Prominent British Muslims back new national body to reach out to government

Baroness Warsi and Mishal Husain are among group's backers after lack of contact between Muslim Council of Britain and ministers

Broadcaster Mishal Husain is among backers of the British Muslim Network. PA Images

Prominent British Muslims are backing a new national body that will speak to the government about issues affecting the UK's Muslim communities.

Called the British Muslim Network, it is co-founded by Julie Siddiqi, a well-known interfaith and women's campaigner, sources familiar with the organisation told The National.

Its aim is to provide a fresh platform to address issues such as rising anti-Muslim hate, with a stronger appeal to the mainstream than existing groups, one source said.

The British Muslim Network hopes to galvanise these incredible contributions and gather the expertise within British Muslim communities

Akeela Ahmed

The BMN has the backing of former BBC presenter Mishal Husain, and cross-bench peer Sayeeda Warsi, who was the UK’s first Muslim cabinet minister.

The group grew out of the perception that British Muslim voices were being ignored by the UK government in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023 and the ensuing war.

The frustration was compounded by far-right riots targeting mosques in August last year, following disinformation spread in the wake of the Southport knife attack, in which three girls were killed.

The BMN has the backing of cross-bench peer Sayeeda Warsi, who was the UK’s first Muslim cabinet minister. Getty Images

Among the BMN’s co-founders is Akeela Ahmed, who set up the charity She Speaks We Hear to empower Muslim women and was awarded an MBE for this in 2018.

She hopes the BMN will highlight the important role that Muslims play across UK health care, education, arts and business, while also gathering their expertise to influence policymakers.

“British Muslims are making significant contributions every day across the UK as teachers, in the NHS, and many are business leaders and owners,” she told The National.

Akeela Ahmed, a founding spirit behind the British Muslim Network.

“The British Muslim Network hopes to galvanise these incredible contributions and gather the expertise within British Muslim communities and put them forward in a positive way to policymakers and leaders across society,” she said.

This is part of a constellation of initiatives to address the diversity of the UK’s Muslim community while also helping it consolidate its voice in government.

The BMN’s organisers have a “track record” of individually working with the UK government on policy issues, one source said, raising confidence that the group will not be shunned by politicians, one source said. MPs from across parties are expected to attend the BMN’s launch event in February.

One of the organisations' key figures is Imam Asim Hafiz, a former army chaplain and adviser to the Ministry of Defence, The National understands.

There are hopes that the BMN will highlight younger voices as opposed to the community “uncles” that lead other organisations, a source said.

Sources stressed that the group does not intend to replace or compete with other major British-Muslim organisations. However, the UK’s largest Muslim umbrella organisation, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), has not had contact with the UK government since 2009.

Then Labour prime minister Gordon Brown broke contact with the MCB after its deputy leader signed a letter which ministers said condoned attacks on British forces. The election of a younger leader, Zara Mohammed, in 2021 raised hopes of change among some affiliates, but the government continued to shun the group.

The Muslim Council will vote on a new leadership on Saturday. The two frontrunners, Mohammed Wajid Akhter and Muhammad Adrees, supported The Muslim Vote, a campaign against the Labour Party over its stance on Gaza, at the last general election. Both called on the government to re-engage with the organisation at recent hustings, according to online magazine Hyphen.