Egypt

A group of British Muslims visited Egypt as part of the Projecting British Islam programme in July 2008. The focus of the visit was to build partnerships between prominent British Muslims and like-minded Egyptians to highlight positive messages about modern Islam - and counterbalance the extremist ideology and narrative. The delegation met community activists, leading youth and womens leaders and former extremists in Cairo. They took part in an public debate at the Biblioteca Alexandrina about what it is like to be British and Muslim.

Aftab Malik, one of the delegates, met leading religious students at the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo: "Some of the students had a lot of wrong assumptions about British Muslims. One of the questions was 'are you allowed to be a real Muslim in England?'. I asked what you mean by a real Muslim and he said 'to pray, fast for example'. I answered him that we can do all that... and he was amazed. It was quite amazing that such perceptions can be changed just by discussion."

> Newsfile of Egypt visit

Pakistan

A six-member delegation of British nationals of Pakistani origin visited Pakistan in June 2008. The delegation visited Islamabad with a particular focus on Mirpur with its important links as an ancestral home of many in the British Pakistani community. The visit included a visit to a Madrassa in Rawalpindi and a workshop with university students at a womens college.

Adeeba Malik, on the delegation said: “My parents uprooted from Pakistan to make a very painful and difficult journey to the UK. This has presented me and my family opportunities - which I have grabbed with both hands. That is why I am successful today.”

> Newsfile of Pakistan visit

Afghanistan

A delegation of British Muslims visited Afghanistan in April 2008 to gain a better understanding of the important work the UK is doing on the ground. Delegates met civil society, religious and educational leaders.  They visited UK-funded aid projects and met British Troops in Kabul. One of the delegates,

Sadiq Khan MP said "to see some of the work that we're doing, it does make you proud, whether it's development work, whether it's helping children go back to school, whether it's building hospital, whether it's helping teachers be trained, whether it's providing security for Afghani people to go about their daily business, there's a huge amount going on.”

> Our UK in Afghanistan section has more information on this visit including video clips and blogs.

Bangladesh

A group of prominent British Bangladeshis visited Dhaka and Sylhet in March 2008 to showcase the high-profile role British Bangladeshi Muslims play in modern UK society. Delegates visited a voter-registration centre in Dhaka and had discussions on issues of identity, Islamaphobia and extremism with university students and educational leaders. One of the delegates,

Rupa Huq, talked about her experiences: “Over the course of the visit we have all repeatedly extolled the virtues of the UK: the country we love and live in, to Bangladesh: the country that we still love but have left”

> Read Rupa Huq's blog during the visit

Above: Delegates talk about the Bangladesh visit

Indonesia

A delegation of young British Muslims working with youth and community organisations in the UK visited Indoniesia in March 2008. The aim was to present a positive image of Muslim communities in the UK and highlight the contribution made by Muslim individuals and communities. The delegates visited Jakarta and West Java to engage in discussions with university and high school students and community workers to discuss good governance, the environment and working with youth. 

A delegate, Shelina Janmohamed said: “It is this fusion of democracy and faith that makes the physical, spiritual and social landscape of Indonesia so fascinating… they are horrified at the attempted terrorist attacks aimed at destroying them.”

> Read Shelina's blog about the trip

Iran

A seven-member delegation visited Iran in February 2008. They travelled to Tehran and Mashhad where they visited Imam Reza’s Shrine and Astan-e Ghods Razavi’s Museum and University.  The delegation met religious leaders and prominent figures in Iran and helped to counter misperceptions about the role of British Muslims in the UK.

Jehangir Malik one of the delegates said that “we found out that there were incorrect pictures of British Muslims’ condition in Iran.  For instance, some of those we spoke to referred to the issue that “Islamic dress code [hijab]” was to be removed in Britain  and that Muslims did not have the right to use it…. During the visit, we tried to act as a  bridge connecting British and Iranian Muslims.”

Above: The delegates talk about their visit to Iran

Previous visits

There have been 26 visits as part of the Projecting British Islam programme since 2005. In 2007-8 delegations also visited Pakistan, Sudan and Libya. And in previous years there have also been visits to Bangladesh, Sudan, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Algeria, Bosnia, Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania and the United States.