earnest and, when she had covered almost half of the work, she was joined by a young couple who were also members of the Usrah, Shehroze Khan and his wife Shanza Ali. The three young professionals worked together tirelessly and meticulously, organising the book and checking the common threads between all the different articles. Hence, this e-book would have probably never been published without the painstaking effort of Louiza Chekhar, Shehroze Khan, Shanza Ali; and to state that I am grateful to them is an understatement.

Once the manuscript was finalised, I went through it from beginning to end, checking and revising it. Sadly, though, now that the book has been finalised, my companion in the journey of working with young people, Nabeel Azami, is no longer with us. This vision-driven spiritual leader in pursuit of ethical or Prophetic leadership qualities passed away in the summer of 2019 from a rare strand of cancer.

Many of the articles compiled in this book reflect some of the ideas, discussions and debates that I had with many of these young leaders and other groups that I am involved with. Acknowledging by name all those involved in these discussions and debates is impossible. I therefore beg forgiveness of all those who have helped me during this process but whose names are not mentioned here.

I am where I am today because of the parenting I received from my own mother and father in my childhood years. They are no longer in this world, but they continue to be my guide in life. May God bless their souls. Our four children Rima, Raiyan, Labib and Adib – who are now all grownup adults and professionals – have been my companions in life. Despite his demanding job, Raiyan spent considerable time going through most of the chapters. I am indebted to all of them for their direct and indirect help.

However, my indebtedness to Sayeda, my life partner and confidante, is incalculable. As the main pillar of our blessed family, she has encouraged and supported me ever since we got married. Her liveliness, humour, resilience and wisdom always keep me spirited.

I take full responsibility for the contents of this ebook. I am grateful to God almighty for guiding me in every stage of my life and I seek His forgiveness for my errors and shortcomings.

AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is a noted civic leader, educationalist, parenting consultant and author. He has served Britain’s diverse communities in various capacities for over three decades.

A former Bangladesh Air Force officer, trained at the Royal Air Force College in Lincolnshire (1978-79), Dr Bari worked as a physics researcher in the University of London in the 1980s, before moving into teaching in the early 1990s, completing his PGCE (postgraduate certificate of education). He worked as a specialist teacher for those with behavioural needs before taking an early retirement in 2011.

Throughout and alongside his professional career, Dr Bari has been deeply involved in civil society organisations. He was a founding member of The East London Communities Organisation (TELCO), which is now the national organisation Citizens UK. He was a member of the British Government’s Inner Cities Religious Council (ICRC) in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain from 2006-2010, and Chairman of Britain’s largest Muslim community complex, the London Muslim Centre, from 2002-2013. He was also a non-executive board member of LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) from 2006-2013. Today, he remains involved in a number of charities such as East London Mosque, London Catalyst and the Islamic Foundation Leicester.

Since retiring, Dr Bari has been working with diverse communities to promote fuller engagement in public life, as well as writing on current affairs and his areas of expertise for various media outlets, including the Huffington Post and Al Jazeera English. In recent years, he has worked with Muslim youth, including the three talented editors of this publication, to encourage their full participation in public life in the UK. He worked with Citizens UK and advised its Commission on Islam, Participation and Public Life (IPPL), which was chaired by former Attorney General, Dominic Grieve. The Commission’s final report The Missing Muslims: Unlocking British Muslim Potential for the Benefit of All, was published in the summer of 2017.

He has authored a number of books on family, parenting and identity as well as one on the Rohingya Crisis. His memoir, A Long Jihad: My Quest for the Middle Way, offers an insider’s perspective on the Muslim experience in modern Britain, presenting his blueprint for the middle way of life.

In recognition for his services to the community, Dr Bari was conferred an MBE in 2003; he was also made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2005, an Honorary Fellow of Queen Mary University of London in 2008, an Honorary Doctor of Education by the University of East London in 2012, and Deputy Lieutenant of the Greater London Lieutenancy in 2016. He was also awarded the Community Cohesion Champion by the organisation Sikhs in England in 2006.

Dr Bari lives in London with his wife, four children and three grandchildren.

EDITORS’ FOREWORD

As noted in Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari’s biography, we are three of many British Muslim youth fortunate enough to call Dr Bari our teacher and mentor. Every other Sunday afternoon, Dr Bari taught a small group of us – sometimes picking up on a recent event in current affairs, such as the election of Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London, other times drawing on his