Dilly Hussain – Future of Islam & Muslim in Britain Middlesex University
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Dear brothers, sisters and friends.
I want to begin by thanking Middlesex ISOC
for inviting me today,
to deliver a brief talk on the topic
of what is the future of Islam and
Muslims in the UK.
And indeed, this is a very important topic
because it is absolutely relevant
to every single person in this room.
And whilst preparing for this talk, a number
of structures and perspectives came to mind as
to how I would present this topic to
you all. And the first structure which came
to mind was that I would present some
positive,
contributions and facts
and then discuss some negative
and unfortunate realities that we find ourselves in
as a community
and then extract some lessons
and some practical steps and solutions moving forward
as to how to strengthen
not only our faith but our community in
the United Kingdom.
So in terms of positive contributions
or facts,
we are
3,000,000 in this country. We are the largest
minority group.
We have we have more than 1700 mosques
in this country.
Research has shown that we are the most
charitable and most giving community.
Our contribution to the economy from the perspective
of the NHS, the catering sector, the transportation
sector is impeccable.
Our ability to mobilize as a community during
times of hardship and need is also very
impressive.
Some examples would be the recent and unfortunate
Grenfell Tower fire and the flood relief of
2016.
I was also going to discuss
some
perceptive PR
be it Mo Farah
or Mayor Sadiq Khan or Nadia Hussein from
Great British Bake Off if you deem them
to be positive role models if that. And
then with regards to
negative
or unfortunate
circumstances that we find ourselves in, whilst we
are the largest minority group in this country,
we also sadly happen to be the most
discriminated,
whether it be in employment
or whether your name happens to be Mohammed
and you're looking for insurance quotes.
We are also constantly demonized in the media.
We're living in a climate of Islamophobia
where it's very common to hear stories about
Muslim women wearing the hijab and the niqah
being attacked in public whilst people look on
and do not intervene.
We're also perceived as somewhat a suspect community
whose loyalty to this country and our moral
compass is constantly questioned.
And then there's the whole discussion with regards
to the Muslim communities or the 3rd and
4th generation of British Muslims lack of integration
when in reality it's just a smokescreen
as to why
this generation of Muslims,
you all, are yet to wholeheartedly subscribe
to an arbitrary set of British values which
has been defined by the Conservative government.
And of course there is the concerted effort
by the UK government and their affiliated think
tanks and lackeys
to reform
normative aspects of our faith, be it aspects
of the Sharia,
be it women's
clothing, whether it be how we slaughter our
meat, whether it is how we decide to
sit in our events,
the list is somewhat endless.
That was the initial plan I had. That
was the initial structure I had to present
to you all. But I abandoned
it. I abandoned it because I thought to
myself,
today's talk would be something more centered around
the Quran.
And put in particular,
2 verses which came to mind. And
I feel that these 2 verses which I'm
going to discuss
has ample of lessons and values not only
for Muslims in the UK,
but Muslims around the entire world. And I
say this because brothers and sisters,
our reality, our challenges, our circumstances, our obstacles
here in the UK
is intrinsically linked to what's happening in the
Muslim majority world.
Whether it be the wars,
the invasions,
the occupation,
the political instability and destabilization,
the economical looting,
the movement and the sentiments for a return
to a more Islamic way of life, all
of that that's happening in the Muslim majority
world and has been for the best part
of a 100 years is intrinsically linked to
our reality here in the UK and broadly
speaking the West, especially speaking from a legislative
and policy basis.
So the first verse I want to look
at today and by no means is it
the only verse because the entirety of the
Quran
is absolutely relevant to Muslims everywhere for all
times.
But these two verses came to mind when
I was reflecting on this topic.
Allah
says in Surah Al e Imran verse 110,
you are the best nation produced as an
example for mankind.
You enjoin what is good and forbid what
is evil and believe in Allah.
