11  Further Information, Contacts

11.1 Islam and Muslims in Britain – A Guide for Non-Muslims

11.2 Masjids and Muslim Businesses

11.3 Muslim Community Resources

11.4 Government Resources

11.1   Islam and Muslims in Britain – A Guide for Non-Muslims

This web site supports a book:

The book, “Islam and Muslims in Britain – A Guide for Non-Muslims”, is available from:

Race and Diversity Unit,

City of London Police,

P O Box 36451

London

EC2M 4NP

The website reproduces the information contained in the booklet with updates and further refinements as time permits.

The Contacts link at the top of this web page provides a simple form through which readers and site visitors can request more information and provide comments.  Questions and comments will not be published on the web site unless they are both explicitly requested and appropriate for publication, and similarly answers and other responses will be provided directly by email and/or published on the web site, the latter only if explicitly requested, the former only if an optional email address is provided.  Email addresses will never be published on the web site.

Where appropriate, queries will be referred on to specialists in the area being queried, and the author will endeavour to maintain a reasonable standard of impartiality and objectivity in selecting further authorities and moderating their responses.  Anyone accustomed to trawling the internet for information on Islam or any other subject will be well aware that there are many alternative sources of information, of almost infinitely varying quality, authority and partiality.

11.2   Masjids and Muslim Businesses

Oft repeated warnings about partial and sectarian information apply especially strongly to this section.  Most local masjids will be willing to provide basic information about Islam and the local Muslim community, though the smaller and less well organised ones may have difficulty presenting the information coherently and may be prone to ethnic or factional partiality.  The internet has several masjid directories, though the information and addresses they contain need to be verified because some of them are open to anyone to submit data and others reproduce lists that are thirty years old.

One such is Tijara Pages, Sherwood, Nottingham, which runs

www.tijarapages.com

“Tijara Pages provides Muslim businesses with a platform to advertise their products and services. Muslim consumers can then simply search for the business they are looking for, either by business name, category or location. “

Similarly Sala@m Database, Harrow, London, runs

www.salaam.co.uk

Muslim Directory prints and distributes a resources handbook for free approximately every year.

www.muslimdirectory.co.uk

“The Muslim Directory is the principal resource and essential guide to businesses and services for the 1.8 million strong Muslim community residing in the UK. For the past 10 years this unique annual presentation has been a constant source of reference and assistance to countless individuals, organisations and institutions.”

11.3   Muslim Community Resources

There is an enormous number of organisations that purport to provide support of various kinds to the Muslim community.  Many of them are listed in the pages and web pages of the organisations listed above.  While some are dependable and professional, many of them are questionable, many are one-person hobby-horses and many are defunct.  Organisations that deal specifically with the kind of topical issues this booklet describes include:

Muslim Safety Forum

020 8840 4840

info@muslimsafetyforum.org

“The MSF is the key advisory body for the Police Service and has signed a working protocol with the Metropolitan Police to build better police / community relations. It has been advising the police on matters of safety and security from the Muslim perspective for over four years now.  … It meets on a monthly basis with senior representatives of ACPO and the MPS, the MPA, Home Office and the IPCC amongst others.”

Muslim Youth Helpline

www.myh.org.uk

080 8808 2008

help@myh.org.uk

“The Muslim Youth Helpline is a confidential helpline for young Muslims. All our helpline workers are young people trained to help you whatever problem or difficulty you face. Young Muslims contact the Muslim Youth Helpline about a wide range of issues. Some people are going through desperate situations, whilst others are feeling lonely or confused. Common problems that many young people talk about are drugs, feeling depressed, family and friendships as well as issues related to sexuality.”

Muslim Community Helpline (formerly the Muslim Women’s Helpline).

020 8904 8193 or 020 8908 6715

“The Muslim Community Helpline was established as a result of the concern many women felt about the serious problems which were increasingly coming to light in the community and which were not being addressed in a systematic manner by any other organization, centre or group. These concerns were publicised at a conference held at the Islamic Cultural Centre in April 1987 at which women who had professional, first hand experience of the problems of Muslim girls and women spoke of their grave concerns.”

Islamic Human Rights Commission

www.ihrc.org

“The Islamic Human Rights Commission is an independent, not-for-profit, campaign, research and advocacy organization based in London, UK . We foster links and work in partnership with different organizations from all backgrounds, to campaign for justice for all peoples regardless of their racial, confessional or political background.”

11.4   Government Resources

The Muslim Contact Unit, New Scotland Yard

The Muslim Contact Unit was set up at Scotland Yard to create a bi-directional, trusted relationship between the Metropolitan Police and members of the Muslim community who have concerns about the way that conventional policing frequently misinterprets aspects of the Muslim community.  It provides access to Counter-Terrorism Command officers for members of the public who need to explain complex issues around extremism, and for CTC officers to provide credible explanations of police concerns.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriages Unit

020 7008 0151

“The Forced Marriage Unit sees around 250 cases a year. "There used to be confusion between forced and arranged marriages," explains a member of unit staff. "They were seen as being part of a certain culture. But that's changing now. Forced marriage is not a religious or cultural issue - it is a global human rights abuse". Forced marriage means just that - where a victim (one was 13 years old) is told they have to get married and they don't want to.”