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Who are Britain’s Muslims?

Inside London's central mosque, near Regents Park

An introduction to Muslim denominations and religious diversity 

by Abdul-Azim Ahmed

Dr Abdul-Azim Ahmed is an academic and freelance journalist based in Cardiff. He has written for the Independent, the New Statesman, and is currently authoring a book on contemporary British mosques. Abdul-Azim is also editor of On Religion Magazine, an online publication that examines religion and society.


Diversity of Islam in Britain - broad outlines
Some subdivisons
Middle-Eastern reform movements
Some misconceptions - Sunni/Shia hostility; Sufis; good/bad Muslims
Other variations - modernist, traditionalist, political, apolitical etc

This essay was originally published at http://www.onreligion.co.uk/who-are-britains-muslims/

The illustration on the British Values index shows the Shah Jahan mosque in Woking, the earliest known purpose built mosque in Britain (built in 1889).