Defining Muslims

It is generally believed that Muslims share all aspects of Islamic culture – names, dress code and eating and drinking habits – and that they are a distinct non-Christian cultural group, separate from the mainstream British population. However, Muslims in Britain are ethnically diverse and heterogeneous in language, skin colour and culture. The only element they have in common is their religion. Nevertheless, most Muslims feel a strong affiliation with the broader Islamic community (ummah) and have a constant desire for greater Islamic political unity within the ‘Abode of Islam’ (dar-al-Islam). The centre-piece of unity among Muslims is the Quran – the very word of Allah (God). The Quran provides the same message for all Muslims, although interpretations of that message differ across the various Muslim groups and because of the different levels of meaning to the text.

Muslims' devotional practice rests on what are known as the five pillars of Islam:

Kalima (or shahada). Kalima is an open declaration of faith. It has to be said in Arabic, ‘La ilaha il-lal-lahu, Muhammadur Rasoo-lul-lah’, and means: ‘I testify (confess) that there is no God but the one God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.’

Salat. This is the communal prayer that has to be performed five times each day – in the morning (before sunrise), at noon, in the afternoon, at sunset and at night – facing the Ka'bah, an important shrine of the Islamic world in Mecca. Before performing the salat, the believer must be in a state of purity, and therefore needs to carry out a series of ritual ablutions. The salat may be performed wherever the Muslim happens to be, though some prefer to pray in mosques.