Now many of you may have already heard
this verse
constantly and quite frequently cited in Islamic lectures
and literature. The reason why that is,
is because it's such a profound yet self
explanatory verse.
And ultimately, it's one command
where Allah is telling the Muslims
that he's raised us as the best nation
among mankind as an example
because we're enjoining good, forbid evil and we
do those things because we believe in Allah.
So it's one command.
So when I was thinking about this, I
was thinking the word symbiotic
but even the word symbiotic doesn't fully meet
the definition
of this verse because Allah never mentions enjoining
good without reminding us that we have to
forbid evil and the other way around.
And ultimately
why this verse
came to mind with regards to this topic
is because
as the Muslim community here
we can find ourselves with regards to due
to external pressures and so forth that we
will find that many of us sincere good
Muslims
will enjoin in a lot of good but
won't forbid any evil. And you'll also find
the other way around.
Brothers and sisters, well meaning, sincere, who all
they do is forbid evil, but they never
enjoin in actual any good. So ultimately here
we have to strike that balance. We have
to be consistent and we cannot be selective
in which good we decide to enjoin in
and which evil we decide to forbid.
Ultimately,
this is the embodiment of a Muslim
from the perspective of accountability
of internally and externally.
Internally when you're at home alone or when
you're pondering and reflecting on your own life
you can think of this ayah and think
to yourself
in terms of how I go about my
daily life,
am I enjoining in good? Am I forbidding
evil? Am I fulfilling this command that Allah
has told me? And am I doing it
because I'm a Muslim? And externally when you
go about your daily lives, when you see
certain injustices and oppression,
are you consistent?
Are you frequent?
Are you holding yourself back because something isn't
trendy or fashionable whilst the other one may
be perceived as rocking the boat too much?
And as someone who was once a student
some years ago,
university is a very important and life defining
moment
for many of us, especially as Muslims.
When I was at university some years ago,
I was involved with a number of causes
and movements,
Some of which were very dear to my
heart and I felt were central to my
faith, whilst others I generally got involved in
because it was trendy and fashionable and my
peers got involved in it.
So
the last lesson I'd like you all to
take from this verse is that whilst at
university, when we get involved in causes and
movements,
you have to be conscious
the reason why we are getting involved in
particular causes.
Is it because my faith commands me to
do so? Or is it because it's somewhat
fashionable and trendy?
Sometimes we can get involved in causes and
movements which are very noble, but we get
involved with them for the wrong reason. Sometimes
we get involved in causes and movements which
are diametrically opposed to our faith, but we
do so with sincere intentions.
So in terms of self accountability
this verse is very much profound.
The second verse I'd like us to look
at
is Surah Fusilat verse number 33 where Allah
says and who is better in speech than
the one who invites to Allah and does
righteousness and says indeed I am of the
Muslims.
Similarly to the verse prior to this,
it is very self explanatory
and very profound
because ultimately Allah is telling the Muslims
to be confident,
to be unapologetically
Muslim
and to be better in speech, to invite
to Allah, I. E. Give Dawah and due
to righteousness ultimately means we have to be
proactive.
Our message in our world we has to
be one that's empowering
not just to the Muslim community but in
society by and large and we have to
be productive members of society
who always been and
goodness and benefit to society by and large
and be unapologetically
Muslim. So we do all of these things
just like in the verse before Allah says
that we're enjoying good and forbid evil and
believe in Allah. Similarly, Allah is telling us
in this verse also
to be better in speech, to invite to
Allah, to do righteousness
and to proclaim that indeed I am of
the Muslims. Now I don't want anyone to
think here that every time you do a
good deed or you help your elderly neighbor
with the shopping, or you bring a cat
down from the tree, there's a verbal disclaimer
all the time that I did this because
I'm a Muslim. No, no, no. What this
basically means that you remind yourself
that I am doing these things
because Allah commanded me to do so. Because
my faith instructs me to do so.
Because these actions at face value you will
find non Muslims doing the same things.
