Suraya Miah has worked with some of north London's most vulnerable families, building a career in community support.
It is during Ramadan that the measure of her efforts hit home, especially as she enjoys iftars that bring people of all faiths together.
"It's a celebration of the community. Food does really connect people and a lot of non-Muslims came as well," she told The National, referring to an iftar at a local mosque that she attended this week. "I really love bringing people together especially at a time when people are trying to divide us."
Ms Miah, 23, has been an advocate of local community centres since she was a teenager. For this work, she was invited to an iftar at Downing Street last year, hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Their importance of local spaces was reinforced recently when she went through her late grandparents' contact book and found two addresses she recognised. The Hopscotch and the Surma community centres in Camden, north London, were where her grandparents and other Bangladeshis looked for support when they first moved to the city in the 1970s.
Decades later, Ms Miah still engages with the centres in her varied work as a social worker and activist. She has taken part in community kitchens at Surma and referred some of the disability cases that she worked to Hopscotch.
“When my grandparents came to the UK they went to those centres to navigate a hard time," she said. "Times have changed. I hope we are able to go back to community centres that can be safe spaces."
She credits community hubs such as these for turning her life around. She was first referred to the youth services as a young offender at the age of 15, a time when she says she was identified as vulnerable to exploitation.
Soon afterwards, she became an advocate, speaking to other young offenders about her experience and the options available to them. She went on to obtain a degree in social work from the University of Middlesex, spending two years working with disabled adults and children in Camden, where she grew up in.
She is now part of the community advisory group for Eid on the Square, a public celebration on Trafalgar Square organised by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. It is due to take place in late May and she wishes more young people would become involved.
“It’s such a beautiful feeling coming to the event. I wish more people would be a part of it,” she said. “It will be a celebration of community and togetherness.”
Ms Miah recalls her experience at the Prime Minister's iftar fondly. She had been nominated to go by a charity in Camden. “I remember receiving the invitation and I was absolutely shocked,” she added.
When she arrived she was first overwhelmed by the level of security, but that changed once she was inside. “It really felt like a celebration,” she recalled.
Though she was nervous to be photographed walking up the stairs with Mr Starmer, she thought of other young Muslims who might see the picture. “I was asked by the team to walk the Prime Minister in," she said. "I felt like an impostor walking in. But I thought, if someone like myself can see me they will know they can do it too."
But the image also exposed her to online trolling. “Social media didn’t respond to it well, particularly around the pictures of me walking in the with the Prime Minister. There were a lot of Islamophobic comments, but I’m still glad I did it,” she said.
The UK has adopted a new definition of anti-Muslim hostility as part of a broader strategy to tackle rising hate crime. Religious hate crime reached a record high last year, with offences against Muslims rising by 20 per cent to hit 3,200 cases in the year to March last year.
Ms Miah acknowledged the growing anti-immigration sentiment in the UK. “There are flags popping up around my home and work, which can feel very uncomfortable," she said. "What used to be a community that would celebrate difference, now feels divided."
Ms Miah said events such as the Downing Street iftar sent an important message about a religious community that is under a lot of scrutiny. While Downing Street did not host an iftar this year, Mr Starmer attended an event at Westminster Hall organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Muslims. Communities Minister Steve Reed hosted an iftar at Lancaster House.
“I think it’s important this it happens every year, and for other cultures too," she said. "I’m from a faith that is always under scrutiny. This event is important to show we have allies, that we are human. As a Muslim, I think all cultures should be celebrated."
