Growing up as Muslim in the United Kingdom, I have lived most of my life notthinking in any systematic way about the friendships or relationships I haveformed outside those of my immediate family. Friendships just happened;sometimes they were good and sometimes they were short-lived. I grew up in anuclear family with no near or distant relatives and less than a handful oftrips to Pakistan where I was born. My social milieu was made up of Britishpeople largely of non-Muslim origin. My parents, who would be categorised asfirst-generation immigrants to the United Kingdom, were from educatedbackgrounds and in the main became friends with other middle-class Muslims. Wesocialised with them and their children were our peers. Yet, looking back onthese years, I confess I never really forged what I would call true friendshipswith the children. My friends were people with whom I went to school, college,and then university. And today in my professional context my friends are stilllargely from non-Muslim backgrounds. They are nominal and practising Christiansand Jews as well as agnostics and humanists. This has not happened through anydeliberate intent but as a result of the nature of my employment, theenvironment where I work, and, consequently, the kind of people I meet. Many ofthese people have become friends in whom I choose to confide and put mytrust.