A female leader at a British mosque accused of excluding women from a charity run has said women in the community have a voice and do not “need saving” by critics who lack an understanding of Muslim values.
East London Mosque, in Tower Hamlets, found itself at the centre of a media firestorm and received dozens of hate mail messages after staging the Muslim Charity Run, open to “men, boys of all ages and girls under 12”. The communities secretary, Steve Reed, later said he was “horrified”.
The mosque said female attenders preferred to enter “women only” events, but on this occasion demand was too low to hold one.
It said the biggest issue facing Muslim women in the community was hate crime, which had intensified against the mosque since the run was reported. Emails the mosque received include diatribes such as “get with our laws or leave, you animals”, as well as messages of support.
Sufia Alam, the head of programmes for East London Mosque, also runs its Maryam Centre for women’s worship and said no one from the congregation had complained.
“As a woman, it’s ridiculous that people think we need saving – people don’t really understand our religious values,” she said.
Of the run, she said: “The format was designed for a specific community, taking into account that we wanted men and their children to participate. We did offer at the beginning to women, but I only got one or two. I can’t do a race with one or two women.
“We haven’t banned people – this is what the community wanted. We’ve got a congregation of 10,000 – they’d be up in arms if we had done something that was not proper.
“Critics think they’re sticking up for women’s rights, but they’re dismissing that we have a voice and a choice in what we do. Nobody asked us; they just assumed we were banned … but women feel comfortable in a women’s space.”
Commenting on the “large number of hate messages”, Junaid Ahmed, the mosque’s chief executive, said: “Whenever there is increased attention, we face heightened risk, so we always increase our security to ensure the safety of our staff, congregation and community.
“Muslims are doctors. Muslims are Uber drivers. Muslims are your dentists and your opticians and your bus drivers and your train drivers. We want to bring good to this society and live in a tolerant society where freedom of expression and diversity is not only tolerated, it’s celebrated – that’s the value that makes Britain a country we all love.”
Alam said she “worked every day” with women who were “worried they could not go for a walk without being attacked” because of hate crime.
“My whole career has been around women’s rights. I’ve got three girls and they know what they want,” she added. “As a mosque, we’ve got women on the board, we have women’s steering groups and forums and I’m in the middle of setting up a women’s youth group. It’s not about men telling us what to do. I wouldn’t be in East London Mosque for 12 years if that was the game.
“I’ve worked for 30 years to get women out of their houses into education, employment, into sports, and this weaponised narrative scares people back into their homes. I’ll be the first to put my hand up: I don’t really necessarily want to run with men.”
Alam said women at the mosque had previously enjoyed badminton, swimming, lifeguard training and FA football coaching sessions as part of its commitment to promoting wellbeing and tackling health inequalities.
Shaista Gohir, the cross-bench peer and head of the Muslim Women’s Network, said: “The disproportionate attention given to this charity run reflects the levels of hatred towards Muslims in Britain and has nothing to do with genuine concern for Muslim women’s equality – an issue I deeply care about – leaving me in a difficult position on whether to comment without fuelling further hatred.
“Muslim organisations should reflect on whether they are truly welcoming and supportive of Muslim women, just as we expect wider society to be inclusive of Muslims. In this case, it’s not possible to make a blanket statement about women not wanting to take part based on assumptions, even expectations.”
It is understood the Equality and Human Rights Commission began looking into the matter after a report by the Mail on Sunday, but the mosque’s management team, who said they were opening a women’s health and wellbeing hub in November, said they were confident no laws had been broken, but would be “reviewing” the format of next year’s run.
