From political awakening to influence
One of the few positive developments for British Muslims to emerge from the horror of Gaza has been a genuine political awakening.
Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) reminds us that sometimes something deeply painful can become the means for wider good. That does not diminish the horror itself, but it does remind us that difficult moments can produce necessary change.
In my previous articles, I reflected on the political impact our community has had nationally and locally. We have shown that when a cause deeply resonates with British Muslims, we can mobilise at scale.
But political awakening is only the beginning.
This is the starting point
Emotion and passion can create momentum, but only sustained relationship-building creates influence. That is the distinction we now need to understand.
None of this should be misunderstood as diminishing the importance of voting. Voting matters immensely. Elections can change political power overnight. Governments fall. Councils change hands.
And turnout in our own community still needs to improve significantly. But voting alone is not enough. A vote creates a political moment. Influence is built in the months and years between elections. Local politics perhaps makes this clearest.
In the previous article, I argued that many of us underestimate the importance of local politics. But understanding that local politics matters is only the first step. The next is understanding how influence is actually created.
Understanding how influence is built
Take planning. Many in our community only discover the planning system when there is a problem. A masjid needs planning permission. A development affects the area. A local proposal creates concern. By that point, we are already arriving late.
Political maturity means understanding who makes these decisions before a crisis emerges. It means knowing who local councillors are, understanding how decisions are made, and maintaining constructive engagement with local institutions.
It also means being responsible ourselves. If a masjid seeks planning approval, concerns around neighbours, traffic, access, and public impact should be properly considered. Civic engagement is not simply about demanding outcomes. It is about responsible participation.
The same applies to community safety. If knife crime rises, anti-social behaviour increases, or hate crime becomes a growing concern, political maturity means more than complaining after the fact. It means becoming informed, understanding local realities, engaging relevant representatives, asking serious questions, and maintaining dialogue with the institutions responsible for keeping communities safe.
Sustained engagement is critical
The same principle applies elsewhere. Many in our community voted with Gaza in mind. That is understandable. But let us be honest: a local councillor has limited influence over British foreign policy. So, if our political engagement begins and ends with casting a vote based on Gaza, what have we actually achieved?
At a local level, however, there may be conversations around procurement, ethical investment, pension governance, public accountability, and institutional policy. If we genuinely care about ethical accountability, these are precisely the areas where structured civic engagement can actually matter.
The broader lesson is simple: whatever issue matters to us — Gaza, schools, planning, crime, community wellbeing — symbolic engagement is not enough. Real influence requires sustained engagement.
And this is where our masājid have an important role. They cannot simply be places where politics is discussed only during elections or moments of controversy. They are community institutions. That means they should also be civic institutions.
Masājid should create structured opportunities for engagement between communities and local representatives. Councillors, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, should understand the institutions in their wards and the work being done there. At the very least, our masājid should periodically facilitate civic engagement events with local representatives, schools, police, and wider community stakeholders, not simply when controversy emerges, but as part of normal community life.
And we as community members should actually participate. Too often, unless there is controversy, many of us switch off. That mentality has to change.
Building civic maturity across generations
The above also applies to schools. Many parents only engage when a problem arises. But have we built relationships with schools before then? Have we encouraged capable members of our community to become parent governors? Have we proactively engaged rather than simply reacting when tensions emerge?
Again, the principle is the same. Relationship before crisis. Engagement before confrontation.
Some may ask: if this is so obvious, why has our community not done this already? The answer is that historically, our priorities were elsewhere. The early Muslim generations in Britain were focused on survival, family stability, economic progress, and building institutions. Masājid had to be established. Communities had to be built. Livelihoods had to be secured. And in many ways, our community has achieved remarkable progress.
Political infrastructure, however, was never a major communal priority. That is understandable. But what was understandable for earlier generations cannot become an excuse for stagnation in our current generation, especially in today’s political climate.
Politics is no longer something distant that happens elsewhere. Decisions around education, policing, housing, civic life, and public policy directly affect our communities and the future of our children. This requires a strategic communal shift.
Not everyone needs to become a councillor. Not everyone should become a parent governor. But some should. Not everyone needs to understand how local governance works in detail. But some absolutely must.
Just as earlier generations collectively built masājid, businesses, and institutions, this generation must collectively build civic competence.
Entire system needs our participation
Importantly, political influence is not only about elected representatives. Councillors matter, but so do public health officers, planning officers, education officers, community safety teams, housing departments. These are the people who help systems function every day.
If we are serious about influence, we must understand how institutions actually operate. And we must intentionally develop competent individuals who can engage in those spaces.
This is especially important for the next generation. Many younger Muslims are politically aware, but often through social media outrage, viral content, and national controversies rather than practical civic engagement. That is the environment they have grown up in, which means it is now our responsibility to politically educate and empower them. If we fail to politically educate the next generation, we risk surrendering influence over the very systems that will shape their future.
Because if we continue burying our heads in the sand, if we continue treating politics as something optional or only reacting in moments of crisis, we risk undoing the hard work of previous generations.
The political awakening we are seeing in our community is real. That should be welcomed. We have shown that we can mobilise. We have shown that we can protest. We have shown that we can vote. But awakening alone is not maturity.
The real question now is whether we can build. Because voting creates moments, but relationships create influence. And if our political engagement begins and ends at the ballot box, we will remain visible without ever becoming truly influential.
Source: Islam21c
