Islam

This section of the site focuses on Islam and Muslims in Scotland with a specific look at Islamophobia and sectarianism in the Muslim community in the Scottish context.

As well as a list of useful links and reading material, this section also has relevant links integrated throughout the chapters. The report also includes the use of Arabic terms. A glossary of terms can be found detailing some key terms used in this section.

This section has eight parts:

1. Islam Basic Beliefs and Practices is a basic outline of the essential beliefs of Islam. It covers the seven basic beliefs and the five pillars in Islam. It is not a detailed analysis of the faith; rather, it is designed to give a snapshot of Islamic belief and some of the basic practices. It also explains and defines the concept of jihad in the Islamic framework, especially to highlight a distinction between the understanding of terrorism and jihad. This section is not an analysis of Islam per se, but it deals with issues that are related to Muslims. As Islam is one of the most widely misunderstood faiths, it is essential to begin by outlining some of the basic concepts of the faith.
2. History of Muslims in Britain details the presence and contribution of Muslims in Britain from the eighth century through to the twentieth century. While the historical information is rich with examples and events, for ease of reading only some of the most relevant and well-documented information has been mentioned here. This section seeks to communicate not only the wealth of history of the relationship between Britain and the Islamic world, but also the richness of Muslim presence in Britain.
3. History of Muslims in Scotland traces and documents history that is specific to Scotland as opposed to Britain as a whole. Unfortunately, there is very little written on this topic and the most comprehensive book available is 'The New Scots: The Story of Asians in Scotland' by Bashir Maan (1992). This section draws heavily from his book as well as from Humayun Ansari's book 'The Infidel Within' (2004).
4. Muslims in Scotland Today covers the post-war period till the present day. It explores some of the key issues facing the Muslim community in Scotland, and specifically details 'Muslim identity' in the Scottish context. It also includes an analysis of Muslim demographics and statistics in Scotland and highlights key issues and facts arising from them.
5. Sectarianism: An Islamic Perspective looks at the existence and nature of sectarianism in the Islamic context. It is important to define sectarianism within the framework of Islam because the context is very different from the development of sectarianism in the Christian tradition. The perspective is perhaps closer to 'denominationalism' as opposed to 'sectarianism' as it is understood in the context of Scottish sectarianism. This section highlights the main historical developments in the Sunni and Shia division as well as taking a brief look at the Ahmadiyyah group, which, whilst not considered to be Muslim by many Muslims, has emerged from within the Islamic context. Finally, this section explains some of the different strands of the interpretation of Islam within the Sunni context.
6. Scottish Muslims and Sectarianism is an analysis of the experiences of sectarianism amongst the Muslim community in present day Scotland. It details experiences and feelings of Scottish Muslims and highlights the main findings of the scoping exercise conducted for the purpose of this research. We have used the term 'masjid' to refer to mosques throughout this chapter, as it is the term used universally by Muslims.
7. Islamophobia discusses the term and concept of Islamophobia at length. It includes references to websites and relevant reading material. Furthermore, experiences of Islamophobia in Scotland are also detailed and are followed by key educational action points to be used to address Islamophobia in the framework of education.
8. Educate and Act Against Islamophobia and Sectarianism provides key educational action points to be used to address Islamophobia in the framework of education. It contains relevant information which practitioners can use to help meet specific aims.

Methodology

It is hoped the section on Islam will inform good teaching practice when considering this faith. It is intended to build on and strengthen working knowledge of key issues. Relevant links and reading have been included throughout the text, rather than trying to incorporate too much data into the sections.

To incorporate up to date material on the experiences of Islamophobia and Sectarianism in Scotland today, some field research, between September and November 2005, was conducted. To include a diverse range as possible participants were drawn from school age children, university students, first and second generation communities. Participants were targeted primarily through community groups in each city, as well as university student societies. Field research took the form of one-to-one in-depth interviews as well as focus groups with Muslim people. The following question areas were explored:

1. Issues: Main issues facing you as a Muslim in Scotland? If any?
2. Identity: How would you describe your identity?
3. Sectarianism: What do you understand by the term? Do you think it exists in your community? In what ways does it manifest itself? Have you experienced sectarianism? In what form? Can you think of ways in which sectarianism can be challenged?
4. Islamophobia: What do you understand by the term? Have you experienced it? Describe what you have experienced. What in your opinion is more of an issue for you, Sectarianism or Islamophobia?

Participants from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow and also Dunfermline were included. A total of 35 people took part, more than 50% of whom were between the ages of 13-25. The majority of the participants were of Pakistani background with the others from Indian, Egyptian, Libyan and indigenous Scottish backgrounds. The large Pakistani representation reflects the current breakdown of ethnic minority groups in Scotland. The comments from focus groups are therefore not representative of Muslim communities in Scotland, but are meant to be illuminative.

The information received from the field research has been incorporated into three sections, namely: Muslims in Scotland Today; Scottish Muslims and Sectarianism; and Islamophobia. The information has been incorporated in the form of direct quotes, and key issues have been drawn out. Direct quotes have been included to capture the nature of the experiences and feelings relayed by focus group participants. These quotes are illuminative rather than representative and reflect the experiences of the dominant respondent group, those of Pakistani background.

These interviews and focus groups were designed as a basic scoping exercise and are not necessarily representative of the views of all Muslim communities in Scotland.