Islam in
Oxford
By M. A. Muqtedar Khan,
PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science and International
Relations
University of Delaware
Non-Resident Fellow, Brookings Institution
As I sat sipping tea in the elegantly appointed
senior’s common room at Magdalene College
in Oxford, sharing anecdotes about Muslim intellectuals
with Dr. Farhan Nizami the Director of the Oxford
Center for Islamic Studies, I kept reflecting
about Edward Gibbon. Gibbon, who was an alumnus
of the Magdalene College, authored ‘The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’ in
mid-eighteenth century.
In that magnum opus Gibbon wrote that if the Franks
had not won the battle of Portiers in 733 "perhaps
the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught
in the schools of Oxford and her pulpits might
demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity
and truth of the revelation of Mahomet."
” Remembering what he wrote, I wondered
what his response would be, if he were to now
take a tour of Oxford. Islam is present and thriving
in Oxford University and in Oxford city.
Oxford is clearly one of the most enlightened
cities in the world, with its over 30 very old
and very distinguished colleges and boasting of
some of the finest minds in nearly every field
as part of its citizenry. Add to this the spectacular
domes and tall minarets of the two big mosques
in Oxford and the picture of a virtuous city is
complete. Gibbon would have been surprised to
learn the lesson that military defeats do not
stop the advance of civilizations and the globalization
of Islam is unimpeded by the material and military
weaknesses of the Muslim world.
Oxford, in spite of its quintessentially English
character, is a very un-English place. A lot of
its inhabitants besides the students appear to
be immigrants, from either South Asia or Eastern
Europe. In fact, the nicest couple that I met
and befriended in Oxford was American. They have
been living there for decades.
Oxford is a small college town, but it has nearly
7000 Muslims, majority of whom are of South Asian
origin. It has five Muslims in the city council,
dozens of Muslim scholars in the various colleges
of Oxford, four mosques and more halal restaurants
on any of its main streets than the entire state
of Delaware in the US, which also has roughly
the same number of Muslims.
Muslims in Oxford look happy, reasonably prosperous,
and are well integrated, unlike the majority of
Muslims in Britain who are poor, less educated,
underemployed, socially marginalized, culturally
segregated and politically alienated. They are
primarily engaged in small businesses with cab
driving, real estate and restaurants as the main
areas of employment. I was informed, rather proudly
by a cab driver, that of the hundred odd black
cabs in Oxford, over ninety are driven by Englishmen
of Pakistani origin.
The Muslims of Oxford were very hospitable. They
opened their hearts and minds and also the doors
to the mosque’s board meeting to me. I discovered
that their challenges too are so much like those
we face everywhere; how to combat Islamophobia,
how to reach out to neighbors and local leaders,
how to engage the youth and keep them away from
radicalism, and how to raise funds for the new
carpets. Their problems were also similar, how
to bridge the gap between the older immigrant
and the younger native generations, how to open
more opportunities for women, without angering
the traditionalists or dividing the community
and how to find more Imams who can speak in English.
I met the older leaders and prayed that they would
retire soon. I also met with many younger men
and women, and hoped they would lead very soon.
My guess is that the transitional period will
be a little awkward, but the future of Muslims
in Oxford looks bright.
I was in Oxford briefly as a visiting scholar
at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies. The
Center, whose patron is Prince Charles, was established
in 1985 and under the leadership of Dr. Nizami,
seeks to build bridges between the Islamic world
and the contemporary West.
The Center for Islamic Studies is clearly the
jewel in Oxford’s crown. It is not only
a center for higher learning, very much in tune
with the pace and standards of Oxford, but is
also a venue for civilizational diplomacy. In
this age, when Islam and the West are engaged
in complex negotiations about the role of Islam
and Muslims in the West and of the West in the
Muslim World, the center is an important venue
where scholars from both the world’s can
meet and engage.
The Center’s new building which is under
construction is according to my American friend
in Oxford, Michael C., “easily the most
spectacular architectural, not to mention intellectual,
addition to Oxford in over two hundred years”.
And indeed it is. When complete the center has
the potential to become a hub for Western-Islamic
relations and scholarship. In its elegant and
august environment, scholars and diplomats could
genuinely find a place for Islam in the West that
enriches the West culturally and spiritually and
revitalizes the spirit of compassion, tolerance
and universal brotherhood among Muslims.
In the past year or so I have traveled across
Europe, from Ireland to Germany, to France, to
Belgium and to England trying to understand how
Muslims are doing there. Everywhere I was disturbed
by their poverty and alienation, but in Oxford
I found much happiness.
My only regret though is how few Muslims from
Oxford city study at Oxford University. The Prophet
of Islam encouraged Muslims to go all the way
to China if they had to in pursuit of higher learning;
I wish more Muslims in Oxford would go across
the street.
(Muqtedar Khan is Assistant Professor at University
of Delaware and a Nonresident Fellow with the
Saban Center at the Brookings Institution. His
most recent book is Islamic Democratic Discourse
[Lexington, 2006]. His website is www.ijtihad.org)
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