Mosque Visits for Women

There are several advantages to the All-Female mosque visit. For a start, the mosque arranges for a woman to conduct the tour. It is not dominated by a self-conscious male imam. In my experience, women very quickly getting to chat very easily about all sorts of things when it is an all-woman environment. The first one I organised was led by two women in full hijab both aged about 30. After the tour of the mosque, one of the first questions was about arranged marriage. The two spoke freely and surprised the visitors because one was single with no imminent plans to marry.  

How can such a thing be organised?

Some kind of personal connection is essential. In my case, I (a man) was friends with the imam. I asked him if he could arrange such a tour for us. He put me in touch with one of the young women who I think worked as a teacher and it developed from there.

If you have a Muslim friend, ask her for her advice. Explain that you want to observe to better understand. Even if she is not regular at the mosque she may be able to put you in touch with someone. She might of course invite you to something less formal. There are lots of devotional and teaching activities outside of the mosque.

Which mosques?

A large number of mosques in the UK do not have space for women. Those that do are often bigger and frankly more interesting. Although mosques are in theory all independent of each other and run by local people, there are associations. The Minhaj ul Quran network mosques ALWAYs have a women’s department run by a women’s committee. That is part of their distinctive model.

The main thing is to start with a personal connection. You tap into the guest-host dynamic. If you do not have such a connection yourself, ask around in your area who does have connections with the mosque.

These days there is quite a push to get Muslim more involved in running and representing the mosques in their community. Baroness Warsi is involved in one programme.[1] The Muslim Council of Britain is also taking steps.[2] Now might be a good time.

[1] https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/news/campaign-launched-to-open-british-mosques-to-women/

[2] https://mcb.org.uk/initiatives/women-in-mosques-development-programme/

Christian and Muslim Discussions

Resources > Engaging Muslims > Engaging as groups > Christian and Muslim discussions

Hikmah Guides

'Hikmah' is an Arabic word for wisdom.

Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies

Hikmah Study Guides are short booklets of 20 or so pages which present a Muslim and a Christian perspective on a particular topic. They end with a conclusion and further reading. An important part of the booklets are the questions at the end designed to help both Muslims and Christians think more deeply about the issue.

These booklets are written by both Muslim and Christian scholars to encourage engagement and understanding between Muslim and Christian people.  The topics presented are often challenging and controversial ones but are presented in such a way that people will be able to move forward and talk together with a common foundation.

These booklets can be read online or downloaded as a PDF document.  They can be used as conversation starters for small groups whether people of the same faith or for dialogue between those of different faiths.

Topics covered so far are:

• Muhammad

• The Qur’an

• Women in the Scriptures

• Law

• The Bible

• Sectarianism

• Persecution

• War and in preparation are Jesus

• Water

• Martyrdom

• God

• Islamophobia

For more information and also to learn about the Oxford Centre for Muslim Christian Studies (OCMCS) go to their website https://www.cmcsoxford.org.uk/ and look for the link to Hikmah Study Guides.  There are many other interesting things on this website including talks, newsletters and research briefings.

Sharing the Gospel with a Muslim Neighbour

Resources >Engaging Muslims> Engaging as individuals > Sharing the gospel with a Muslim neighbour

Phil caught up with Rob Scott to ask him about his book: Sharing the Gospel with a Muslim Neighbour.

Rob is on staff at St Helen’s (Bishopsgate) where he oversees international outreach, is part of the Mahabba Network and reaching out to the Bangladeshi community in Central London.   

The book takes us from first conversations, through deeper discussions with friends, to the discipling of a new believer. It helps us in taking next steps and going beyond wherever we might be with our neighbour - beyond ‘hello’ for some of us and beyond general conversations to deeper things.

Listen in here as Rob shares about his journey and provides insights on topics such as: asking good questions, introducing Jesus and discovery in the Bible.

Sharing the Gospel - Interview with Rob S

Click here for more details of the book and where it’s available to buy