The Cambridge Muslim College organized this one day academic event which was held in Cambridge on September 17, 2016.

The symposium was attended by over 100 participants from different parts of the UK, in addition to some from abroad.

Topics ranged from the life of Marmaduke Pickthall to Anglo-Indian engagements in the 17th century.

The following is a summary of this pioneering event, with personal thoughts and reflections.

The Importance of History

British Muslims have been settled in the UK in large numbers for almost fifty years now.

It has been a difficult time and the community faces many important challenges including how to get on in an increasing secular society and how to respond to various international situations to which British Muslims feel a strong sense of commitment and support.

This has raised various questions around the issue of identity and how British Muslims locate themselves within the UK.

One way of doing so is to examine the historical aspect of this, and it is precisely because of this reason that we organized a conference on the history of British Muslims.

The present media narrative can all too easily paint a picture of perpetual antagonism and yes, British history does include the history of the Crusades and the British empire but there were also many moments and instances when Britain had a positive relationship and mutually beneficial relationship with Muslims. The new book ‘This Orient Isle’ by Jerry Brotton mentions the decades-long interactions between the British and the Ottomans in the sixteenth century.

We were very pleased that in the conference that we organized, we were able to hear from some of the leading experts in this field. This is a new and growing area of work, many of the books that have been published in this field have only been published in the last decade or so.

From Ron Geaves’s biography of Abdullah Quilliam to Muhammad Seddon’s work on the Yemenis as the first Muslim community in the UK, the literature in this area has grown remarkably in the last few years.

We were delighted to hear from Nabil Matar whose book ‘Islam in Britain 1558-1685’, published in 2008 about his most recent work on Joseph Morgan who was the first person to introduce the life of the Prophet into the English language.

We also heard from Lubaaba Al-Azami, Humayan Ansari, Yahya Birt, Peter Clarke, the Everyday Muslim team and from the Dean of Cambridge Muslim College, Tim Winter.

The conference was very well attended and what surprised us more is that there are many young people in the UK who have started work on various aspects of a historical understanding of British Muslims.

This development is very important for British Muslims as it will give them a much deeper understanding of their place in British society.

We hope that this is the beginning of a journey and we look forward to finding out so much about what lies in our past.

To watch the full play list of the videos of the Symposium, click here.

For more information on the Cambridge Muslim College and its academic activities, click here.