Identity: Young Muslims speak

Who speaks for young British Muslims? This is the question the BBC News website put to eight young Muslims living in cities and towns across the UK.

We asked whether they felt they were being accurately represented by Muslim organisations, what they felt about media coverage of their religion and how it feels to live as a young Muslim in the UK today.

Amran Majid: Birmingham "When was the last time Muslims were shown in a positive light?" N Gakenyi: Leeds "I'm a young Muslim, I have strong opinions - but no-one represents us" Sima: London "Our community leaders need to be more encouraging to Muslim youth" Arfan: Oldham "I feel discrimination... it is like bullying when you feel all these negative attitudes"

Saima Hanif: London "There is nothing inconsistent between being Muslim and British" Shahban Aziz: Manchester "I know a Muslim girl who wears a headscarf and who got called a terrorist" Shahed Alam: Oldham "We cannot blame all Muslims in this country for what a minority think" Mediehah Bashir: Glasgow "I think the media creates negativity because of a lack of knowledge about Muslims"

The readers' panel has been selected from as wide a cross-section of people as possible and may not be representative of wider public opinion.

In a special week of features about Islam in Britain and Europe, the BBC News website is focusing on voices who have something to say - but may not always get heard. Join the debate with the forms on each of the stories during the week.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version