The University of Leeds
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
COMMUNITY RELIGIONS PROJECT RESEARCH PAPERS
(New Series)
10. Muslims in Leeds
Ron Geaves, 1995
A series of research papers produced in conjunction with the Community Religions
Project in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of
Leeds.
The papers in this series are working documents only, some having been given at
seminars and conferences, and some having been published. They may be cited
freely, but quotations from them may be published only with the written permission
of the Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, The University of
Leeds, Leeds LS2 9n.
MUSLIMS IN LEEDS
Introduction
This essay aims at demonstrating the development of the Muslim community in the
City of Leeds from its inception to the present day. In so doing, it will attempt to show
how far the Leeds community conforms to or departs from other large Muslim
communities in Great Britain, and also what direction religious and ethnic life may
possibly take under the impact of demographic changes and world-wide developments in
Islam. The local information gathered in this essay comes from interviews with several
prominent members of the Muslim community to which I shall refer later, and Census
figures released by the Department of Planning at Leeds City Council.
The population estimates derived from the Census returns are problematic. There is
no question on the Census forms regarding religion. In 1971 and 1981 the ward figures
were calculated from a question asking for an individual's country of origin. Figures
from those originating from the Indian subcontinent obviously do not include Muslims
born in Leeds. In these years, there was also a question regarding the place of origin of
heads of household. From this information an estimated total population for each
community was calculated. However, the 1991 Census returns contained information
derived from a new question regarding ethnic origin. Consequently, the Leeds ward
breakdowns included both migrants and their children born in Britain. There was also a
question regarding place of birth so it was still possible to differentiate the two
categories. Unfortunately, by 1993, there were no figures released which correlated
gender and ethnic identity from the 1991 Census.
Although the 1981 Census revealed the presence of migrants from different parts
of the Islamic world (see Table 1, Appendix 1), the overwhelming majority were from
the Indian sub-continent, particularly Pakistan. This conforms with the pattern of
Muslim communities throughout Britain. Of the 14,854 subcontinent Asians in Leeds
counted in the 1981 Census, it was calculated that 58% (8,639) were Indian, including
Sikhs and Hindus, 36% (5,284) were Pakistani, and 6% (931) were from Bangladesh.
The Census does not reveal religion, but it must be assumed that a small minority of
the Indian migrants are Muslim. According to the 1991 Census figures the overall
South Asian population grew by 1991 to 20,996 (see Table 2, Appendix 1) in which
47% (9,903) were Indian, 44 % (9,316) Pakistani, and 9% (1777) Bangladeshi. The
most noticeable change was the percentage increase in the
-2-
predominantly Muslim populations originating in Pakistan and Bangladesh. This in crease can be analysed in more depth by comparing the total populations of those
born in the various nations of the subcontinent with the figures of those born in
Britain. This has changed considerably from 1981 to 1991. Despite the fact that 1,390
Pakistanis and 391 Bangladeshis migrated to Leeds in this period (the Indian figures
for first-generation migrants has actually decreased), the percentage population born
in Britain rose to a marked degree (see Appendix 4). Taking into account the current
immigration laws and the increase in the numbers of children being born to Pakistanis
and Bangladeshis, it can be assumed that women formed the majority of the new ar rivals.
According to the 1991 figures, there were 11,093 Muslims in Leeds originating
from the subcontinent, excluding the hidden figure amongst the Indians. Of this figure a small minority (800-900) migrated from East Africa. To this total must be added
a transitory, international group of Muslim students studying at the Universities and
other colleges in Leeds. This figure conforms with the Muslim community's own
perspective on its size. Although the 'mains tend to hazard estimates of 20,000,
generally it is considered by most Muslims that they number around 15,000 in the
city. In view of the degree to which South Asians dominate the Muslim population,
my research has not investigated the smaller communities of Arabs, Turks and
Africans (Appendix 1), and has remained centred on the Pakistani and Bangladeshi
Muslims.
From the Subcontinent to Leeds - The Early Settlers
Alison Shaw (1988, p.12-13), in her study of Pakistanis in Oxford, notes that the
different areas of origin in Pakistan are reflected in the distribution of migrants in
British cities. The main regional divisions in the Muslim community from the subcontinent are:
1. Mirpur District in Azad Kashmir
2. Campbellpur District in the Punjab
3. Certain villages in the Nowslera Sub-District, Peshawar
4. Certain villages in the Districts of Rawalpindi, Jhelum,
Gujrat and Faisalabad in the Punjab
5. The District of Sylhet in the North-Western corner of
Bangladesh.
Although Leeds contains small groups of migrants from all these areas, by far the
most dominant group in the city, as in Birmingham and Bradford, is the Mirpuris. There
is also a significant minority of Bangladeshis mainly originating from Sylhet.
-3-
The research done by Alison Shaw and also Muhammad Anwar (1985) concurs
that the primary motive for migration was economic. Besides the 'pull' factors of
demand for labour in Britain from the 1950's onwards in cities where industry was
expanding, there was also a 'push' factor in certain areas of the subcontinent. Mirpur
suffered from unemployment, and the quality of the land was poor. In the early
1960s, 100,000 people were displaced by the construction of the Mangla Dam. Many
who had relatives in Britain used their compensation money to migrate and search for
work. There are, however, equally poor areas of Pakistan that have no history of
migration to Britain. In Mirpur there was a tradition, stretching over several gener ations, of service in the British army and the merchant navy. Mirpuri men had both a
tradition of travelling from their homes to work in service and strong bonds of loyalty
to Britain forged through the years of the Raj. Many of the pioneer settlers arrived in
Britain as seamen or soldiers during World War II. They decided to stay here in order
to earn and save money that would benefit kinsfolk at home. In so doing, they be came
the first links in a 'chain of migration'. According to this idea, a lone immigra nt
`makes good', news of his success reaches his country of origin, and he recruits other
members of his family and friends, usually, like himself, young and single
(Price,1963). This pattern is confirmed in the formation of the Muslim community in
Leeds.
