The Conversation: The forgotten women who helped to build British Islam

“The Conversation” website has published an article by Sariya Cheruvallil, in which she says that the first two mosques in Britain were established in 1889 in Liverpool and Woking, and

“The Conversation” website has published an article by Sariya Cheruvallil, in which she says that the first two mosques in Britain were established in 1889 in Liverpool and Woking, and women played an important role in the community that helped to establish these mosques.

Cheruvallil, however, mentions in her essay: “This reader would not necessarily know it. Indeed, women’s contributions throughout history are consistently forgotten – often lost so the past becomes “his story”. I hope my new research will play a part in changing this. 

“I used archive material linked to the two earliest British mosques to examine the everyday lives of women in these historical communities. This research presents a coherent and compelling narrative of women’s lives and roles as contributors and leaders of their communities,” the author adds. 

“Women in these communities were usually middle-class converts, who encountered Islam through travel, mosque publications or public lectures. They lived in an environment that viewed Islam and Muslims with suspicion and ridicule. British Muslims were perceived as “loyal enemies” and “infidels within” the society of that time,” she adds.

According to the researcher, “At both the Liverpool and Woking mosques, women were included in Eid celebrations, debates and other events. The women at the Liverpool mosque also ran a home for the city’s “destitute” children, which was established in January 1897.”

Cheruvallil concludes her article by saying, “By shining a light on the history of Muslim women in Britain, contemporary issues seem less insurmountable. These women shaped the Muslim communities of their time and it is imperative that their stories are known.”