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Elham Asaad Buaras

Less than half (45%) of Muslim women in the UK report having an overall positive experience within their community, according to a new report by the Muslim Census and the Ta Collective.

The report, titled A Muslim Woman’s Faith Experience, looks into Muslim women’s access to mosques, spiritual well-being, and relationship with faith. It is based on a survey of 1,200 Muslim women in the UK, as well as four focus groups with a total of 24 participants.

The report added that 1 in 5 Muslim women have been denied entry to a mosque. In fact, almost a third of them have been denied on the basis that “there was no dedicated space for women or that it was better for women to pray at home.” Other reasons for refusing entry include being inappropriately dressed.

A 2017 study based on mosque directory data found that 28% of nearly 1,800 mosques in the UK do not provide space for women, and the majority of those that do provide restricted access and substandard conditions. In some cases, denying entry meant Muslim women had no choice but to pray in unsafe spaces.

“The males go to the mosque, and we are forced to pray in changing rooms, car parks, etc.” “It becomes so that Salah is a box to check off—there is no ease, no Khushoo [sense of tranquilly or focus], no community,” noted one respondent, and as a result, Muslim women are turning to alternative sources for spiritual connection and guidance.

The report found that 2 in 5 (39%) Muslim women solely use online sources to seek Islamic knowledge and advice. Muslim women aged 18-34 and those from the Black Muslim community were most likely to report relying on only online sources. Contrastingly, only 9% use in-person methods exclusively to obtain Islamic advice. However, those who only used in-person methods demonstrated greater satisfaction rates with the advice and knowledge available to them in comparison to those who sought online guidance alone—58% compared to 31%.

Due to unmet needs, only 32% of Muslim women felt connected to the larger Muslim community. The report goes further to say “the conflation of religious teachings and cultural practices” results in a disconnect within the Muslim community. For instance, even when they did seek guidance through religious networks, it was difficult to discuss gender-sensitive topics.

Aasifa Usmani, programme manager for the Faith and Communities Team at Standing Together, notes that mosques should be inclusive of women’s issues, “Women need to be made a priority, and there is a lot of work to be done around that. And obviously, this is not an isolated incident just with Muslim women; this cuts across all faith institutions and how women feel excluded and “othered” as well.”