Chaudri Bostan Khan arrived in London in 1941 from Mirpur. His family had a
strong tradition of army and navy service. He claims to know of 120 family members
across four generations who had served the British in this way. His uncle worked for
the City Line in Bombay. In 1936, aged 25, Bostan Khan took his first voyage out
from Bombay to England. His voyages took him to New York, Montreal, and Mel bourne. When the War began, he rejoined the navy and jumped ship in London. His
intention was to discover a better life for himself, "English people go look in
Pakistan, so I go look on England, to look for labour, for a good living". When inter viewed in 1989, Chaudri Bostan Khan was 78 years old. He has recently died in 1992.
He was surrounded by friends and relatives from his own and nearby villages in
Mirpur. In Leeds, he was known as 'the Father of the Mirpuris'. He was a successful
businessman who boasted that since coming to Britain, he had worked only for
himself .
Before coming to Leeds in 1946, he worked as a market trader in Huddersfield and
Newcastle, selling hairgrips, babies' dummies and plastic combs. He and a cousin
opened two restaurants in East London, and then he moved to Leeds where he opened a
fish and chip shop. Until 1971 he expanded his fish and chip business and then moved
into the textiles' industry, wholesaling cloth. In 1989 he had two large factories and
several shops in Leeds. All his business concerns were managed by family members
who migrated from Mirpur. In 1948 Chaudri Bostan Khan married an
-4-
Englishwoman who eventually converted to Islam. They ran the businesses together.
Mrs.Khan was invaluable for her knowledge of English life and her skill in dealing with
paperwork. Chaudri's friends and relatives began to arrive, beginning with his brother in
1950. Mrs.Khan liaised with the authorities and dealt with the formalities of immigration.
Chaudri provided his countrymen with employment and housing. Like many who were to
follow him, Chaudri Bostan Khan thought for many years that he would return to
Pakistan but this never happened. Up to the time of his death he was the President of the
Leeds Islamic Centre.
This pattern is approximately repeated in the Bangladesh community, although it
should be noted that before being eclipsed by the mass migration of Mirpuris to the
city, Bengalis were the dominant group amongst the early settlers. Mofizur Rahman
arrived in Leeds a few years after Chaudri Bostan Khan. Like Chaudri, he had also
worked for a steamship company. Mofizur Rahman was born in Noahkali, Bengal but
moved to Calcutta when he was nine years old. Fascinated by the uniform of his
police sergeant uncle, Mofizur joined the Indian Army in 1939 at the age of 14 after
hearing the announcement of Mahatma Gandhi which authorised Indians to join the
Allied forces against Germany. After his regiment were disbanded by the British
Mofizur joined the Merchant Navy with the assistance of an uncle. Barely 16, he left
India on the SS City of Bombay bound for Canada. He found himself in a Glasgow
seamen's boarding house in 1942 after the ship was torpedoed in the Channel. Helped
by a member of the Indian National Congress Party, he travelled to London where he
was employed on the night shift by Martin's Sugar factory in Aldgate. In spite of
working a twelve hour night shift, Mofizur also worked as a waiter at the weekends.
In 1944 he went to hear Muhammad Jinnah speak on the necessity of a separate Mus lim state at a public meeting in Piccadilly. At this time he decided to support the
Muslim League. Shortly after this event, Mofizur left his job at the factory and
worked full-time as a waiter. He had managed to save £300 and, in partnership with a
friend, purchased a restaurant at 24 Chapeltown Road, Leeds, called the Ghulstan.
After two years he opened a cafe on the Kirkstall Road which is where he met his
English wife who at the time was an apprentice tailor. Mofizur Rahman has since had
several businesses in the city including a fish and chip shop, wholesaling, and two
shops in Leeds Market which he still maintains with his wife. As with the other early
settlers, he has been prominent in organising the community around the practice of
Islam since his arrival in Leeds. In particular, he was instrumental in founding the
first mosque in the city.
Besides the large majority of migrants from Mirpur and Bengal who were largely
uneducated village people, there was a small minority of settlers in Britain who came
to further their education and gain better qualifications. P.G.J.Shah first arrived in
England in 1924. He returned to the Punjab in 1925, but came back to study
-5-
engineering in London in 1933. Qualifying as a civil engineer, he arrived in Leeds in
1943 to take up a position as a mining engineer. In 1951 he returned to Pakistan but
finally decided to remain in Leeds from 1953. Mr.Shah confirmed that there was no
community in Leeds when he arrived, only a few individual market traders and
itinerant pedlars. There was a small community in Bradford with which he communicated, helping to found the Pakistan Muslim Association in that city. He purchased a
house near the university in Leeds and was joined by several people who moved from
Bradford at the end of the War, also purchasing properties. Thus was begun the large
Muslim community in the University ward which later declined ( see Diagrams B and
D in Appendix 3). The 1991 Census figures would suggest that the numbers of Mus lims in the area has recovered as a result of the population in Harehills moving out wards in a circle from that area (see Diagram G, Appendix 3).
Mr. Shah confirmed that he came originally to study but stayed because he liked
it. He went on to pursue a successful career as an architect in the city. Like Chaudri
Bostan Khan and Mofizur Rahman, he married an Englishwoman in 1948. This pattern of marrying English women was repeated by several of the early settlers (San neh,N.D,p3). Mr.Shah explained that in the absence of a large immigrant community,
there was more mixing with the host community. He suggested that it was easier t o
make friends with English women as they were more tolerant and understanding than
their male counterparts. This inevitably led to marriages which bridged the cultures.
