Medina in Birmingham, Najaf in Brent: Inside British Islam
Muslim intellectuals may try to define something called British Islam, but the truth is that as the Muslim community of Britain has grown in size and religiosity, so too has the opportunity to found and run mosques which divide along ethnic and sectarian lines.

Just as most churches in Britain are affiliated to one of the main Christian denominations, the vast majority of Britain's 1600 mosques are linked to wider sectarian networks: the Deobandi and Tablighi Jamaat movements with their origins in colonial India; the Salafi groups inspired by an austere form of Islam widely practiced in Saudi Arabia; the Islamist movements with links to religious political parties in the Middle East and South Asia; the Sufi movements that tend to emphasise spirituality rather than religious and political militancy; and the diverse Shi'ite sects which range from the orthodox disciples of Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq to the Ismaili followers of the pragmatic and modernising Aga Khan. These affiliations are usually not apparent to outsiders, but inside Britain's Muslim communities sectarian divides are often fiercely guarded by religious leaders.

This book, of which no equivalent volume yet exists, is a definitive guide to the ideological differences, organisational structures and international links of the main Islamic groups active in Britain today.
1114846359
Medina in Birmingham, Najaf in Brent: Inside British Islam
Muslim intellectuals may try to define something called British Islam, but the truth is that as the Muslim community of Britain has grown in size and religiosity, so too has the opportunity to found and run mosques which divide along ethnic and sectarian lines.

Just as most churches in Britain are affiliated to one of the main Christian denominations, the vast majority of Britain's 1600 mosques are linked to wider sectarian networks: the Deobandi and Tablighi Jamaat movements with their origins in colonial India; the Salafi groups inspired by an austere form of Islam widely practiced in Saudi Arabia; the Islamist movements with links to religious political parties in the Middle East and South Asia; the Sufi movements that tend to emphasise spirituality rather than religious and political militancy; and the diverse Shi'ite sects which range from the orthodox disciples of Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq to the Ismaili followers of the pragmatic and modernising Aga Khan. These affiliations are usually not apparent to outsiders, but inside Britain's Muslim communities sectarian divides are often fiercely guarded by religious leaders.

This book, of which no equivalent volume yet exists, is a definitive guide to the ideological differences, organisational structures and international links of the main Islamic groups active in Britain today.
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Medina in Birmingham, Najaf in Brent: Inside British Islam

Medina in Birmingham, Najaf in Brent: Inside British Islam

by Innes Bowen
Medina in Birmingham, Najaf in Brent: Inside British Islam

Medina in Birmingham, Najaf in Brent: Inside British Islam

by Innes Bowen

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Overview

Muslim intellectuals may try to define something called British Islam, but the truth is that as the Muslim community of Britain has grown in size and religiosity, so too has the opportunity to found and run mosques which divide along ethnic and sectarian lines.

Just as most churches in Britain are affiliated to one of the main Christian denominations, the vast majority of Britain's 1600 mosques are linked to wider sectarian networks: the Deobandi and Tablighi Jamaat movements with their origins in colonial India; the Salafi groups inspired by an austere form of Islam widely practiced in Saudi Arabia; the Islamist movements with links to religious political parties in the Middle East and South Asia; the Sufi movements that tend to emphasise spirituality rather than religious and political militancy; and the diverse Shi'ite sects which range from the orthodox disciples of Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq to the Ismaili followers of the pragmatic and modernising Aga Khan. These affiliations are usually not apparent to outsiders, but inside Britain's Muslim communities sectarian divides are often fiercely guarded by religious leaders.

This book, of which no equivalent volume yet exists, is a definitive guide to the ideological differences, organisational structures and international links of the main Islamic groups active in Britain today.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781849043014
Publisher: Hurst
Publication date: 09/15/2014
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Innes Bowen is a BBC radio journalist who has produced programmes such as "Analysis" and "Law in Action."

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Glossary ix

Introduction 1

1 The Deobandis: The Market Leaders 11

2 The Tablighi Jamaat: Missionaries and a Mega Mosque 35

3 The Salafis: 'Don't call us Wahhabis!' 57

4 The Jamaat-e-Islami: British Islam's Political Class 83

5 The Muslim Brotherhood: The Arab Islamist Exiles 101

6 The Barelwis: Sufis and Traditionalists 115

7 The Shia 'Twelvers': Najaf in Brent 135

8 The Ismailis: The Dawoodi Bohras and the Followers of the Aga Khan 165

Notes 187

Index 211

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