UK Mosque Statistics / Masjid Statistics

1 Directory Quality
1.1 Marker Position Accuracy
Landmark (PoI) Accuracy
Within 2 metres Within 3 metres Within 5 metres Within 10 metres Within 20 metres Within 30 metres Within 40 metres Within 50 metres By postcode only Position very uncertain Total active masjid and prayer room landmarks

as at

11/04/2013

Derived from data listed in the Mosques.MuslimsInBritain.org/Maps.php Directory. Mehmood Naqshbandi, 2013, www.MuslimsInBritain.org

Number of masjids marked

1479 1 19 43 37 12 3 9 58 8 1669

Locations pinpointed within 2 metres mean that, where Google Streetview is available, this will provide a direct illustration of the masjid, and Satnavs should provide precise navigation.

1.2 Photographs
Photo Status
Completed and current Outside only, or old So far no pictures Total active masjids and prayer rooms

Total
197 243 1229 1669

The aim is to provide a minimum of 3 pictures for each masjid - the outside, making it readily identifiable, the musallah (main prayer room)and the wudhu (washing) room, so that users can judge the size and state of upkeep for themselves.

1.3 Descriptive Data Confidence

Data Confidence
Recent first hand knowledge. Well established with plenty of corroboration. Established, but single source of information. Several sources of information, none recent or reliable. Information from a single old or unreliable source. Treat with caution - may not exist. Total active masjids and prayer rooms

Number of masjids marked

828 529 226 56 28 2 1669

The aim is to provide a reliability guide to the data in the directory. This is work in progress and directory entries are steadily improving to the top two categories.

1.4 Political Boundary Data Completeness

Political Boundary Status
Recorded Partial Not Done Total active masjids and prayer rooms

Total
420 391 858 1669

The Borough, Ward and Constituency of each masjid is recorded for a mixture of reasons: o It is a searchable field, allowing you to find a set of masjids in a given area. o It is a grouping field, allowing the results to be grouped geographically. o Wards are used as administrative boundaries for a lot of local authority, education and policing purposes, so having this information to hand permits Muslims to more easily find their relevant points of contact in these administrative entities, and reciprocally, administrative bodies can more readily find the Muslim entities in the areas for which they are responsible. In terms of the general ethos of this website, we actively encourage dialogue and political engagement and this is one way of assisting that aim. Ultimately we aim to permit users to identify all the masjids in a given borough or constituency; or to identify all the geographical entities within which any masjid falls.

1.5 Masjids and Other Premises

State Actual masjids Queries, possible masjid Still under construction Hired halls General use prayer rooms Chaplaincies Temporary premises Defunct premises, no longer used as masjid Planned Proposed
Total landmarks

Total 1573 19 7 63 37 21 2 334 1 3

2060

Note that there are slight discrepancies between this data and the other summaries, because this uses a hybrid data set, e.g. if a Hired Hall is hired by a Bareilvi-oriented group, it will be included in the totals under "Masjid Theme" below, even though it is not a masjid, but will be a "Hired Hall" in the total above.

1.6 Charity Commission Links

Listed Masjids with Charity Commission Report 332
This work is in progress - many masjids are registered charities whose Reg Number MiB.org has not yet recorded. The Charity Commission estimates that approximately 600 masjids are registered charities.

Region 1 England 2 Wales 3 Scotland 4 Northern Ireland 5 Offshore Islands 6 Republic of Ireland

Number of Masjids 1535 39 59 2 3 32

2 Analysis of Issues, Affiliations and Demographics

2.1 Affiliations Data
Masjid Theme
Deobandi Bareilvi Other Sufi Maudoodi-inspired, 'Islamic Movement' Salafi Arabic or African Mainstream Ikhwaan Shi'a, Twelvers, Bohra or Ismaili Modernist Non-denom prayer rooms etc Non-Muslim, Qadiani faith Total active masjids and prayer rooms
Masjids with 'Unknown' themes have been divided pro rata, and this causes a minor rounding error in the total. Some organisers of ad hoc prayer arrangements such as halls hired for Jumu'ah, follow an exclusive theme; if so, these are included here.

