Community Education & Empowerment — Working Group Session Notes
Date: 8th February 2026 Location: HAD Office, Birmingham
Problem Mapping & Mission Setting
Key Contextual Observations
- Young people attend madrasah but civic responsibility is not taught (e.g. littering, community service)
- Masaajid do not teach youth how to report or recognise Islamophobia
- Lack of positive Muslim role models in the community
- Duplication at a higher level: existing organisations and mosques at grassroots level providing similar education without coordination
- Creation of new organisations due to competing priorities and nuances on what to focus
- Approaches to tackling Islamophobia tend to be prescriptive rather than invitational
- People do not see the buy-in until it affects them directly
- By not addressing taboo subjects, Muslim youth are exposed to finding information from wrong sources
- Harmful narratives persist: halal slaughter seen as cruel, Muslims labelled as supporting terrorism, seen as old-fashioned and not integrating into society, misunderstanding of sharia law
- People in the community are given platforms without the right education
- Need to acknowledge the uncomfortable truth that the community partly plays a role in Islamophobia
- Victim mentality within the Muslim community — need to promote positive contributions
Core Problems Identified
| # | Problem | Why It Matters | Groups Affected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lack of civic education | Mosques do not teach youth how to contribute to society on a civic level. How to recognise or respond to Islamophobia is not taught. | Mosques, youth |
| 2 | Prescriptive, not invitational | Duplication exists due to competing priorities. Organisations have their own nuances and approaches differ — but the overall approach is prescriptive rather than invitational. | MEND, IRU, Mosques |
| 3 | Weak narrative and representation | Shortage of positive Muslim role models means harmful narratives go unchallenged, fostering a tendency towards victim mentality. | Youth, community |
Mission Statements
- To educate and empower communities to unite against Islamophobia in 12 months
- Collective protection of rights of communities through political education and advocacy
- Think globally but act locally
- Invite maximum impact and reach through participatory-centric learning, embedded in social action, by inviting Muslims to empower themselves to take ownership of the cause
- Empower and develop masajid and madrassah to ensure young people learn civic responsibility aligned with Islamic teaching
Proposed Actions (Full List)
The following actions were proposed during the session before prioritisation:
- Teaching civic responsibility skills to youth before entering spaces like higher education
- Work with health trusts to highlight where ethnic minorities and Muslims are being discriminated in healthcare
- Target masajid and imams on how to engage youth in community; gain support from volunteer organisations
- Get a case study and have a win with it where it can be promoted
- Utilising spaces of youth in delivering training and education in Islamophobia and understanding of civic duty
- Collaborate with organisations that are providing Muslim leadership training and have a big reach
- Mosque frontline advisory pilot — workshops on how to manage converts and support them
- Educational partnerships
- Building a digital platform for organisations to access technology resources, educational resources, etc.
- Visit my neighbour week
- Annual reporting on community contributions
- Gift packs to neighbours, Visit My Mosque Day
- Reverts network work with university students
- Create resources to educate on halal food and methods of slaughter
Agreed Actions
Four actions were prioritised and assigned leads:
Action 1: Halal Food Education Resources
Create a pool of resources that informs on halal food and methods of slaughter and debunks misconceptions.
Action 2: Connect FOSIS with Partner Organisations
Connect FOSIS with other organisations to support Muslim students in higher education through shared resources and referral pathways.
Action 3: Spotlight Lottery of Information Sharing
Curated monthly spotlight of MCB member organisations, showcased across the network to increase visibility and cross-organisational awareness.
Action 4: Digital Platform for Reporting Islamophobia
A digital platform providing access to resources and enabling the reporting of Islamophobic incidents.
Areas of Duplication or Fragmentation
- Duplication at a higher level: existing organisations and mosques at grassroots level providing certain education
- Creation of new organisations due to competing priorities and nuances on what to focus
- Problem with duplication is because the approach is prescriptive rather than invitational
Deferred Ideas for Future Cycles
The following proposed actions were not prioritised for the current cycle but remain valid future workstreams:
| # | Proposed Action | Potential Partners |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Teaching civic responsibility skills to youth before higher education | Mosques, madrassahs |
| 2 | Work with health trusts on discrimination in healthcare | Health trusts, Citizens UK |
| 3 | Target masajid and imams on engaging youth; gain support from volunteer organisations | Masajid, volunteer orgs |
| 4 | Get a case study win and promote it | All partners |
| 5 | Collaborate with Muslim leadership training organisations with big reach | Leadership training orgs |
| 6 | Mosque frontline advisory pilot: workshops on managing and supporting converts | Convert Muslim Foundation |
| 7 | Educational partnerships | TBC |
| 8 | Visit my neighbour week / gift packs to neighbours / Visit My Mosque Day | Community organisations |
| 9 | Reverts network partnering with university students | Convert Muslim Foundation, FOSIS |
Follow-Up
- Review date: After Ramadan
- Stakeholder mapping and madrassa curriculum were flagged for further exploration