British Muslims seen but not heard | Bikya Masr
LONDON: Seen and Not Heard is an assessment of young Muslims in the UK, by Sughra Ahmed of Britain’s Policy Research Centre. The study, conducted over 18 months and released in September 2009, aims to give voice to young Muslims who are often analysed by researchers, but rarely heard from. And as someone who was born in the UK, spent her early years there, and recently lived in London’s East End – an area with a large urban Muslim population – I found Ahmed’s report to be highly topical.
Over 100 young Muslims were interviewed across the country in various focus groups, representing over 15 ethnicities. Ahmed’s work is an intriguing analysis on the state of young Muslims in the UK and clearly includes much input from the young Muslims that she spoke with. Seen and Not Heard informs us that young Muslims are dealing with a plethora of issues, including poverty, education, subcultures, the generational gap, media, police interactions and, of course, religion.
But first, there’s the terminology itself. Ahmed notes that a primary distinction must be made in addressing and discussing young Muslims in Britain. The term “youth” has the negative connotation here of being affiliated with gangs and violence, a perception reinforced all too often by the government, police and media. Youth are seen as a problem in society and Ahmed therefore proposes that Muslim youth be addressed as “young Muslims” or “young people,” something youth workers interviewed for the report also recommended as a step in preventing “otherisation.”
