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This generation has been forced to deal with suspicion and discrimination and it is women who are most often on the receiving end of anti-Muslim violence and bigotry.

British Muslim women face a and are particularly disadvantaged in employment, experiencing ethno-religious prejudice and greater levels of Islamophobic hate crime. This comes in addition to a wider societal expectation to 'prove their Britishness,' even though Muslims as a faith group have demonstrated   

Despite all of these difficult issues, young Muslim women are positively defining their place in British society, by challenging negative attitudes and becoming agents of change within their communities.

Philip Lewis and I have written about these transformations in our recent book, . We discuss the work of this new generation of women change makers and influencers in a number of different fields including literature, arts, media, academia, religious leadership, community activism and politics.

This generation has been forced to deal with suspicion and discrimination and it is women who are most often on the receiving end

Muslim women are rewriting the script on an ever increasing range of online news and advocacy platforms such as - a space which centres the voices of Muslim women, offering positive representations of Muslims in the public sphere. Similarly, broadcasts podcast interviews with influential Muslim women, and is a digital project advancing the voices of women to help tackle Islamophobia.  

There is also a growing and vibrant creative culture driven by Muslim women that  includes  musicians, poets and film makers expressing themselves through art, and raising political consciousness. Sukina Abdul Noor and Muneera Rashid, dubbed the have been at the cutting edge of British Muslim spoken word poetry, and Rabiah and Sakinah, aka the , write and perform a range of styles that includes rap, folk, soul and nasheed songs.

Last year, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan performance at the Roundhouse Poetry Slam went viral as she argued that Muslims should not be valued on how relatable or recognisable they are, or by the public pressure to be a 'Good Muslim', in her ''  

Racial representation is one of the most frequently raised issues within British Muslim communities, as many Muslims of African-Caribbean ancestry feel their voices are not adequately represented in British history, but are also absent from debates about Islam in Britain.

In response, Halimat Shode launched the , which is a quarterly publication created to showcase the achievements of Black Muslim professionals, sports people and artists.

Within community media, British Muslim TV broadcasts a range of programming that is women-led such as the panel show, . Muslim women are also the creative force behind the camera, as screenwriters, producers and directors such as  demonstrate. These women are also making their presence known in mainstream media, as Channel Four News' international correspondent , and the BBC's  demonstrate. 

In terms of novelists and memoirs there's no shortage of talent either:  has authored an engaging series of stories aimed at young adults navigating the complexities of growing up in multicultural Britain. 's romantic comedies have been described as the Muslim Bridget Jones, while Mahfouz Sabrina's '', is a lively anthology of short stories and poetry, covering love, politics and patriarchy.

A number of emerging religious scholars such as Glaswegian  the principal of the Muslim Women's College, and London-based  - experts in their field - are helping to shape a relevant, contextualised Islam that responds to the challenges of being a Muslim women in Britain today.

British Muslim women face a 'triple penalty' of gender, colour and faith

Another interesting initiative to build capacity in the religious realm is the Bradford Muslim Women's Council which is working towards creating the UK's first These women, who are part of '', are likely to shape profound changes within Muslim communities and challenge lazy assumptions in wider society over the next decade, as they continue to empower themselves, push for change and carve out the space they deserve in Britain.


Dr Sadek Hamid is an academic who has written widely about British Muslims. He is the author of 'Sufis, Salafis and Islamists: The Contested Ground of British Islamic Activism' and is co-author of 'British Muslims: New Directions in Islamic Thought, Creativity and Activism'.

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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of °®Âþµº, its editorial board or staff.