But we have to remind ourselves why we
do it. We do it for the sole
pleasure of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala because it
was commanded
to us.
And
there's no need
to fear
or
feel under pressure not to proudly identify
as a Muslim. And I'm not talking about
arrogance here. I'm just talking about just being
proudly Muslim.
Because we see how the mainstream media has
no problem
whatsoever
that when there is a crime
committed or when there's some controversy or some
negativity that's been committed by someone who identifies
as a Muslim they do not hesitate
to make this a Muslim issue.
But when there's a positive story
which pertains to a Muslim individual
then all of a sudden this person is
British or British Bangladeshi or British Pakistani or
British Iraqi.
The fact that he or she is a
Muslim is negated from that positive story. So
we need to take control of that narrative.
We need to tell people that when I
do good and when I do these things,
I do so because my faith
instructs me to do so.
If there are some of you in this
room right now
that are wondering to yourselves,
I'd like to enjoining all good and I'd
like to forbid all even and I want
to be better in speech and I wanna
give the hour and I wanna do righteous
deeds, but I don't feel confident enough to
do so. Or there's some issues pertaining to
my religion which I can't articulate or defend.
If that's the case, then I would say
the first thing you do
is to learn your religion.
And not only do you learn your religion,
learn about those aspects which are currently being
discussed, attacked, demonized, questioned,
and more importantly, find out why those issues
and why those topics and concepts are being
attacked. Because if you're unable to do that,
then you will not be in a position
to articulate
these issues and nor would you be able
to defend them. So inshallah, please make a
proactive step towards learning
your religion.
And lastly,
it is not befitting
for a Muslim
to subscribe
or to seek solace
in any other ideological or philosophical label besides
that of a Muslim.
So when we enjoin in good, we forbid
evil, we are truthful in our speech, we
invite to Allah and do righteous deeds, we
don't do it because we subscribe to socialism
or we subscribe to feminism
or we subscribe to this ism and this
is or whichever philosophy which is trendy and
fashionable these days. We do all of these
things
because we subscribe because we are Muslim.
Brothers and sisters,
those of you especially come from the Indian
subcontinent.
Our forefathers arrived here in the UK during
the sixties seventies as economic migrants,
and they independently built the very foundations and
institutions which we benefit from today.
Be it the masajid, the halal butchers, the
Hajj and Umrah operators,
the Muslim cemeteries and funeral services,
All of this they did without government intervention
or funding but they did this with the
support and the funding of the community.
So similarly,
3rd and 4th generation Muslims in the UK
who are arguably more educated, who are arguably
more financially stable,
who arguably have more resources at our disposal,
we need to follow the footsteps of our
forefathers
in becoming an independent and self sufficient community,
which would be an example for the rest
of society.
This independence on confidence will ultimately mean that
we will be the sole stakeholders of our
future.
And in protecting our Islamic identity and propagating
our values, we will also be a voice
for the Ummah in the Muslim majority world
who do not enjoy and do not have
access to the resources we have here in
the UK.
If there is anything you take for my
brief address today, brothers and sisters,
please
remember
that all times we must remain optimistic and
positive.
And whilst we
see all
the craziness and the madness whether there be
the wars, the occupations, the oppression,
the economic looting
or the Islamophobia here in the UK and
policy after policy which seems to isolate and
discriminate against our community, do not lose heart.
Do not be disheartened. Do not let a
defeatist mentality
take over your Izzah as a Muslim.
And always, always, always, always believe in Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, have trust in Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala and think the best of our
Lord.
So to answer the question of today's lecture,
what is the future of Islam and Muslims
in the UK?
My brief response would be this.
So long as there is a community of
believers
who have internalized the values and the principles
we have discussed today
then it doesn't matter how many masajid we
have, it doesn't matter how many Muslim MPs
we have,
Islam and Muslims will have a bright and
promising future in this country and in the
rest of God's Earth, insha Allah.