Total
738 428 49 51 98 43 7 70 2 156 22 1664

% of Total
44.4% 25.7% 2.9% 3.1% 5.9% 2.6% 0.4% 4.2% 0.1% 9.4% 1.3% 100%

2.2 Women's participation

Women in the Masjid, by Theme
Arabic or African Mainstream Bareilvi Deobandi Ikhwaan Maudoodi-inspired, 'Islamic Movement' Modernist Other Sufi Salafi Shi'a, Twelvers, Bohra or Ismaili Unknown theme Overall figure
From this data, nearly three quarters of UK masjids have facilities for women, contrary to many claims. However many smaller masjids have very limited facilities for women. For some doctrines this is not an issue, e.g. women adhering to Deobandi practices may have no more desire to attend a masjid than grow a beard.

% with women's facilities

91% 84% 57% 80% 90% 100% 58% 94% 100% 71% 74%

Number of masjids in survey

34 291 465 5 42 2 26 71 41 64

1041

2.3 Umbrella Groups

Umbrella
a. Muslim Council of Britain Deobandi Maudoodi-inspired, 'Islamic Movement' Sufi - Bareilvi Other Sufi firqa not recorded Ikhwaan Arabic or African Mainstream Shi'a, Twelvers, Bohra or Ismaili Students Salafi multifaith defunct organisation Total 71 37 24 2 15 4 9 14 6 14 4 17 200 98 49 1486 14% 8% 13% 7 43 70 57% 21% 20% 738 51 428 49 10% 73% 6% 4%

Number

out of UK Total

Fraction of Faction

Source: http://www.mcb.org.uk/affiliates.php, List of MCB Affiliates - March 2009, mapped onto MuslimsInBritain database. This source lists 456 affiliated organisations in total. 26 of these are defunct. 16 are literal or almost literal duplications. 79 are persona of 'Islamic Movement' entites, representing geographical hierarchies with minimal physical presence, sometimes with 4 or 6 entites sharing a single location. A significant number of constituents are one-person entities. Altogether the 456 listed represent 361 different physical entities. In spite of these criticisms, it is important to note that the MCB has always strived to be pluralist, with all main factions represented, as can be seen from the breakdown above. Mosque managements are inevitably the most significant contributors to the MCB, but most of the major Muslim education, aid and welfare entities are also included in its membership. Meanwhile it would be helpful if the MCB was more candid about its current and effective membership, since its claimed membership appears to be inflated.

b. British Muslim Forum Sufi - Bareilvi Other Sufi Deobandi firqa not recorded defunct organisation Total 191 6 4 32 8 241 1486 16% 428 49 738 45% 12% 1%

Source: BMF affiliates list published on now defunct website, accessed 12th May 2008 and mapped onto MuslimsInBritain database. A pirated version of this list is available at http://www.urdustreet.com/english/mem.htm. BMF no longer publishes a list of affiliates, so the validity of this analysis after 2008 is questionable.

c. Affiliated to both MCB and BMF 10 Bareilvi, 2 not known and 1 defunct address d. UK Islamic Mission Maudoodi-inspired, 'Islamic Movement' defunct organisation firqa not recorded Total
Source: http://www.ukim.org/branches

13

38 5 1 44

e. Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board Masjids self-certified as conforming to one or more of MINAB's 5 standards Sufi - Bareilvi Maudoodi-inspired, 'Islamic Movement' Deobandi Shi'a, Twelvers, Bohra or Ismaili Arabic or African Mainstream Salafi Ikhwaan firqa not recorded Total

