Situated in Whalley Range, the Grade II listed building is home to a range of community services, facilities and exhibitions celebrating Islam’s heritage.
During my visit to the centre, I was shown around its House of Wisdom, a showcase of contributions Muslims have made to society from coffee to optometry, and the award-winning Stories of Sacrifice exhibition, which documents Muslim service in the First World War. I then sat down with Halima, who works on the centre’s community projects, and Robina, who works at the centre’s Heritage Radio station, to talk about their work, and how we might enable everyone to feel included in Greater Manchester’s history.
When it comes to people feeling included in our local heritage, what do you think Greater Manchester is doing well, and what do you think could be better?
Robina: Our city is very diverse. Hands down, there’s so much happening. It’s very colourful, I don’t think there’s a day in the calendar which is bare. But there’s always room for improvement, which means amplifying voices and histories of minority communities, particularly those who are underrepresented.
And I have to say, from the bottom of my heart, that includes the Muslim community. We’ve been here, a lot of us are born and bred here. But do I always feel represented? I’d probably say no, and there are lots of examples I can give for that. If there was a greater emphasis on integrating these narratives into mainstream cultural and historical narratives, that would ensure a more comprehensive portrayal of the whole of the city’s heritage, rather than parts of it.
Halima: Yes, just the same way as when we walked through the Stories of Sacrifice exhibition – I didn’t learn that history in school, or in the museums that I visited as I’ve been growing up in Manchester. So, you know, just plugging in those narratives that actually, we have contributed. And so as vibrant as Manchester is, we are excluded from that.
We had a Caribbean organisation come here, and they loved our exhibition, and they were saying, ‘we want to create an exhibition like this, so that our youth and our children and our people also know about the rich heritage and the contributions that we’ve made’.
And that’s something that would help with cohesion as well, wouldn’t it? If people understood, especially with all the stuff that’s going around now, we’d feel like we – I’m talking about as in ‘we’ as in our children – would feel that, no, actually, we belong here. This is our city, and look, we’re proud to be Muslim, and we’re proud to be British, and we’re proud of everything that’s around us.
Sometimes you have to juggle different parts of yourself, if it’s not all represented. Then you’ll think, ‘okay then, I’m that part of the society’. So we’re living a dual sort of life, when really, it should all be together.
If you could wave a magic wand, what would be different?
Robina: Children would learn about the contribution of all communities, including British Muslims. Currently it’s not by default that they’re learning this, it just isn’t.
Halima: I think it’s about being more culturally and religiously aware, and providing those provisions is not a lot. And if you’re talking about schools, it’s not a lot to ask. As long as a teacher is aware of different cultures, they would be more willing to accommodate.
There’s always room for improvement, and there’s always gaps that can be filled, and that inclusivity has to be real. It has to come from the heart, and it can’t just be expected to just be, ‘alright, okay, here’s a room’. It’s not like that. It really does have to be embedded in society, and that would start from school.
Here at the Heritage Centre, we have school visits. We have kids that come from areas where they haven’t had interaction with lots of Muslim people. They come here to visit, and we explain what we do, and, you know, the five pillars, and they are interested. And there has to be more, creating awareness.
Robina: There’s been a story, a narrative, that’s been shared in wider society, to not actually include us, to isolate us as the other. That’s very dangerous, and it’s very disheartening for a lot of people who are ambitious or who want to get on. It would be wonderful not to have something like the British Muslim Heritage Center. Just have the British Centre – but how many Muslims would feel welcome there? I would question that. Unfortunately, I don’t think that would be the case at all.
So would you ideally want everything to be kind of woven together?
Robina: Celebrate the differences for sure. But put them on the table. Don’t just be selective and say, ‘well, actually, this one looks okay, so we’ll keep this on the table. This one doesn’t, so we’ll just keep that on the side, hide it a little bit’. My girls are at high school now and the teachers are still struggling to find them space for a prayer room, and I cannot believe that. I’ve sent the formal letters, no reply, and now my daughters are saying I need to write the letter again. Well, I’ll write the letter again. But why is this not a norm? Why is it unacceptable for somebody to have 10 minutes of quiet time? I’m sure there are other children who would want that as well.
Do you feel that the dominant story of Greater Manchester’s history is the ‘correct’ one? And if not, how does your version differ?
Halima: So obviously, Greater Manchester’s history often focuses on industrial heritage and economic development. There’s a very limited acknowledgement of the cultural and the social contributions of all the diverse communities. It comes back to that same point. So I think our version of history, or my version of history, would include these overlooked narratives, just to show, again, the contributions of Muslims that have actually shaped the city’s identity.
