This week as a million or so British Muslims head to their local mosques for Eid prayers, with men in one part of the building and women in another, a group called the Inclusive Mosque Initiative (IMI) is ramping up its campaign to open up an Islamic space that allows all Muslims – young, old, straight, gay – to pray side by side.
Founded by Tamsila Tauqir, IMI was partially born from the experience of her late mother. "She was severely disabled and was told she couldn't pray in the main area. She was told to pray in the upper floor [with the women], where she was not physically able to go." Instead of complaining, Tauqir decided the time was ripe to shake up the traditional mosque structure in the UK. "Often, we found that families got separated in prayer space," she says. "Couples say they can't pray together and we want to make it accessible to different communities not based on language and ethnicity: Sunnis, Shias, Sufis, secular Muslims, conservative – it's no big deal, we can accept our differences."
Her campaign is supported by the Muslim Institute and Tauqir aims to build a mosque in London with proper facilities for the disabled and that welcomes LGBT Muslims. There are an estimated 1,600 mosques in Britain but Tauqir is keen to create an alternative to the norm, and says her model is based on the principles of the Grand Mosque in Mecca which encourages all Muslims to pray in union. Plans are also afoot to network with sites in Srinagar, India and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where further IMI committees are based.
"We're not saying existing mosque spaces aren't relevant, we're creating another space for people. We're not setting ourselves as an opposition."
• This article was amended on 9 August 2013 to correct the spelling of Kuala Lumpur. It was further amended on 18 September 2013 to remove a reference to the City Circle networking group supporting the IMI campaign. City Circle has contacted us to clarify that it is holding a discussion where the IMI, along with other panellists, will be given an opportunity to debate the issue of "making mosques inclusive" but has not offered support for the campaign.