51 16 7 6 4 4 1 7 96

428 51 738 70 43 98 7 51 1486

12% 31% 1% 9% 9% 4% 14% 6%

Source: http://www.minab.org.uk/news/self-regulation-standards/135-minab-self-certification . List of 113 includes 6 duplicate entries, 8 ambiguous or untraceable entries and 4 entries that are not masjids or madrassas. Since May 2011 MINAB has removed its list of affiliates from the web, so the validity of this analysis is conjectural. MINAB claims to represent "600 of the UK's 1500 mosques", but apart from the 103 that MINAB had listed, this figure is merely an aggregate of the total numbers of affiliates to its four principle stakeholders, the MCB, BMF, MAB and Al Khoei Foundation. The BMF has no constitutionally based affiliation membership and the MCB has under 200 masjids affililiated, and MINAB itself is at best the collective identity of a small number of spokespersons for these umbrella groups. Aside from goodwill and good intentions, it has minimal relationship with any masjid committee.

f. Jamiat Tabligh ul Islam Sufi - Bareilvi g. Bradford Council of Mosques Sufi - Bareilvi* Arabic or African Mainstream Deobandi defunct organisation Salafi Maudoodi-inspired, 'Islamic Movement' Other Sufi firqa not recorded Shi'a, Twelvers, Bohra or Ismaili Total
*Includes 19 Jamiat Tabligh ul Islam masjids under a single management. These data sets will be developed for each significant local or regional umbrella group.

21 Members 27 1 15 4 4 3 2 9 4 69 Bradford area Totals 35 4 21 5 5 3 2 12 5 92

77% 25% 71% 80% 80% 100% 100% 75% 80%

h. Sufi Muslim Council no affiliates

2.4 Masjid Management

Management Pakistani Bangladeshi Gujerati Arab Somali Turkish Bangladeshi and Pakistani Gujerati and Pakistani Pakistani - Kashmiri Guyanese Iranian Sri Lankan Yemeni Nigerian mixed Asian, Arab, etc Pakistani and Bangladeshi West African Gujerati - Kokni Afghan Students Mauritian Kosovan Indian Charity trust in Preston Arab - Yemeni Arab - Somali - Bravanese Arab - Somali European converts Tamil? Arab and Somali Iraqi Senegalese, Gambian Bangladeshi? Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Sudanese and "Middle-Eastern" Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Somali Bangladeshi, Ethiopean Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rachid Al Maktoum Bangladeshi and others Bangladeshi and Arabic Bangladeshi (Pakistani-Trust) Somali, Pakistani, Arab Asian/Arab Qatari Arabic Ghanaian Arab and others Arab - Yemeni, Syrian imam Arab - Yemeni, Gujerati Tamil Arab - Syrian and others Unspecified various Arab - Qatari Arab - Qatar Various including Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Somali, Arab Algerian Afro-Caribbean Yemeni, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian and other nationalities. Asian Yemeni, Somali, Pakistani Pakistani - Pathan, Afghan Pakistani - Pathan Pakistani (3), Libyan, English, Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan Pakistani and Gujerati Pakistani and Indian Moroccan Pakistani mainly, other Asian and a Syrian. Pakistani, Bangali, Sri Lankan and Moroccan. Lebanese Kurdish Kosovar Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Arab Eritrean Kent Workplace Mission Pakistani - Punjabi Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Somali Pakistani, Egyptian Arab imam and mixed Gujerati imam, mainly Bangladeshi muqtadis. Gujerati Bharuchi Pakistani, Eritrean Gujerati and others Total 354 225 93 17 16 14 13 10 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Gujerati and Mauritian Gujerati - Surti Gujerati - Surati Pakistani, Gujerati, Bangladeshi Gujerati - Bharuchi Pakistani, muqtadis mostly Arabic-speaking Khoja Pakistanis and Indians
In reality there are very many more 'Students'-managed prayer rooms and other informal arrangements than are listed in the directory. The ones listed are mostly ones that are either published, or are open to the public, or whose locations are stable over a long period of time.

