All religious traditions evolve. What are the growth points today for Muslims, particularly here in the UK? What are the challenges and how are they being responded to?
Where are the new possibilities for co-operation and mutual understanding with non-Muslims?
Whether we identify as Christians, Muslims, or “neither of the above” these can be really important questions for us.
Dilwar Hussain and Rabiha Hannan are ideal guides for this weekend. They both have wide experience of work in social policy, education, Islamic studies, inter-faith understanding and preventing extremism. For fuller biographies see below.
They are co-founders of New Horizons in British Islam, “a forward-looking organisation that engages in critical discussions around Muslim identity, tradition and reform to provide a positive, contextual vision of what it means to be Muslim today.”
This weekend is open to all and we welcome children (Dilwar and Rabiha will bring theirs); there will be activity options for them while adults are in session.
Pricing experiment: take the years of your age or 60 (whichever is less) and multiply by 2.5 – this is the number of pounds we will charge you for the weekend, including accommodation and all home-cooked food.
Rabiha Hannan is Co-Founder and Trustee of New Horizons in British Islam, co-editor of the book Islam and the Veil (2011) and is a member of the National Policy Board of the Islamic Society of Britain and leads on their work with youth. She is Co-ordinator of the Respect Programme - an online resource providing ready-made lesson plans for secondary school teachers on issues such as citizenship, prejudices and extremism.
She is a member of the Scrutiny Committee for Children and Young Peoples Services for Leicester City Council and has undertaken a variety of policy level and academic research over the last 10 years. Rabiha has been Chair and Vice Chair of the Leicester SACRE (2007-2009) and was on the implementation team leading to the formation of the national Christian-Muslim Forum.
Rabiha is a Clinical Pharmacist by training, holds an MA in Muslim Community Studies, with a specialisation on Chaplaincy, gender issues and pluralism and has been active in voluntary work with the Muslim community for over 20 years. She has a passion for helping people to understand each other better.
Dilwar Hussain is an independent consultant working on social policy, Muslim identity and Islamic reform in the modern world. He is founding Chair of New Horizons in British Islam. He is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, University of Coventry and Lecturer at the University of Leicester.
He teaches Religion / Islam in contemporary society and has a number of published works in the field. He has worked in academic research, policy consultancy and training for over fifteen years, delivering contracts for private sector groups as well as various government departments, particularly around issues of integration, identity and counter-extremism.
Dilwar is a member of the Faiths Advisory Panel for Near Neighbours, a grant system managed by the Church Urban Fund. He is Vice-Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and a Trustee of the Three Faiths Forum (3FF) and the Islamic Society of Britain. Dilwar blogs at: www.dilwar.org
New Horizons in British Islam:
New Horizons is a forward-looking organisation that engages in critical discussions around Muslim identity, tradition and reform to provide a positive, contextual vision of what it means to be Muslim today. It is inspired by Islamic values and spirituality and speaks from within the Muslim tradition, for the benefit of all people. The organisation is a charity registered in England and Wales.
You can find New Horizons on Facebook (nHorizons.org) and Twitter (@nHorizons) and their website is: www.nhorizons.org