As I sat sipping tea in the elegantly appointed senior's common room at Magdalene College in Oxford, sharing anecdotes about Muslim intellectuals with Dr. Farhan Nizami the Director of the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, I kept reflecting about Edward Gibbon. Gibbon, who was an alumnus of the Magdalene College, authored The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in the mid eighteenth century.

In that magnum opus, Gibbon wrote that if the Franks had not won the battle of Portiers in 733, "perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet." Remembering what he wrote, I wondered what his response would be, if he were to now take a tour of Oxford. Islam is present and thriving in Oxford University and in Oxford city.

Oxford is clearly one of the most enlightened cities in the world, with its 30+ very old and very distinguished colleges, and boasting of some of the finest minds in nearly every field as part of its citizenry. Add to this the spectacular domes and tall minarets of the two big mosques in Oxford and the picture of a virtuous city is complete. Gibbon would have been surprised to learn the lesson that military defeats do not stop the advance of civilizations and the globalization of Islam is unimpeded by the material and military weaknesses of the Muslim world.

Oxford, in spite of its quintessentially English character, is a very un-English place. A lot of its inhabitants besides the students appear to be immigrants, from either South Asia or Eastern Europe. In fact the nicest couple that I met and befriended in Oxford was American. They have been living there for decades.

Oxford is a small college town, but it has nearly 7000 Muslims, the majority of whom are of South Asian origin. It has five Muslims in the city council, dozens of Muslim scholars in the various colleges of Oxford, four mosques and more halal restaurants on any of its main streets than the entire state of Delaware in the US, which also has roughly the same number of Muslims.

Muslims in Oxford look happy, reasonably prosperous, and are well integrated, unlike the majority of Muslims in Britain who are poor, less educated, underemployed, socially marginalized, culturally segregated and politically alienated. They are primarily engaged in small businesses with cab driving, real estate and restaurants as the main areas of employment. I was informed, rather proudly by a cab driver, that of the hundred odd black cabs in Oxford, over ninety are driven by Englishmen of Pakistani origins.

The Muslims of Oxford were very hospitable. They opened their hearts and minds and also the doors to the mosque's board meeting to me. I discovered that their challenges too are so much like those we face everywhere; how to combat Islamophobia, how to reach out to neighbors and local leaders, how to engage the youth and keep them away from radicalism, and how to raise funds for the new carpets. Their problems were also similar, how to bridge the gap between the older immigrant and the younger native generations, how to open more opportunities for women, without angering the traditionalists or dividing the community, and how to find more Imams who can speak in English.

I met the older leaders and prayed that they would retire soon. I also met with many younger men and women, and hoped they would lead very soon. My guess is that the transitional period will be a little awkward, but the future of Muslims in Oxford looks bright.

I was in Oxford briefly as a visiting scholar at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies. The Center, whose patron is Prince Charles, was established in 1985 and under the leadership of Dr. Nizami, seeks to build bridges between the Islamic world and the contemporary West.

The Center for Islamic Studies is clearly the jewel in Oxford's crown. It is not only a center for higher learning, very much in tune with the pace and standards of Oxford, but is also a venue for civilizational diplomacy. In this age, when Islam and the West are engaged in complex negotiations about the role of Islam and Muslims in the West and of the West in the Muslim World, the center is an important venue where scholars from both the world's can meet and engage.

The Center's new building, which is under construction, is according to my American friend in Oxford, "easily the most spectacular architectural, not to mention intellectual, addition to Oxford in over two hundred years." And indeed it is. When complete, the center has the potential to become a hub for Western-Islamic relations and scholarship. In its elegant and august environment, scholars and diplomats could genuinely find a place for Islam in the West that enriches the West culturally and spiritually and revitalizes the spirit of compassion, tolerance and universal brotherhood among Muslims.

In the past year or so, I have traveled across Europe, from Ireland to Germany, to France, to Belgium and to England, trying to understand how Muslims are doing there. Everywhere I was disturbed by their poverty and alienation, but in Oxford I found much happiness.

My only regret, though, is how few Muslims from Oxford city study at Oxford University. The Prophet of Islam encouraged Muslims to go all the way to China if they had to in pursuit of higher learning; I wish more Muslims in Oxford would go across the street.

I feel an attack of class analysis coming on. I really do.

I also thought it was expensive to study at Oxford. Went through the finance guide online and it seems to be about the same amount as any other English university.

3000pounds for tuition and 5700pounds for accomodation annually. Its alot of moola (not to be confused with mullahs). There are very reasonably student loans too. But there's always the impact of interest.

>> , but it has nearly 7000 Muslims, the majority of whom are of South Asian origin.

