November 2, 2009
Opinion: Giving voice to British Muslims who are seen but not heard
by Hena Ashraf
The Daily Star
Seen and Not Heard is an assessment of young Muslims in the UK, by Sughra Ahmad of Britain's Policy Research Center. The study, conducted over 18 months and released in September 2009, aims to give voice to young Muslims who are often analyzed by researchers, but rarely heard from. And as someone who was born in the United Kingdom spent her early years there, and recently lived in London's East End – an area with a large urban Muslim population – I found Ahmad's report to be highly topical.
Over 100 young Muslims were interviewed across the country in various focus groups, representing over 15 ethnicities. Ahmad'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. Ahmad 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 Ahmad 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."
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