Mr. Shah's children attended church on Sundays, and joined the girl guides and boy
scouts, but also attended classes at the mosque in reading the Qur'an and learning the
fundamentals of Islam. All his children later married English partners and were said
to be agnostic. Mr. Shah considered himself a part of the Indian tradition of liberal
Islam. Since his involvement in the Pakistan Muslim Association in Leeds with
Chaudri Bostan Khan and Mofizur Rahman from 1961, he firmly advocated that all
Muslims, regardless of sect, nationality, or belief, should come together for prayer in
the mosque. From its foundation up to 1986, he was the Chairman of the Islamic
Centre.
Muhammad Rashid Ali is the child of a mixed marriage between one of the very
first settlers in Leeds and an Englishwoman. His father arrived in Glasgow in 1928
from what would now be Southern Pakistan. He travelled aboard ship with a mixed
group of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims who all dispersed to various parts of Britain. A
party of the Muslims left for Cardiff, including the only teacher amongst the group.
Muhammad Rashid suggested that this may explain the development of the Cardiff
community, since from the beginning there was a religious teacher to educate the
English wives and children of the earliest subcontinent Muslim migrants to the city in
the basics of Islam. Muhammad Rashid's father settled in Leeds in 1929. He worked
throughout Yorkshire as a door-to-door pedlar, selling fabrics and household items
-6-
out of a large suitcase. Muhammad Ali married in 1936. He eventually became a
middleman in the textiles industry, after years of running a stall in Leeds market.
Muhammad Rashid was born in 1938, and was almost certainly the first Muslim born
in Leeds. He followed in his father's footsteps and married an Englishwoman. His
children also married English partners, and do not consider themselves to be Muslims.
Muhammad Rashid explained that his father did not teach him Islam. Like many of
the immigrants that were to follow him to Britain, Muhammad Ali was uneducated. He
could not read or write, and his knowledge of his own faith was rudimentary.
Whatever he knew of Islam had been gleaned from wandering religious teachers who
visited his village, gathered the small children together and taught them to learn by
rote. This type of religious education typified the experience of many Mirpuris who
came from similar backgrounds to Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Rashid explained that
his father believed in the Muslim way, but being in Leeds in the early days, his friends
were mainly Jews and some Christians. He also considered that his father was too
busy to teach Islam to his children. He suggests that his father moved to England
because he wished to improve his life. "He was uneducated but wished to seek for
something better". His inspiration was the contact he had had with English culture and
people back in colonial India. He saw England as the mother country. He hoped by
marrying an Englishwoman to provide his children with a dual education, uniting the
two cultures. Muhammad Rashid's earliest memories were of the differences between
his mother's and father's lifestyles and cultures. At school in North Street, and later at
Woodhouse Secondary, he was the only Asian child. The school was split equally
between Jewish and Christian children. Chapeltown was still a large Jewish ghetto.
The first Muslim migrants lived on the edge of the Jewish community in Little London
or around the University area. The community only began to congregate in
Chapeltown as the Jews moved northwards, and the first mosque was bought in
Leopold Street. Muhammad Rashid knew nothing about Islam, but when asked at
school replied that he was a Muslim. His idea of Islam at the time was "someone who
comes from the same place as my father". From this time he became intensely curious
to know why his father was different.
In 1961 Muhammad Rashid also had a son. This event triggered his latent desire to
find out about Islam. He found himself a teacher, Ahmad Shuttari, who had just
arrived in Leeds to study at the University. Amongst the Muslims beginning to arrive
in Leeds in the early 1960s, Ahmad Shuttari was to be very influential in the development of the Islamic faith in the city. A schoolteacher by profession, he was well versed in his religion and able to read Arabic. Muhammad Rashid learnt to read the
Qur'an and the fundamentals of Islam from Ahmad Shuttari. Later he was to become
caretaker of the newly-opened Islamic Centre Mosque. This position would result in
-7-
him conducting parties of schoolchildren around the mosque and explaining the rudi ments of Islam. In the late 1980s he could be seen lecturing at over 90 schools in
Yorkshire, speaking to church groups, the police, and the fire service, and advising
the prison services on race relations. He was appointed the first Muslim magistrate in
the city, and was the Public Relations Officer at the Islamic Centre. Muhammad
Rashid's unique background resulted in a search for his Islamic roots, and his Islam
was of the nature of a conversion experience. He stated, "Having a Muslim parent
does not make you a Muslim, thinking that you are a Muslim does not make you a
Muslim, you have to know something about Islam and practice". His background, sit ting astride the two cultures that formed him, enabled him to communicate his experi ence of Islam to the indigenous community.
I have dealt in depth with the stories of these early pioneer settlers in Leeds, not only
to demonstrate that the beginnings of the Leeds community bear out the pattern described
by Muhammad Anwar and Alison Shaw throughout Britain, but also because the
attitudes and influences of these men were to radically affect the development of the
Muslim community in Leeds, as I shall explore later.
