On 21 January 2019, Harun Khan, MCB Secretary General delivered a presentation to the ‘Conference on Leadership, Authority and Representation in British Muslim Communities’, organised by Cardiff University’s Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK.
Entitled “Muslim Umbrella Bodies: Effective Representation or Unfair Gatekeepers”, the presentation outlined the strengths and challenges facing the dozens of Muslim umbrella organisations in the UK in 2019, including regional Council of Mosques, umbrella organisations representing student Islamic associations, Muslim faith schools and Muslim-led NGOs, as well as the Muslim Council of Britain itself, and proposes a number of strategies for these organisations to efficiently co-ordinate their resources to better serve their members.
The conference also included contributions from MCB affiliates, including Saleem Kidwai MBE, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Wales. The conference brought together over 100 academics and activists to explore questions such as ‘who speaks for British Muslims?’, ‘How is authority construed, constructed and exercised in an age of mass media and the Internet?’ and ‘Where do leaders come from in a decentralised religious tradition?’.
For more information about the conference including photos and videos from the day, visit the conference website here.