Mosques in the UK respond to Islamophobia by opening their doors

Faced with the rise in anti-Muslim acts in the United Kingdom, British mosques chose a simple response this weekend: open their doors to the public. On September 19 and 20, more than a hundred mosques across the country took part in the national “Visit My Mosque” operation, organized by the Muslim Council of Britain. The objective: to allow British people, Muslims or not, to discover a mosque, meet the faithful and discuss directly with them about Islam and the daily life of Muslim communities.

At the East London Mosque, one of the most important mosques in the country, more than 100 visitors registered for this open day. Visits to prayer rooms, presentation of ablutions, observation of collective prayer, discussions around tea: for many participants, this was their first entry into a mosque. The establishment indicates that 115 mosques participated in the initiative this year.

This eleventh edition takes place in a particularly tense context. Several British mosques have been targeted in recent months by intimidation, insults or damage, while the question of Islam and immigration occupies a growing place in the British political debate. The Guardian also highlights the progression of anti-Muslim acts and speeches in the country.

A response through encounter

The interest of this initiative lies precisely in its simplicity. Rather than responding to prejudices solely through press releases or institutional campaigns, mosques invite citizens to come and see for themselves. Because part of the fear or distrust towards Muslims is also fueled by distance. Many British people regularly pass by a mosque without ever having entered it and without personally knowing the people who frequent it.

Opening the doors allows us to bring the debate back to a much more concrete reality: behind the controversies about “Islam”, there are neighbors, families, employees, students and citizens who live in the same neighborhoods. This is probably where the Visit My Mosque initiative makes sense. In a climate where social networks and certain political discourses can quickly transform Muslims into abstract subjects or objects of fear, direct encounters make it possible to break some of these representations.

And the message sent by these mosques is ultimately quite clear: faced with distrust, they choose not to close in on themselves, but on the contrary to open their doors more.