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 860

3 Britain's Biggest Mosques

Mosque Name Suffa-tul-Islam Central Masjid, Horton Park Avenue Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif, 150 Golden Hillock Road Birmingham Central Mosque, 180 Belgrave Middleway and 148-154 Islamic Cultural Centre, 146 Park Road Jamiyat Tabligh-ul-Islam, circa 177 Barkerend Road Leeds Islamic Centre, 46-48 Spencer Place Jamia al-Akbaria, 241 Selbourne Road Masjid-e-Jamia Al Madina, 133a Waterloo Road Jamia Masjid Ghousia, 2-10 Westbourne Road East London Mosque & London Muslim Centre, 46-92 Whitechapel Road Masjid-al-Farooq, Berners Street Markazi Masjid, South Street (south end) Madni Jamia Masjid, 101 Thornbury Road Jamia Masjid Ghosia, 439-451 Lea Bridge Road Husseini Islamic Centre, 50 Wood Lane Jamiyat Tabligh-ul-Islam Mosque, 9 Darfield Street Wolverhampton Mosque Trust, 197 Waterloo Road Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith UK, 20 Green Lane Makki Masjid, Wimberley Street Jamia Masjid, 28-32 Howard Street Al-Madina Mosque, 2 Victoria Road Markazi Jamia Masjid Bilal, Conway Road and Harehills Lane Jamia Mosque, 51 Asfordby Street Jamia Masjid, 59 Brick Lane Greenwich Islamic Centre, 131 Plumstead Road Masjid Ilyas, Riverine Centre Abbey Mills, Canning Road Manchester Central Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre, 20 Upper Park Jamia Masjid Bilal, Bulwer Street Hounslow Jamia Masjid & Islamic Centre, 367 Wellington Road South Faidhan-e-Madina, 169-175 Gladstone Street Croydon Masjid and Islamic Centre, 525 London Road Central Mosque Lanarkshire, 1-3 and 5 Clydesdale Street Baitul Futuh (Qadiani world headquarters), 181 London Road Town Bradford Birmingham Birmingham London Bradford Leeds Luton Middlesbrough Luton London Leicester Dewsbury Bradford London London Bradford Wolverhampton Birmingham Blackburn Bradford London Leeds Leicester London London London Manchester Rochdale London Peterborough London Motherwell London Size 8000 6000 6000 5400 5200 4700 4700 4500 4500 4500 4000 4000 4000 4000 4000 3800 3600 3500 3500 3500 3400 3200 3200 3200 3200 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 theme
Sufi - Bareilvi Sufi - Bareilvi Deobandi Arabic mainstream Sufi - Bareilvi - Qadria Naushahia Deobandi Sufi - Bareilvi Sufi - Bareilvi Sufi - Bareilvi Maudoodi-ist management Deobandi Deobandi Sufi - Bareilvi Sufi - Bareilvi Shia - Twelvers Sufi - Bareilvi - Qadria Naushahia Deobandi Salafi Deobandi Deobandi Sufi - Bareilvi Sufi - Bareilvi Deobandi Sufi - Fultoli Salafi Deobandi Sufi - Bareilvi Sufi - Bareilvi Sufi - Bareilvi Sufi - Bareilvi - Qadri Dawat-e-Islami Deobandi Deobandi Qadiani

Baitul Futuh is promoted by the Ahmadiyya movement as "the largest mosque in Western Europe" based on a claim of a capacity of 10,500 worshippers. The Ahmadiyya have their own reasons for making this claim. But they admit that dedicated prayer space (on which all the above masjids' capacities is based) is 4,000. (http://www.baitulfutuh.org/construction/index.shtml ) In fact the prayer space is comparable only to the larger masjids of circa 3,000 capacity, hence my adjusted figure of 3,000. By comparison, most larger masjids have substantial areas that are routinely used for salaah on Friday Jumu'ah, not to mention Eid and Tarawih salaahs. E.g. Regents Park Masjid (Islamic Cultural Centre) has a substantial concourse, large basement rooms and a big plaza, all of which are filled for Jumu'ah, more than doubling the 5,400 capacity dedicated prayer space.