The Growth of the Community
By 1961, the efforts of Chaudri Bostan Khan amongst the Mirpuris and Mofizur
Rahman amongst the Bengalis had resulted in a community of about 5-600 Muslims in
Leeds from the subcontinent. The development of the community followed the basic
pattern discovered by Roger and Catharine Ballard in their study of Sikhs in Leeds
(1977, p28-42). The Ballards argue that immigration followed a chronological sequence of four phases. The first phase was that of the individual pioneer, mostly all
ex-seamen and pedlars. The second phase came about with the huge demand for unskilled labour in British industry after World War II. During this period massmigration took place, most of the workers living in all-male households in inner city
areas. Most of the South Asian Muslim community was centred in the University ward
of the city, with large populations also developing in City and Holbeck, and Harehills
wards (See Appendix 3, Diagram B). The third phase was marked by the large-scale
entry of wives and children, a move to less crowded and different living situations,
and a notable growth of ethnic and religious practices. A comparison of Diagrams A
and C in Appendix 3 shows clearly that the Indian community began to decrease in the
University and Harehills wards, but increased rapidly in Moortown and Roundhay. By
1981, the Pakistani Muslims had also left the University ward and were increasing in
number in the wards that the Indians were vacating, particularly Chapel Allerton and
Harehills. The fourth and final stage described by the Ballards is a move away from
the inner-city to the suburbs, and the emergence of a British- edu-
-8-
cated and finally British-born second generation. This process of suburbanisation is
clearly shown in Diagram C, Appendix 3. The Ballards considered the Mirpuri and
Bangladeshi communities to be some fifteen years behind the Sikhs in the development
of all four stages (and this is borne out by the figures in Diagrams A to E, Appendix 3).
Diagrams G and H, Appendix 3, taken from the 1991 Census figures demonstrate that
this process of suburbanisation is now accelerating amongst the Pakistani and
Bangladeshi communities.
Diagram C, Appendix 3 shows that Indian men and women were virtually equal in
numbers in 1981, whereas Diagrams D and E demonstrate that at the same period there
was still a disparity between men and women in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi
communities. The Pakistani and Bangladeshi populations show a similar gender ratio in
1981 as the Indians had in 1971. These figures suggest the possibility that the all-male
household may still have been in existence amongst South Asian Muslims almost ten
years after it had virtually disappeared in the Sikh and Hindu communities. Family
development happened at a slower pace and at a later period than the other communities. The continued arrival of migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh from 1981
to 1991 demonstrated in Diagrams G and H, Appendix 3 suggests that this has been
corrected.
It was estimated by the Department of Planning that six hundred Asian children
were born in Leeds each year from 1981 to 1986. This number increased to around
1,100 by 1991. Around 4-500 of these are Muslim. Diagrams D & E show a total of
3,129 Pakistanis and 639 Bangladeshis born in their countries of origin. This
represents approximately 63% and 69% respectively of the 1981 Pakistani and
Bangladeshi populations. The remainder were British born. The 1991 Census shows
that only 51 % of Pakistanis and 59% of Bangladeshis were born in their countries of
origin (see Appendix 4). Taking into account the present birth rate and the numbers of
British-born Muslims soon to reach child-bearing age, it is clear that this category of
the population will have more and more significance for the development of the com munity and the form that Islam takes in Leeds.
The Development of Islam in Leeds
Although my sources were reluctant to admit it, the lifestyles of some of the
`single men' immigrants in the early years were affected by the 'corrupting influences'
of British society. Many of them had English girlfriends and frequented pubs. This
trend is confirmed in both the Ballards' research in Leeds and Alison Shaw's work in
Oxford. Until 1961 Islam does not seem to have been a central factor amongst the
Muslim immigrants in Leeds. Religious practices did exist, but were essentially used
for 'rites of passage'. The first settlers in Leeds had obtained a burial
-9-
plot for Muslims in Harehills cemetery as early as 1953. Mofizur Rahman played a
prominent part in obtaining the first burial plots in the cemetery and his account
demonstrates the personal nature of the origins of Muslim institutions in the city.
The burial ground was started when a man named Mr. Ullah died. He died in a hospital
in Leeds, that was June 1953. He was dead for four days and had nobody in this
country. No Muslim except me. He didn't know anybody else. Some time ago before
that he had taken my name and address in his pocket and the Doctor contacted me to
say that he had died in hospital. He had been dead for four days and had no Muslim to
bury him and he was going to be cremated.. And I said that I will take the
responsibility. I will bury him. So I went to the hospital to make all the arrangements
and then I found that there was no Muslim burial ground. I went to the undertaker and I
asked if there was any Muslim burial ground in Leeds and he said, 'no'. So I asked how
I could go about it. He said that you could buy a plot and bury him there. If you make a
stipulation that the grave will not be touched by anybody then nobody will touch it. So
the funeral was arranged in Harehills cemetery. I went to our people and collected
money... I came home. It was Winter. I was shivering. And I said to my wife, 'What are
you going to do when I die?' It struck me in my mind that there was nobody around. If
the same thing happens to me what is she going to do. Is there another Muslim who is
interested? There were very few people at that time. There wasn't many. In total I think
there was about twenty people. So when I got better about a week later, I said to my
wife, 'Well, I have got to do something'.
After meeting with his fellow Muslims, and with the help of his wife, Mofizur
Rahman contacted the Civic Hall. As a result twenty plots were reserved in the cemetary
exclusively for Muslims.
Funeral services had been held which were attended by Pakistanis and
Bangladeshis from Birmingham, Bradford, Glasgow and London. Muslim funerals in
Britain included communal prayers (Shepherd & Harrison ,1982, p9) but at this time
there were no Friday prayers in Leeds, and if people prayed they did so individually in
their homes. The men were mostly employed in the Yorkshire textile industry and the
Yorkshire Foundry in Hunslet. Ahmad Shuttari remembers that, in 1961, the com plete
night shift of the foundry was run by Mirpuris. There was little reason to learn
English. Many of the houses contained both day and night shift workers who thus
doubled their living space.
