The landmark first-of-its-kind study says this effort has been almost entirely community funded with only minimal government involvement.

According to the report, this shows how much commitment and dedication the Muslim community has put into establishing Islam in this country.

However, the report also warns that mosques cannot survive just on the goodwill of volunteers and now need to professionalize and invest as much in human resources as they have done in physical resources.

Ayaan Institute director Jahangir Mohamed said: “Mosques have been central to Muslim life in Britain for over a century. Far more than places of worship, they serve as vital community institutions. They are also spaces for education, social support, charity and community mobilization…

The study analyses 1,799 registered charity mosques — representing 65.5% of the estimated 1,844 mosques across the UK — and offers critical insights into their role, structure, and challenges.

The research highlights the resilience of Britain’s Muslim community while identifying key areas for improvement to strengthen the mosque sector. One of the report’s most significant contributions is its dismantling of pervasive myths about mosques in Britain.

Far-right narratives and media portrayals have often suggested an exaggerated presence of mosques, fueling fears of a “takeover” of British society. The Ayaan Institute’s data paints a starkly different picture: mosques constitute just 4% of all places of worship in the UK, compared to 89.5% for churches. With Muslims making up 5.5% of the UK population, the report argues that mosques are, if anything, underrepresented relative to the community they serve.

Download the full report HERE.

Source: 5Pillars

A UK government bill aimed at improving child wellbeing and regulating home education has sparked controversy, with Conservative peer Nathanael Ming-Yan Wei warning that it could lead to increased surveillance and suspicion of Muslim families. During the second reading of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill in the House of Lords, Wei criticized the proposed requirement for local authorities to maintain detailed registers of children not in full-time school. He described it as an “unprecedented intrusion into family life” that grants sweeping powers to monitor home-educating families.

The government argues that the bill, which applies only in England, is designed to safeguard children by ensuring none slip through the system. The legislation follows the high-profile case of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old who was murdered four months after being withdrawn from school for home education. In 2023–24, approximately 153,000 children were recorded as being home-schooled, up from 126,100 the previous year. Factors contributing to this rise include concerns over mental health, dissatisfaction with special education provision, and cultural or religious preferences.

Lord Wei expressed specific concerns about the potential targeting of Muslim families under the bill. He revealed that the Department for Education’s home education team had connections to Prevent, the government’s counter-extremism initiative. Wei cited a 2023 job posting indicating the same division also oversees Prevent operations in education. Amnesty International has previously criticized Prevent for having a “racist and discriminatory impact,” particularly on Muslims, children, and neurodivergent individuals.

Wei cautioned that the bill, under the pretext of countering radicalization, effectively enables mass data collection on families without public consultation or transparency. Unlike parents of children in mainstream schools, home-educating families will be required to submit extensive information, including details on the educator, education methods, and involvement of third parties. These families must also report any changes within 15 days, and their data could be shared across multiple public agencies.

Research by the Universities of Birmingham and Portsmouth has shown that Muslim families often choose home schooling to avoid bullying, and scholars like Dr. Amber Fensham-Smith have warned that measures targeting such families risk reinforcing systemic inequalities.

Wei concluded by questioning whether the government considers all home-educating families potential threats, warning that many law-abiding parents would feel unjustly scrutinized simply for exercising their legal right to educate their children at home.

Source: Hyphen