2.6 Mosque sizes

Capacity of Masjid Less than 50 people 50 to 100 people 101 to 200 people 201 to 300 people 301 to 400 people 401 to 500 people 501 to 750 people 751 to 1000 people 1001 to 2000 people 2000 to 4000 people Greater than 4000 people Not yet recorded Number of Masjids 35 200 236 224 129 116 139 106 121 49 10 216
Typically houses and house conversions Commercial conversions and some purpose-built Industrial conversions and some purposebuilt

Website Users
Month and Year
Mar-13 Feb-13 Jan-13 Dec-12 Nov-12 Oct-12 Sep-12 Aug-12 Jul-12 Jun-12 May-12 Apr-12 Mar-12 Feb-12 Jan-12 Dec-11 Nov-11 Oct-11 Sep-11 Aug-11 Jul-11 Jun-11 May-11 Apr-11 Mar-11 Feb-11 Jan-11 Dec-10 Nov-10 Oct-10 Sep-10 Aug-10 Jul-10 Jun-10 May-10 Apr-10 Mar-10 Feb-10 Jan-10 Dec-09 Nov-09 Oct-09 Sep-09 Aug-09 Jul-09 Jun-09 May-09 Apr-09 Mar-09 Feb-09 Jan-09 Dec-08 Nov-08 Oct-08 Sep-08 Aug-08 Jul-08 Jun-08 May-08 Apr-08 Mar-08 Feb-08 Jan-08 Dec-07 Nov-07 Oct-07 Sep-07 Aug-07 Jul-07 Jun-07 May-07 Apr-07 Mar-07 Feb-07 Jan-07 Dec-06

Unique visitors*
121,436 116,537 120,826 111,630 127,581 138,466 109,029 142,402 152,416 92,207 89,385 87,872 90,091 80,417 83,349 85,921 89,548 77,857 91,153 145,850 100,410 76,521 73,733 70,205 74,865 70,213 75,326 65,449 75,643 62,100 74,004 79,271 56,722 49,906 45,765 40,990 39,006 34,847 29,884 24,956 30,280 24,681 32,765 29,917 22,690 23,328 20,536 17,000 18,448 16,060 16,764 16,967 13,287 17,077 20,735 17,048 8,788 8,130 6,794 5,780 6,231 5,389 4,442 2,919 2,290 2,181 2,430 2,004 2,697 2,745 2,319 2,120 2,135 1,830 2,421 1,845

Bookmark regulars

41,062 45,999 38,919 38,708 35,239 34,831 33,454 31,337 29,257 26,833 22,397 21,813 19,200 14,746 11,938 13,349 11,489 13,299 11,826 11,156 13,154 10,182 8,166 8,843 7,478 9,208 10,296 9,882 11,968 11,009 12,340 7,255 7,345 5,866 4,542 4,360 3,939 3,817 2,552 1,839 1,731 1,893 1,766 2,487 2,401 1,943 1,790 1,936 1,514 2,094

Nov-06 Oct-06 Sep-06 Aug-06 Jul-06 Jun-06

* "Unique visitors" - A visitor is counted only when bringing up more than one page and taking no longer than 30 minutes between individual pages. If several people use the website in one half-hour through the same web-proxy server, as in many workplace organisations, they are recorded as a single user in that half-hour. "Bookmark regulars" - monthly total of visitors who have come directly to the site rather than through a search engine or other link, or who have browsed the site continuously for longer than half an hour. (If they all used the site every day, then 30,000 bookmark visitors implies about 1,000 individual regular users; if they all used it once every week, that would imply 7,500 individual regular users.) These figures overstate actual users by circa 8% of users who switch to and from MiB.org subdomains.

1,017 675 535 191 169 82