The development of religious awareness in Leeds seems to have been sparked by
the Bengali community, although Muhammad Rashid suggests that there were two or
three families in Leeds with Pakistani women, even as early as 1961, which may have
contributed to a desire for a mosque. Bengal has a strong tradition of reform Islam
arising out of the work of the nineteenth century reformers, Karamat Ali (d.1873), Titu
Mir (1782-1831), and Haji Shari'atu'llah (1781-1840). The missionary work of these
reformers linked many Bengali Muslims to the powerful centres of the reform
movement in North India. As a consequence, many Bengali Muslims studied at
Deoband Dar al-Ulum and have maintained a strong reform presence in Bengal to the
-10-
present day. Sylhet, from which many Bengalis/Bangladeshis in Britain originate, is a
strong centre of another kind of Islam. Converted to Islam in the 14th century by the
Sufi Shah Jalal and his followers, Sylhet is still a centre of pilgrimage. Shah Jalal's
path was through meditation, devotional music and ecstatic poetry, rather than through
the Islamic orthodoxy of the nineteenth century reformers. Sylhet's Islam had been
influenced by the mystical traditions of Vedanta (Chaitanya, the Hindu mystic, also
came from the region of Sylhet) and the magical beliefs of Assam (Caroline
Adams,1987). Although Sylhet's Islam was unorthodox, it was also extremely devout.
Ahmad Shuttari confirms that the Bengalis in Leeds were more religious than their
Mirpuri counterparts whose Islam had been gathered piecemeal from itinerant teachers
in their home villages when they were children. He claimed that the Bengalis were
well-versed in the Qur'an and Hadith and that they were the first to maintain the
custom of wearing their national dress. Although not a feature of Islam, the Asian
Muslims have adopted the custom of wearing their national dress when attending
prayers at the mosque or religious feasts and holidays. Muhammad Rashid informed
me that he always wears 'Muslim dress' when attending lectures and talks about Islam
in Yorkshire schools.
After the experience of obtaining the burial plots in Harehills cemetary, Mofizur
Rahman and the first Bengali settlers to the city realised the importance of organising
themselves to represent their growing community's needs. They met together in the
Ghulstan Restaurant to discuss forming an organisation and obtaining a community
centre or mosque. In August, 1953 they formed the Pakistan Muslim Association with
Mofizur Rahman as President, Sayyid Aqil Ali as Secretary, and Arthur Ullah as
Treasurer. A fund was started to purchase a community centre which could be used for
communal prayers. Each working adult was asked to contribute bd a week. Tin
collection boxes were placed in all Muslim homes. Up to 1957, only £40 was collected, but after this date the number of Muslims arriving in the city began to ac celerate. Mofizur Rahman praises the laborious efforts of Attar Rahman, a fellow
Bengali and the joint treasurer of the Pakistan Muslim Association during this period.
Attar Rahman walked around Leeds visiting the newcomers and raising funds for the
mosque. In spite of successfully finding the required capital, Mofizur Rahman's attempts to locate a property in the city failed as soon as he mentioned the purpose it
would be used for. No-one in the city was prepared to sell the Muslims a property
which could be converted to use as a mosque. In 1957, Conrad Kramer, a solicitor of
Portuguese Jewish descent, suggested that the Muslims purchase the synagogue at 21
Leopold Street in Chapeltown which had been donated by Portuguese Jews in 1922.
The Bengalis Muslims had to wait for the Jewish congregation to find new premises in
1959 before negotiations could begin. By this time the Bengalis had raised £500 to
purchase the mosque which was not enough, however, to meet the £1,000 purchase
price. According to their accounts, P.J.Shah, Chaudri Bostan Khan and Ahmad Shut tari persuaded the Bengalis to make the purchase of the mosque a venture involving
the full Muslim community, promising to raise the rest of the money. Mofizur Rah man claims that he persuaded the Bengalis to include the West Pakistanis in the inter ests of Muslim unity and that he was chosen to negotiate with them on the basis of his
contacts amongst them. Some of the Bengali community were not happy with this ar rangement and left the Pakistan Muslim Association. (It should be noted, however,
that all the key figures mentioned above were sympathetic to the reform tradition of
Islam, although moderate and non-sectarian in their approach. This attitude is still
reflected in the Islamic Centre and the Jinnah mosque which is now used by Bengali
Muslims). Despite this slight difference of opinion in the personal accounts of those
interviewed, the Bengalis agreed and the Jinnah Mosque, the first in Leeds, opened in
1960. The Pakistan Muslim Association ran the mosque with joint trustees from the
Bengali and West Pakistan communities. Muhammad Latif, Noor Muhammad Kotia
and P.G.J. Shah were added to the original three Bengali trustees. The mosque served
a community of 500-600 single men and about half a dozen families of the pioneer
settlers. This was the main mosque until the opening of the Islamic Centre in Spencer
Place in 1981. The first Imams were simply devout men in the community who were
educated enough to read the Qur'an. They were usually assigned as Imams on a 3 to 6
month rota. The first Imam employed by the mosque to teach the children was a
Pathan, Maulvi Abdul Rahman. He was replaced by Ahmad Shuttari, an English
teacher at Batley High School after he left the University, and a man deeply com mitted to his Islamic faith. When the families began to arrive in Leeds in a trickle
throughout the 1960s and gradually increasing in the 1970s, he held evening and
weekend classes for children and adults in reading the Qur'an and learning the basics
of Islam.
Despite the opening of the Jinnah mosque, P.G.J.Shah admitted that very rarely
was it filled even for Friday prayers until the late 1970s. Muhammad Rashid suggested that even though a committee had been elected, little was done apart from
buying the building. There was no permanent Imam and the mosque was kept locked.
He remembered that regular users of the mosque were so few that they were distributed with their own keys to enter for prayers. There is no doubt, however, that with
the slow arrival of families from 1962 onwards, picking up momentum into the
1970s, the ethnic and religious life of the community began to consolidate. Even if
the mosque was not full for Friday prayers, classes in Arabic had begun and the feasts
of Islam began to be celebrated. The End of Ramadan feast (EID UL FITR), the Feast
held in the month of Pilgrimage (EID UL ADHA) and the celebration of Muhammad's
birthday (MILAD) began to be held in the Town Hall, the University, the Polytechnic,
St.Aidan's Church on Roundhay Road, and sometimes in the open
-12-
air.