Didn't you know .. Englands our motherland

>I feel an attack of class analysis coming on. I really do.<

Yep, I got the same feeling. This is a common malady amongst academics who rarely engage with people outside of their own elitist snobbish circles. I give some credit to him for leaving that neocon freakshow called the PMUNA, but he's out of touch with his own community.

>They are primarily engaged in small businesses with cab driving, real estate and restaurants as the main areas of employment. I was informed, rather proudly by a cab driver, that of the hundred odd black cabs in Oxford, over ninety are driven by Englishmen of Pakistani origins.<

Nothing wrong with that, not everybody can be a doctor, engineer or lawyer, buddy. I know plenty of people who own their own cab companies and restaurants, they seem to do pretty well for themseles.

>n this age, when Islam and the West are engaged in complex negotiations <

What are you babbling about? If Invasions, "shock and awe," racist provocations and attacks on the community are "complex negotiations" then I wonder what mud slinging is like.


English coffee tastes like water that has been squeezed out of a wet sleeve.
- Fred Allen "Treadmill to Oblivion"

Please note Melanie Phillips' intemperate attack on this article and its writer in her blog posting "The dreaming minarets". [url=http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/?p=1365]http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/?p=1365[/url]

She concludes: "Thus the triumphalism of someone who understands better than the dhimmi dummies of Oxford university the magnitude of the cultural pass they have so recklessly sold."

What particularly got her was his writing: "Gibbon would have been surprised to learn the lesson that military defeats do not stop the advance of civilizations and the globalization of Islam is unimpeded by the material and military weaknesses of the Muslim world." Her vulgar comments are typical of the discouse to which Muslims, and perhaps particularly those perceived as "moderate", are currently being subjected to by some sectors of the Brtitish "chattering classes." The anti-Islamism (especially "peaceful Islamism") views of Daniel Pipes etc have crossed the Atlantic and are making themselves felt in the UK.

>> Nothing wrong with that, not everybody can be a doctor, engineer or lawyer, buddy.

well why can't every muslim in the UK be a doctor or a lawyer or some other graduate? buddy?

>>, but he's out of touch with his own community.

Why?

>> Please note Melanie Phillips' intemperate attack on this article and its writer in her blog posting "The dreaming minarets".

Thats because true muslims seek to make peace and reconcile differences.. against tides of cross-cultural and racist curses.

>well why can't every muslim in the UK be a doctor or a lawyer or some other graduate? buddy?<

Simple ghulami, because not every Muslim wants to be a doctor or engineer, many prefer computers, business, economics etc. If a Muslim wants to run a dry cleaning business, cab company or a restaurant, good for him or her, as long as they do a great job, more power to them.

>Why?<

Too much time in academia, not enough time with the people on the ground.

Thanks for the heads up on Mad Mel, Elginia. Nothing new from that shrivelled up old tramp in a brown skirt.

Dr. M your comment "Too much time in academia, not enough time with the people on the ground," is quite perplexing.

I have heard and seen Prof. Muqtedar Khan speak at so many of American Muslim conventions, he travels and gives lectures at so many mosques, is constantly in touch with other Muslim leaders since he works with so many organizations. He probably has visited more American Muslim communities than most of us.

From his website, [url=http://www.ijtihad.org]http://www.ijtihad.org,[/url] it is obvious that in the last one year alone he has travelled and met with European Muslims in so many different countries.

It is also obvious that he has spent time with Muslims in Oxford, interviewed them and "got in touch" with them before writing about them.

I have also attended his jumma Qutbas, at different mosques, when he use to live in Northern Virginia.

I have been following his work for years and I think he is not only in touch but also very thoughtful and insightful in his analysis and critique.

Dr.Yousef,

I am aware of Khan's travels but my primary concern is the shallowness of his writings, which I've been reading for years. Yes, there are some good ones but primarily I find the his views elitist, arrogant and misleading. If a Muslim is running his or her restaurant, cab company, laundromat etc, what skin is it off his nose? This is the sort of pretencious elitism amongst some members of "upper crust" Muslims.
His articles on flags and election 2000 and 2004 were awful and contrived. The "muslim kissinger" line was not a smart move. I give him credit for leaving the PMUNA though.

>> . If a Muslim wants to run a dry cleaning business, cab company or a restaurant, good for him or her, as long as they do a great job, more power to them.

Assuming that most muslims prefer business and trade, over formal education and professions is elitist and arrogant and misleading. Last time I checked .. computers, business, economics were all subjects at academic institutions. Its not elitist to say that the Ummah will be better if its educated. It is elitist to say that the genuinely scientific and constructive efforts of educated people is pretentious without offering a real reason why. So have we gone from definining core issues, to defining to defining core muslims?