The History of Muslims - Essay Example

History of Muslims in London Introduction In past History, Muslims were known to travel a lot, as there was a zeal in Muslims to spread the word of God, and to understand the way the world works. One such Muslim was Ibn Battuta, who toured the Muslim world during the 14th century. Thus, this trading and travelling culminated in some key consequences in the Muslim world because as Muslim merchants travelled around the globe, they took their religion along, in an effort to spread it. Also, as a result of Muslims coming into contact with the cultures of other people around the world, they borrowed some styles and ideas from these cultures, and the trading also enabled Muslims to prosper, and their towns to grow faster. Initially, the first set of Muslims that came to London were the Yemenite sailors of the nineteenth century. During the First and Second World War, a lot of Muslims from the Commonwealth nations also served in the British army, and due to the wave of immigration which came after the Second World War, a great number of Muslims migrated form Commonwealth countries to London. Initially, a lot of these Muslims came from Gujarat and Pakistan, and the initial wave of immigration lead to other Muslims migrating from the Eastern part of Pakistan (also know as Bangladesh). A lot of Muslims also came from various Pakistani provinces, like the Punjab region, and also from Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and other parts of the Arab world. As it is, at present, Londons Muslims come from all around the world. Most of the Muslims in London are descendants of the Muslims who immigrated into London from the Indian subcontinent, especially from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. A considerable number of Muslims also immigrated into London from Somalia and other Arab countries as London has the biggest Diaspora of Somali Muslims in the Western world. London is also the home of many Bosnian and Turkish Muslim communities that comprises of about 30,000 Muslims. It is estimated that the largest number of Muslim converts in the Western world reside in London, as the city of London counts an estimated 35,000 Black Muslim converts and about 100,000 White British Muslims. However, the City has also experienced some problems in Muslim community relations. Also, the local Muslim population in London has experienced a huge increase since the late 1950s due to migration of Muslims from the Indian subcontinent, especially from Sylhet in East Pakistan, and this immigration of Muslims rose significantly during the 1970s. In the East End of London, there is a lot of tension in the area around East Ham, Barking and Dagenham between Muslims and non-Muslims. The British National Party gained their highest vote by proportion, 16.9%, in the 2005 General Election in Barking and has 12 councilors on Barking & Dagenham Borough Council. West London has also seen some conflict between Muslims and Sikhs at sixth-form colleges. (How the BNP is gaining ground in barking with a campaign of lies and distortions - UK Politics, UK - The Independent) As at the early twentieth century, there were no mosques in London, even though the City was the main hub of the extensive British Empire that contained millions of Muslims. Thus, there was need for a place for Muslim merchants, diplomats and sailors coming into port in Tower Hamlets. This culminated in a meeting held on the 9th of November 1910, at a meeting of Muslim and non-Muslims held at the Ritz Hotel, the London Mosque Fund was established with the aims of organizing the weekly Friday prayers and of procuring a permanent place of worship for Muslims. Between 1975 and 1985, the local authority bought the properties in Commercial Road under a compulsory purchase order, in return providing a site with temporary buildings on Whitechapel Road, next to the Fieldgate Street Great Synagogue. The local community set about raising funds to erect a purpose-built mosque on the site, and was aided by a contribution from the King of Saudi Arabia. Seven years later, the building of the new mosque commenced with foundations laid down in 1982 and completion achieved in 1985. (Britains Muslims Vote their Best Mosques IslamOnline (Nov 5. 