By 1965 the growth of the community was beginning to accelerate. Under threat
of changes in the immigration laws, all Asians were spurred on to bring their families
to Britain. Ahmad Shuttari started a mosque in his house in Marlborough Gardens near
the University ostensibly to meet the requirements of the Muslim student population
who required an Imam who spoke English. In 1975 he gained permission to use Eldon
Hall as a mosque. This is reflected in the 1971 Census figures, which show 629
Pakistani men and 180 women in the University ward (Appendix 3, Diagram B). The
Eldon Hall mosque served both the immigrant community centred around Blackman
Lane and the University population until 1984, when it was burnt down by squat ters.
After this event there was no permanent place for the student population, and the
migrant community in the area considerably decreased. This means there has been
little contact between the student community and the migrants since 1984. Until
recently the students met in Trinity St. David's Church behind the Emmanual Institute
but now they have an Islamic Centre in the building that used to be the old Leeds
Playhouse. There is no permanent Imam and various students take turns to lead the
prayers. The students have also used Omar House for prayers and meetings. This
group have recently purchased a church on Woodsley Road which has been converted
into a mosque to be known as the Grand Mosque. This mosque has certainly the most
international congregation in Leeds. This reflects not only the numbers of Muslim
students at the University but also the growing numbers of South Asian Muslims
returning to University Ward (see Diagram G). The presence of the Grand Mosque on
Woodsley Road means that once again there is some contact between Muslim students
and the migrant community.
Some of the Bengali community was later to split off from the Jinnah mosque to
found their own mosque in Harehills, which they named Shah Jalal. There is a division of opinion over the split. Some informants stated that it was simply a matter of
language. The Qutbar or sermon before the prayers is spoken in the language of the
congregation. With the development of the community more permanent Imams were
sent for from the subcontinent. These Imams were recruited from Mirpur or
Bangladesh, depending on the community. It is likely, however, that they desired to
reproduce the kind of Islam they had practised in Sylhet and were uneasy with the
Reform tradition style of Islam practised in the Jinnah Mosque. The relationship between the Bengalis and the West Pakistanis deteriorated badly in the late 1960s and
early 1970s despite the efforts of Mofizur Rahman and Khan Chaudhry, the present
Secretary of the Islamic Centre, to maintain unity. This deterioration in the relationship between the two communities appears to echo the political situation existing in
the subcontinent between East and West Pakistan. Mofizur Rahman had formed the
East Pakistan Association and in 1968 he created the Bangladesh Association which
-13-
broke away from the Pakistan Muslim Association, leaving the West Pakistanis in
complete control of the Jinnah Mosque. He admits that during this period his total
concern was with the politics of Bangladesh's independence movement rather than the
administration of the mosque. In 1981, the Pakistan Muslim Association, purchased
and established the Islamic Centre in Spencer Place, Chapeltown. It is difficult to disentangle the various ethnic and religious allegiances during this period. The in creasingly orthodox Islamic Centre came under the influence of visiting Imams from
Pakistan trained in the Deobandi school of thought and visiting speakers from
Tabligh-i Jamaat in Dewsbury. Whatever the explanation of the matter, after the
purchase of the Islamic Centre and Central Mosque in Spencer Place in 1981, the Jinnab mosque was eventually sold back to the Bangladeshis who were sympathetic to
reform ideals. The Bangladeshis have renamed it the Al Ameen Mosque. Once again
Mofizur Rahman was prominent in the negotiations to restore the mosque to the
Bangladeshi community. In 1985, the Bangladeshis' efforts resulted in a £75,000 grant
from the City Council to refurbish the building.
Since the purchase of the Islamic Centre, there has been a proliferation of mosques
in Leeds as the community spreads itself further away from the original areas of
settlement. In the areas which are numerically strong enough to support more than one
mosque, a second has been founded to reflect the preference of some of the community
to follow either the reform school of thought (Deobandi) or the more traditional Islam of
the subcontinent (Barelwi). This has happened in Beeston and Harehills (see Appendix
2). The Kashmiri community which uses the Bilal Mosque in Harehills has raised the
money to construct the first purpose-built mosque in the city. The foundation stone was
laid in Conway Road on Sunday, 17th January 1994. So far half the funds for
construction have been raised by the community. The rest will be collected as the
building progresses. It is estimated that there are between 10-12 mosques in the city
(including a meeting-place for the Muslim students). Three of these belong to the
Bangladeshi community which indicates the strength of their religious feeling in
proportion to their numerical strength. There is also a house mosque which serves a small
group of Shi`a Muslims in Beeston. (see Appendix 2).
The Direction of Islam in Leeds
Islam is a way of life governing not only religious practice and morality but also
social relations, marriage, divorce, kinship, economic and political relations. Islam's
injunctions are apparent in many spheres of life, such as eating habits, dress, the relationships between the sexes, and obligations to relatives and other Muslims. As the
community grew with the arrival of women and children, all these aspects of Islam grew
to prominence interwoven with South Asian ethnic customs. Islam was used to
-14-
promote ethnic awareness as in the case of Halal butchers and other specialised shops
and businesses catering to religious prescriptions, and the increased celebration of religious festivals. Ethnic identity was bolstered and supported by proclaiming certain
customs to be Islamic practice as in the case of South Asian marriage customs, including
dowry, and the wearing of regional dress to the mosque, neither of which are strictures of
Islam outside South Asia.
