A Journey Across Muslim Britain - Why Prof. Ed Husain Is Worried

New Culture Forum

Islam is the fastest-growing faith community in Britain. Domes and minarets are redefining the skylines of towns and cities as mosques become an increasingly prominent feature. Yet while Britain has prided itself on being a global home of cosmopolitanism and modern civilisation, its deep-rooted relationship with Islam is complex, threatened by rising hostility. There is much media debate about embracing diversity in our communities, but what does integration look like on the ground, in places like Dewsbury, Glasgow, Belfast and London? How are Muslims, young and old, reconciling British values - of individualism, the rule of law, free speech & equality between the sexes - with literalist interpretations of their faith? And how is this tension, away from the public gaze, unfolding inside mosques today? In this episode of #SWYSI, author & academic Prof. Ed Husain discusses how his new book "Among the Mosques: A Journey Across Muslim Britain" took him into the heart of Britain's Muslim communities in a search for answers. Travelling the length and breadth of the country, Husain joins men and women in their prayers, conversations, meals etc. He tells their stories here in an open and honest account that brings the daily reality of British Muslim life sharply into focus - a struggle of identity and belonging, caught between tradition and modernity, East and West, revelation and reason. Ed Husain is an adjunct Professor in the Walsh School of Foreign Service in Georgetown University. He is also a writer and political advisor who has worked with leaders and governments across the world. He has held senior fellowships at think tanks in London and New York, including at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) at the height of the Arab uprisings (2010-2015). While at CFR, his policy innovation memo led to the US-led creation of a Geneva-based global fund to help counter terrorism. Husain was a senior advisor to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (2015-2018). From 2018-2021 he completed his doctoral studies on Western philosophy and Islam under the direction of the English philosopher Sir Roger Scruton. He is the author of The Islamist (Penguin, 2007), The House of Islam: A Global History (Bloomsbury, 2018), and Among the Mosques (Bloomsbury, 2021). His writing has been shortlisted for the George Orwell Prize. A regular contributor to the Spectator magazine, he has appeared on the BBC and CNN and has written for the Telegraph, The Times, the New York Times, the Guardian and other publications.