Jalsa Salana: UK Muslim women ‘concerned' over negative attitudes toward hijab
As the event concluded on Sunday, a number of Muslim women in attendance reacted to the findings of a recent YouGov polling commissioned by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community which found that 49% of respondents believe 'most British Muslim women who wear a hijab do so because they feel pressured by their family or community.'
'I was very disappointed, but maybe not all together surprised,' Munazzah Chou, 40, said.
'I think the scale was quite eye-opening, because it's quite a significant proportion.'
Ms Chou, who works as an ophthalmologist in the NHS, added: 'The misconceptions about Muslim women in particular are slightly insulting toward the intellectual capacity of Muslim women.
'People make choices every day that we don't understand: as a doctor, I see patients and we offer them treatments, and they often make choices that we wouldn't recommend, but I never jump to the conclusion that they're being coerced.
'I know that my choice to wear hijab is just based on my religious belief.'
Referring to the Jalsa Salana convention, she added: 'There are 20,000 women here who would have a different journey towards wearing their hijab, but I think every single one of them would tell you how this is not a coercive practice.
'They've done it out of personal choice, and all from possibly slightly different, nuanced reasons – but all out of free will.'
Syeda Ahmad, 23, said the polling results made her feel as though Muslim women 'keep having to have the same conversations and make the same points over and over again'.
A fundamental teaching of Islam, beautifully explained in the new book "In the Words of the Caliph."
Fulfilling the rights of our neighbors is a "religious obligation." The Holy Qur'an provides a moral code that guides us on how to interact with all members of society.#JalsaUK pic.twitter.com/Trlse1HhZn
— Jalsa Salana UK (@JalsaUK) July 27, 2025
'We do make our own choices, and we are fully thinking human beings who are able to do that ourselves,' she said.
'I feel like the results are maybe a reflection of a certain kind of attitude towards Muslim women that is more concerned with telling us how we feel and what we need, as opposed to asking us.'
University student Unaizah Ahmad, 25, said she felt 'concerned' over the polling results.
'When there are calls made for hijab bans, I wonder if this is the mentality that is playing in the background and plays a role in people,' she said.
'And in my experience, it's the complete opposite.
'My hijab is completely my own choice. My religion, the way I practice it, is completely my own choice.
'I've never felt coerced or pressured to do with it.
'To people who hold that belief: I would encourage them to speak to Muslim women who wear a hijab, and hear it from them instead of giving in to preconceived biases.'
In June, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice said there should be a 'national debate' on banning the burka.
This came as former party chairman Zia Yusuf resigned following an internal row, in which he described a question asked to the Prime Minister by the party's newest MP, Sarah Pochin, about banning the burka as 'dumb'.
'His Holiness is the world leader for the cause of peace'. Sir Ed Davey sends a message of support to #JalsaUK pic.twitter.com/JQbdGkbUTs
— Jalsa Salana UK (@JalsaUK) July 27, 2025
Syeda Ahmad also further raised concerns over how these renewed calls for a ban on face-covering clothes will impact upon Muslim women and girls.
'If you're actually concerned about Muslim women and how we might be feeling, one of the worst things you can do is project your own prejudices and assumptions onto us,' she said.
'We've seen in other European countries that have introduced things like hijab bans or burka bans – we know from research that only serves to alienate Muslim women.
'It restricts them from places of education. It restricts them from places of work.'
Wearing face-covering clothes is currently banned in seven European countries – France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and Bulgaria – while other countries have enacted partial bans.
'A great thing about Britain is that there are no bans like that,' Ms Ahmad added.
'That's why you'll find Muslim women in this country working in all manner of professions, as confident people.'
She added: 'Religion is personal to people.
'They decide what they want to do, what they want to follow, how far they want to follow it, and there's no punishment for not wearing a hijab in Islam.
'Crucially, Islam allows you to make a personal choice.'
A spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community said the survey's results 'highlight a persistent misunderstanding about Islamic teachings on modesty and women's choices'.
The YouGov survey of 2,130 adults in Great Britain in mid-July asked people if they felt different groups of immigrants by religion generally have a positive or negative impact on the UK.
While 41% said Muslim immigrants have a negative impact, the proportions feeling this way were much lower for other groups.
Just under a quarter (24%) of respondents felt Muslim immigrants had a positive impact on the UK, lower than for any of the other religions stated.