By 1975 Ahmad Shuttari was battling with the authorities to introduce Friday
prayers in Batley High School. Schools in the area also found it difficult to supply
Halal meat and to understand why the Muslim children would not eat dinner during
the month of Ramadan. Conflicts also arose over school uniforms and standards of
dress during games and sports. Many in the Muslim communities were not happy
about co-educational schools, and attempts were made by some members to locate
girls in single sex schools in Leeds. An attempt has also been made to raise funds for
a Muslim girls' school in the city but so far it has not been succesful. Many of the
men who pray regularly have struggled to persuade employers to provide facilities
and time for Islam's compulsory prayers. These are just some illustrations of the
Muslim communities' increasing awareness of the problems they face adjusting to a
receiving community with little understanding of their unique requirements.
When interviewed, Mr.P.G.J.Shah acknowledged the increase in religious feeling
since the beginning of the 1980s. He noted that the Islamic Centre at that time was al ready too small for the community. Often both floors of the mosque would be packed
for Friday prayers, with the upper floor available for women. This was in spite of the
fact that several other mosques functioned in Leeds. With the increase in the Muslim
population between 1981 and 1991 all the mosques were under pressure to accommodate prayers, particularly on Fridays or during religious holidays. Mr. Shah was
particularly aware of the increase of religious interest among young people, which he
did not attribute to the world-wide resurgence of Islam but to the influence within the
family. Religious education, he said, was provided in all the mosques, and the Islamic
Centre had purchased a large hall to function as the Mosque school. I could find no
evidence of Islamic youth groups, such as Young Muslims UK, at work in Leeds
(except in the Universities). This was in spite of the fact that this organisation had
been founded in December 1984 at a meeting in Spencer Place of twenty-seven young
Muslims representing local youth organisations (Yaqub, 1992). Besides parental
influence though, I noticed a trend amongst young Muslims born and educated in
Britain to discover for themselves what Islam meant to them. This may well be contributed to by the resurgence of Islam worldwide, but it may also be because Islam has
been used by increasing numbers of this generation to resolve identity questions which
have arisen from sitting astride two cultures.
-15-
In spite of the increase in religious feeling and practice, the Leeds community has
been essentially moderate in its interpretation of Islam. The revivalist activity which
has taken place in Bradford, Leicester and Birmingham is not very apparent in Leeds.
There are several possible reasons for this. Muhammad Rashid argued that in
Dewsbury, Batley and Huddersfield, where there have been revivalist activities, the
Muslim communities have been better organised, with better facilities than in Leeds.
He suggested that was because from the beginning their populations were made up of
factory workers. He argued that because these factory workers had definite hours of
employment, they were able to give their evenings to organising the community. On
the other hand, the early migrants to Leeds were self-employed businessmen who
were unable to find free time.
It has been apparent, however, that until recently Leeds has had little sectarian activity in the community. In recent years there has been a growing influence of the
Tabligh-i Jamaat in Dewsbury which has had some effect on Muslims in Leeds. The
Dewsbury Mosque and Centre is the European headquarters of this international
group. Adjoined to the mosque is a religious college for boys from all over the country
to be trained as ulema. In the college, shorter training courses in Islam are held for
Muslims who can attend from one week to one month. The Tabligh-i Jamaat organises
groups of volunteer missionaries who are sent out to preach in all the Mus lim
communities. They assemble in Dewsbury on Thursday evenings and disperse to
selected cities to teach, concentrating their attention on mosques. Generally, th ey are
only welcome at Deobandi mosques as they preach a similiar style of Islam. Some of
them come to Leeds. In addition, some Mirpuri maulanas have been trained in
Deobandi Dar al-Ulums or have completed their studies in Egypt or Saudi. Arabia.
Consequently, there has been considerable influence of Deobandi ideas growing
amongst the Mirpuri population, which has, as a result, become more educated to a
purer form of Islam than the one which they brought with them from Pakistan. Yet,
despite the influence of Deobandi preachers and visiting Imams from the subcontinent,
there has been no major sect of Islam installed in Leeds itself. This contrasts with
Bradford, Leicester or Birmingham where the mosques are generally established and
maintained by specific sectarian groups originating in the subcontinent (Geaves,
1994). Although the mosques in Leeds have been equally divided between Deobandi
and Bareiwi congregations the attitude to these radically different approaches to Islam
has generally been very moderate.
A researcher, John King, interviewed Muhammad Ali, a Muslim who came to
Leeds in 1961 (King,1993, p.17). Muhammad Ali typifies the attitude of prominent
Muslims in the city. He became active in Tabligh-i Jamaat in Burma before migrating
to Britain in 1956. He remained active in the organisation and participated in several
preaching tours all over Britain. However, Muhammad Ali was not typical of
-16-
those Tabligh-i Jamaat members who have remained isolated from the culture of the
receiving nation. The organisation has encouraged its members to focus completely on
the practice of Islam and has condemned watching television, videos, reading newspapers and listening to the radio. Muhammad Ali, however, has been the Chairman of the
Leeds Muslim Commonwealth, an umbrella organisation which has attempted to bring
together different segments of the community to discuss common issues. Like
Muhammad Rashid, Muhammad Ali has been active in the wider community, as a lay
visitor for the West Yorkshire Police Authority, and a member of the police forum. He
has also been Deputy Chairman of the regional transport authority's passenger committee
in West Yorkshire, the co-ordinator of his local neighbourhood watch scheme and a
committed member of the Headingley Community Association.
At the time of writing, there were no Sufi pirs amongst the Barelwi population in
Leeds. However, there is a small group of followers in Leeds that is loyal to pirs
residing in Bradford and Birmingham. The Imam of the Almadina Jamia Mosque in
Brudenell Grove, a small Barelwi-orientated mosque serving a predominantly local
Mirpuri community, was not trained in a Dar al-Ulum and therefore has no traditional
education that would qualify him as a member of the ulema. He is a hafiz (able to
recite the complete Qur'an by memory), but his education was secular. He studied
English and then Islamic Studies at Punjab University. His approach, also, to the
question of the various schools of thought is very moderate and tolerant.
