Everyday Muslim Heritage and Archive Initiative is a long-term project to create a central archive of Muslim lives, arts, education and cultures from across the UK. Our aim is to collect and document the presence and contribution of Muslim life in Britain through images, interviews and documents; to provide a comprehensive and unmediated portrayal of Muslim life in Britain.

As well as, creating physical collections of archives, the objective of the project is to educate and empower the Muslim community in the importance of creating tangible connections between their Muslim heritage and the representation of their identity in the wider society.

The collections are partially catalogued and archived in archival institutes across the UK, placing Muslim history and heritage directly in the context of wider British history. Our archive partners to date include Bishopsgate Institute, Vestry House Museum, George Padmore Institute, Surrey History Centre, Brent Museums and Archives.

Our work is not only important in documenting and preserving our history and heritage for historical reference but, aims to place value on the achievements, contributions and struggles of our community.

We are already working closely with community groups and mainstream organizations, mosques, schools, academics and heritage organizations to develop resources to support their efforts in identifying, documenting and celebrating the contribution of Muslims in society today and in an historical context. Collaborations can support aims to engage with a large and diverse audience with the purpose to promote understanding, awareness and learning about the everyday aspects of Muslims lives.

Projects

– Archiving the Heritage of Britain’s First Purpose Built Mosque
Explore the history of the Shah Jahan Mosque and Muslim life in Woking through the stories of Muslim’s dating from the 1880s to the present day.

– Exploring the Diversity of Black British Muslim Heritage in London
The first archive collection based on the stories and memories of the Black, African and Afro – Caribbean (BAAC) Muslim community in Britain.

– We Weren’t Expecting to Stay
We Weren’t Expecting to Stay’ documents the lives of British South Asian Muslim from 1940 to the present day in London.

Website: https://www.everydaymuslim.org/