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The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
The best portable neck and handheld fans, tested: six expert picks to keep you cool
Most people were hoping we wouldn't see a repeat of June and July's heatwaves this year, according to a recent YouGov survey of 5,148 British adults. Well, another one is already upon us. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Thanks to the climate crisis, we know that things are hotting up year on year, and while we can hide in air-conditioned shops and offices, our homes can get uncomfortably – sometimes dangerously – hot. And we also have to go outside – or worse, voluntarily pack ourselves like sweaty sardines on dangerously hot public transport. On those occasions, a portable fan can make all the difference between manageable discomfort and indulging in an inadvisable quantity of ice-cream. Which one should you buy? I've spent the past few weeks testing handheld and neck fans from the likes of John Lewis, Dunelm and Bush, assessing them for power, noise, battery life and portability. 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We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. after newsletter promotion Want something hands-free to keep you cool? A fan worn around the neck does that, while targeting the body's thermoregulation centre, which can, in theory, make you feel cooler. The Jialexin three-speed neck fan certainly delivered that, if you can cope with fans running so close to your ears. Why we love itIt really does make you feel cooler, even if the fans don't appear to be more powerful when compared with regular handheld fans. My anemometer test revealed seemingly low speeds of 1.7 to 2.2m/s, but there are more air sources and, as a result, the cooling effect felt more consistent and less disruptive than a jet of constant air to the face. The downside of this, however, is the noise. 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Power levels: 5; measured air speed: 2.7-4.3m/s; measured volume: 41-61.9dB; tested battery life: maximum, 3hrs 45mins; minimum, 13hrs 20mins; measured weight: 129g Look out for fans with different uses. While the traditional way to use a handheld fan is, of course, in the hand, some models can double as desktop fans, either by folding in half or with a bundled stand. Some even come with a lanyard attachment so they can be worn hands-free around the neck. While power might seem like the key feature, remember this is always a trade-off. Higher fan speeds will make you feel nominally cooler, but will come at the expense of battery life and more subtle noise levels. Neck fans have two advantages over regular handheld fans. The first is that they're entirely hands-free, meaning you can wear them without temporarily losing the use of a hand in the process. The second advantage is that as they target the neck, there's evidence to suggest they may make you feel cooler overall. This is because the thermoregulation centre is at the base of the brain, so a neck fan may make you feel cooler than a regular handheld one, even if your actual body temperature isn't dropping all that much. The downside to this is that the positioning directly below your ears can be a little tiring, given the constant volume (although this is a problem that's easily sidestepped with a pair of headphones). Alan Martin is a writer who has been putting products – including phones, gaming devices and wearables – through their paces for more than a decade. He is constantly tripping over product boxes
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Cromwell Museum Huntingdon expansion plan ready for design ideas
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The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Kate Forbes coverage shows we need to stop attacking those of faith
Research by The Bible Society has found that church attendance (defined as attending church at least once a month, excluding weddings, baptisms, christenings, and funerals) has grown from 8% to 12% in England and Wales since 2018. Among 18-24-year-olds, church attendance has grown from 4% to 16%, and among 25-34-year-olds it has grown from 4% to 13%. Eighteen to 34-year-olds are now more likely to attend church than any age group except those over 65, upending what was a clear relationship between age and church attendance in 2018. Read More: Added to that, a YouGov poll conducted at the start of the year found that, for the first time since they began asking this question in 2019, the share of Britons that believe in a god or gods is now greater than the share that explicitly do not believe in any gods or higher spiritual power – 35% to 32%. Since 2019, the share who believe in a god or gods has increased by nine points, and the share who do not has decreased by 10 points. Again, this shift is markedly greater among young adults. 45% of 18-24-year-olds believe in a god or gods, compared to 34% who do not. That's a swing of 16 points since 2019. And the same patterns can be seen in their Scottish sample, though those who do not believe in a god or gods continue to outnumber those who do. It's important not to overstate the case. The UK, particularly Scotland, is becoming an increasingly secular society. According to the census, between 2011 and 2021, the share of people in England and Wales who identify as Christian declined from 59% to 43% and the share who identified with no religion increased from 25% to 37%. The Scottish census has found an even greater shift, with the share of Scots who identify with any religion declining from 56% to 43% since 2011, and the share identifying with no religion increasing from 38% to 51%. Scotland is now a majority irreligious nation, and this is the case in 24 of our 32 local authority areas. Those areas where those who identify with a religion outnumber those who don't tend to be those with historically relatively large Catholic communities, in the West Central Belt, thanks to Catholic identity's relative 'stickiness'. The exception is Na h-Eileanan Siar, where historically much higher identification with a Protestant denomination means that, despite a sharp decline, most of the population identify with one or another Protestant denomination. The long-term trend of secularisation is butting up against a generation coming of age in a different set of circumstances from those that most of us grew up in. They are the austerity generation, and the generation most shaped by the consequences of successive crises from 2008 through the pandemic. We know that religious faith and observance are strongly associated with greater happiness, a sense of community, and shared purpose. Young adults belong to a generation that broadly feels let down by their elders and left behind by society, whether thanks to the spectre of uncontrolled climate change, spiralling cost of living, or impossible housing costs, and whose communal spaces and opportunities to form communities of shared purpose were decimated by the impact of austerity on social infrastructure. It makes sense that a significant number of them, though still a minority, turned to religion to fill those gaps. This isn't inherently a bad thing, of course, and I don't want to imply that it is. Some aspects of what the Bible Society has called the Quiet Revival are rather disturbing, most significantly the role played by 'manosphere' influencers, up to and including individuals like Adam Tate, in encouraging young men to embrace 'traditional' (code for misogynistic) values and lifestyles that include Christian observance. But it would be deeply unfair to paint this entire phenomenon with that brush or understand it through that lens. What secular society should be asking is what we can learn about providing community and shared purpose for young people, and how we can accommodate this growing religious minority in the wider social and political life of an increasingly secular nation? The answer to the first question is obvious, but not necessarily easy: invest in social infrastructure. I've written several times in this paper about social isolation and the essential benefits, both social and economic, of social infrastructure. The trend of some young people turning to religion to fill that gap in secular life reinforces the need for such investment. The second is harder, as the case of Kate Forbes demonstrates. The answer to the question of whether a religious person can lead this irreligious country is yes – both Humza Yousaf and John Swinney are observant adherents to their respective faiths. The question is how to accommodate religious worldviews alongside secular ones in public debate. That is not to say that faith-based politics should not be challenged – far from it. They should be as open to contestation as politics rooted in liberalism or secular conservatism. The issue for those of faith is to be open to such challenges, should they choose to go into politics and form their politics based on their faith. For the rest of us, the issue is to find ways of challenging faith-based politics without personally attacking those of faith. While many of us seem individually able to resolve these challenges, a cursory glance at the coverage of Kate Forbes' faith and politics shows that, as a body politic, we haven't. But we'll be forced to, sooner or later: faith and faith-based politics aren't going away. Mark McGeoghegan is a Glasgow University researcher of nationalism and contentious politics and an Associate Member of the Centre on Constitutional Change. He can be found on BlueSky @
