Changing the Narrative

The Situation

Muslims are the largest minority in the UK, 6.5% of the population and growing rapidly. Collectively, they are in the worst socio-economic position – in education, employment, housing and health.

Discrimination is a principal cause of this disadvantage, discrimination that arises from a dominant narrative around Muslims in the UK which is negative, monolithic and stereotyping. The British public feels much more negatively towards Muslims than it does towards any group except Gypsy and Irish Travellers. “Across policy domains, from employment, education and criminal justice to housing, healthcare and hate crime, Islamophobia has a significant negative impact on the life chances and quality of life enjoyed by British Muslims.” (All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims.) If this situation is to change, the dominant negative narrative about Muslims must be changed – to one that is confident, diverse and just.

Our Response

Amal has worked since 2017 to help change the narrative.  We do so by growing opportunities for Muslims in the UK to fully realise and express their creative potential.

We enable a multitude of stories to be told and heard and build towards a community of practice in the arts and cultural sector that fully represents Muslims as audiences, participants, artists, workers and leaders. Amal is the only initiative using a multiple arts and location approach focusing specifically on Muslims.

Given their socio-economic circumstances, Muslim levels of engagement in creative activity are inevitably low as a result of financial and other barriers which Amal has documented in consultation with Muslim communities. To overcome these barriers, opportunities must be made much more accessible to Muslim communities, both in terms of place and of content.  Amal works with communities, Muslim artists and mainstream arts organisations to grow opportunities for engagement and build shared learning and mutual understanding.