2008), by Emdad Rahman) This new mosque had a capacity of about 2000, and was equipped with prayer sections both for women and men, and there was also allowance made for supplementary education and classrooms. The new mosque was the first mosque in London to broadcast the call to prayer (or Adhan) through the use of the loudspeakers. As at 1994, the capacity of the mosque had already become insufficient, due to the increasing congregation and the range of projects involved. The land beside the mosque happened to be vacant because of damage from bombs during the Second World War. The land had been reserved for parking, so there was an effort to acquire the land in order to extend the mosque, and this was successful by 1999. “The mosque has a stated mission to provide a range of holistic, culturally sensitive services for the communities of London with a view to improving the quality of life and enhancing community cohesion ” (Annual Report 2005-06, East London Mosque Trust Ltd) The mosque in conjunction with the Islamic Forum in Europe, also handles the Muslim Community Radio which has been broadcasting by RSL since 1998, and the station has also acquired 24-hour broadcasting rights across eastern London and during the Ramadan period. It moved into a new studio situated in the London Muslim Centre, in 2005 and there are many volunteers at the mosque, who work to sustain the programs for women, quiz shows, childrens shows, taraweeh prayer, fiqh sessions and other shows which are broadcast in both Bengali and in English. Various distinguished personalities have also been associated with the London Mosque Fund since its inception, including the famous translators of the Qur’an, and His Royal Highness the Aga Khan, who was life President of the Board of Trustees. Others were the first Indian Privy Counsellor, Rt. Hon. Syed Ameer Ali, who also served as the Chairman of London Mosque Fund Executive Committee until his death in 1928. Over the years, many Non-Muslims have recognized the need for a place of worship for the Muslims in London. For example, Lord Lamington was Vice-Chairman of the London Mosque Fund, and the famous historian, Professor T. W. Arnold, was Secretary of the London Mosque Fund, but Sir Ernest Houston subsequently took over from him. Sir John Woodhead was also Treasurer of the Fund at one time, and the Rt. Hon. Earl Winterton was also a trustee of the Fund. In the past, various rooms were utilized for the Friday Jumuah prayers, but sometime in the year 1940, some houses were bought in eastern London (around Commercial Road), and was delegated to be a permanent place for prayers. The combined houses were later inaugurated as the "East London Mosque", and the first prayer in the mosque, was for Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Hafiz Wahba and was led by the Ambassador. The Malaysian prime minister visited the mosque and centre in July 2004, and “HRH Prince Charles returned in November 2004 to see the centre he had launched three years earlier. The following month HM The Queen featured excerpts of his visit in her Christmas Message.” (Queen calls for tolerance in UK. BBC website) In July 2008 the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, delivered a speech on "Equality Before The Law" at an event highlighting the pro bono legal service at the LMC. In October 2008, The East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre won Islam Channels Super Model Mosque award presented at the Global Peace and Unity event at the Excel Centre, with a shared prize of £50,000 in consultation work. (Britains Muslims Vote their Best Mosques IslamOnline, Nov 5. 2008, by Emdad Rahman) The largest Muslim community in the United Kingdom resides in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets “ which accounts for over 36% of the population in the 2001 census, compared to 8% for London as a whole[15] and 2.7% nationally. The majority of these Muslims are Bangladeshi - primarily from the Sylhet region (speak Sylheti), and a few from other parts of Bangladesh. The rest of the local Muslim population includes Somalis, Pakistanis, North African Arabs and a few White British.” (Geographic Distribution - Minority religions mainly in London Office for National Statistics) As the community base for Muslims in London changes, there is also direct change in the services offered. For example, announcements and sermons were previously delivered in Sylheti and Bengali, but nowadays, sermons are delivered in English, Arabic, and also Bengali in order to tend to the needs of the diverse Muslim communities residing in London and the United Kingdom. References Annual Report 2005-06, East London Mosque Trust Ltd Abu-Rabi, Ibrahim M. Intellectual Origins of Islamic Resurgence in the Modern Arab World Albany, NY, State University of New York Press, 1996 Geographic Distribution - Minority religions mainly in London Office for National Statistics How the BNP is gaining ground in Barking with a campaign of lies and distortions - UK Politics, UK - The Independent A Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, Faber & Faber, London, 1991 Ahmed, Akbar. Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2002. Memon, Ali Nawaz. The Islamic Nation: Status & Future of Muslims in the New World Order. History of East London Mosque East London Mosque & London Muslim Centre Prince joins Ramadan ceremony BBC website Crowds flock to new Muslim centre BBC website Model Mosque Competition Global Peace and Unity Britains Muslims Vote their Best Mosques IslamOnline (Nov 5. 2008), by Emdad Rahman Read More