Robina: Let’s divide the different areas that we’re dealing with here – healthcare, education, the arts, social activism. Are Muslims not involved in any of that? We’re involved in every single sphere. And yet we are not represented. When I was at school in Manchester, what did we learn about in history? William the Conqueror, maybe a little bit about Hitler. And there’s nothing else I remember.
Halima: Vikings.
Robina: The Vikings, of course! And fast forwarding, nothing much has changed. My children are still coming back and saying, ‘oh, we’re learning about the Vikings, or William The Conquer’. And I say, ‘oh, I learned that!’
Where’s the Ottoman Empire? What happened in Asia at that time? Where’s the Golden Empire for the Muslims? There was one. Where’s the art, where’s the maths, the science? There’s a huge history of the Muslim community, and the African Caribbean community of course, that’s very powerful, very inspiring, but it’s not there, so there’s a huge gap.
How can everyone be included and represented in a shared heritage for Greater Manchester?
Halima: Every topic that we’re discussing, it’s been around for years. I’ve heard it: there should be more inclusion, we should work together, etc. When are we actually going to be given equality to share the platforms, when is that going to happen? Not just the Muslim community, all the other communities as well. These discussions have been going on for years, and it doesn’t seem that we are in those forums, on those platforms. Maybe it is about the funding, and maybe it’s about reaching out.
Robina: Basically, it’s down to money. Public funding should be equitably distributed to support the presentation and promotion of different communities. Clearly, it’s not happening.
What steps are you currently taking towards your vision for a more inclusive Greater Manchester?
Halima: We are both looking towards expanding our interfaith dialogues, and our intercultural activities and awareness. Me and Robina, we’re both born and brought up here, so I think sometimes it’s a bit easier for us. We’ve led that dual life where we’ve had to be Muslim Pakistani girls as well as British, and British Muslim as well. So we’ve had many different roles and different hats as we’ve been growing up.
But still, yes, sometimes there’s a natural pull towards people that have the same culture, for obvious reasons. But interfaith activities and intercultural activities, they should remain, be more accessible and there should be more of them, so that people feel comfortable.
Robina: Practically, at this centre, there’s been open days, interfaith days, there’ll be more interfaith days. I personally know Faith Network 4 Manchester. In North Manchester, there’s the Cheetham festival where all faiths get together, this platform is very open. It’s about who wants to come through the doors and say, yes, let’s work, not just the talking, let’s do the delivery of this as well.
There’s open days and cultural festivals here. There was one after Eid here, there’ll be more of them. There are other organisations who are constantly reaching out to us to say we’ll do something, but it’s very tokenistic. We need it to be of some structure and not just temporary. It needs to be with some substance. So from our side, the open days, the children and schools visiting, we’re absolutely open to everything. I don’t think there’s a box we haven’t ticked. But it’s persistent on our side. What’s coming back? That’s the question.
What do you need from others to help you with this?
Halima: Local authorities play a massive role, and it’s just that support and acknowledgement. Whalley Range is a very high South Asian community, but we have a diverse community here. So I think it’s the job of the council, or our representatives, to say, ‘well, hang on, this is for everyone’, and make that appropriate for everyone, rather than an English person coming to a Muslim festival and thinking, ‘oh, I can’t do this, and I can’t do that’. And likewise, us going to a predominantly English festival and thinking, ‘oh, we can’t go there, it’s not for us’.
Robina: I’d reiterate that, and a lot of it does go back to education. So schools and universities to include us in their curriculum, to help educate people about the rich, diverse history of Manchester is just crucial.
I know that this centre is ahead of the game in terms of reaching out to everybody and anybody. And whichever event we attend, they want to come here. That’s great, but it’s the structure, there’s something missing. There’s a missing link, and we need to go back to that and see the powers that be truly invest here.
So, you know, we’ll have the police visit, and then they’ll go. Health organisations, they’ll come and they’ll go. But there’s no real serious investment, that is persistent. If you want to make a change, it’s got to be done persistently. And see it through to the end. That’s where we’re going wrong, I do believe that.
Halima: 100% agree.
Visit the British Muslim Heritage Centre website: https://bmhc.org.uk/
Learn more about the Greater Manchester’s collective heritage project here. If you’d like to take part, email us at editor@themeteor.org.
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Featured image: Alice Toomer-McAlpine, all other images British Muslim Heritage Centre.
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