The officials at the Islamic Centre, until the 1980s, were the same men that
founded the Jinnah Mosque in 1961. Their influence remained very strong in the
community, and over the years they set the tone of their own brand of Islam in Leeds.
Ahmad Shuttari and P.G.J. Shah were both influenced by the Indian moderate tradition
of Islam inspired by men like Iqbal and Sayeed Ahmad Khan. Both were intensely
anti-clerical. Ahmad Shuttari condemned the majority of Maulanas and Maulvis as
opportunist and full of self-aggrandisement. Ahmad Shuttari was a cofounder of
Concord, a multi-faith organisation established to promote unity and understanding
between the many religions followed in Leeds. Muslim leaders have had considerable
contact with the non-Muslims in the city. Chaudri Bostan Khan, P.G.J. Shah,
Muhammad Rashid, and Mofizur Rahman all married English women. Muhammad
Rashid is the child of a mixed marriage. All of these factors contributed to the
moderation of the Leeds Muslim communities, despite the increase in religious and
ethnic awareness.
It will be interesting to see in which direction the community develops as new leaders
take over from the old pioneer settlers, and the influence of Islamic revival growing in
other major British cities is felt in Leeds. The essential factor, which ever direction the
community takes, will be the attitudes and feelings of the rapidly in-
-17-
creasing British born and British educated second and third generations. Haji Kasim
Muhammad was profoundly aware of this when I spoke to him. He complained that
English is never used in the Islamic Centre, despite the fact that all the young people
speak English as their chief language. He noted that the Salman Rushdie affair had
brought many young Muslims out of the snooker halls and clubs to defend their religion. Many have remained concentrating on Islam. It is certain that there will be a
growth in the number of mosques over the next decade to accommodate the increase
in the population of Muslims in the city. Increasingly, the younger generation o f
British born Muslims will enter into the arena of community leadership. Their experi ence will have been shaped by life in Britain and their knowledge of events in the
wider Muslim world, and less influenced by the processes of migration and the his tory of Islam in the subcontinent.
-18-
APPENDIX 1
TABLE 1:
1981 Census figures for ethnic origin (based on country of origin and origin of head
of household)
Ethnic Origin
Population
Indian
8,639
Pakistani
5,284
Bangladeshi
931
Arab
100
Turkish
300
Other Asian
200
Chinese
2,100
African
1,000
19-
TABLE 2:
1991 Census figures for ethnic origin
Ethnic Origin
Population
Indian
9,903
Pakistani
9,316
Bangladeshi
1,777
Other Asian
1,548
Black African
1,343
-20APPENDIX 2
LEEDS MOSQUES
ISLAMIC CENTRE+
UMAR
MUSLIM ASSOCIATION &
46/48 Spencer Place
MOSQUE+
Leeds LS7 4BR
29 Strafford Street
TEL: 621300
Leeds LS11 6JG
TEL: 709536
AL AMEEN+ (formerly
JINNAH Mosque)
BILAL MOSQUE &
21 Leopold Street
MUSLIM CULTURAL
Leeds LS7 4DA
CENTRE* Harehills Place
TEL: 621362
Leeds LS14 3DZ
TEL: 480711
ALMADINA JAMIA MOSQUE*
33 Brudenell Grove
MUSLIM WELFARE CENTRE
Leeds LS6 1HR
2 Nancroft Terrace
TEL: 752535
Armley
Leeds LS12 2DQ
GRAND MOSQUE+
(OMAR HOUSE)
Woodsley Road
Leeds LS3
KHOJA SHI`A
ITHNSHARI 168 Beeston
Road Leeds LS11 8BD
SHAH JALAL MOSQUE*
ABU HAREIRA MOSQUE*
27 Ellers Road
1 Hardy Street
Leeds LS8 5QE
Leeds LS11 6BS
TEL: 714837
OMAR MOSQUE+
Belle Vue
Road Leeds
LS3
*Barelwi tradition
+ Deobandi or reform tradition
-21APPENDIX 3
Residents from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in Leeds Wards, 1971,1981,1991.
Contents
Key to Ward Names
Diagram A 1971 Census - Leeds Ward Populations - India
Diagram B 1971 Census - Leeds Ward Populations - East and West Pakistan
Diagram C 1981 Census - Leeds Ward Populations - India
Diagram D 1981 Census - Leeds Ward Populations - Pakistan
Diagram E 1981 Census - Leeds Ward Populations - Bangladesh
Diagram F 1991 Census - Leeds Ward Populations - India
Diagram G 1991 Census - Leeds Ward Populations - Pakistan
Diagram H 1991 Census - Leeds Ward Populations - Bangladesh
-22-
APPENDIX 3 - Key to Ward Names
A Aireborough
B Otley and Wharfedale C North
D Wetherby
E Horsforth
F Cookridge
G Moortown
H Rothwell
I Barwick and Kippax
J Pudsey North
K Bramley
L Kirkstall. M Weetwood
N Chapel Allerton
 Harehills
P Seacroft
Q Whinmoor
R Pudsey South
S Armley
T Headingley
U University
V Burmantofts
W Wortley
X City and Holbeck
Y Richmond Hill
Z Halton
AA Morley North
BB Beeston
CC Hunslett
DD Morley South
EE Middleton
FF Roundhay
GG Garforth and Swiilington
31-
APPENDIX 4
1981 and 1991 Percentages for South Asian Migrants born in country of origin. 1981
Census
Country
Ethnic Origin Pop.
Born in country of origin
%
India
8,639
4,632
54
Pakistan
5,284
3,329
63
931
639
68
Bangladesh
1991 Census
Country
Ethnic Origin Pop.
B o rn in co un tr y o f o ri gin
India
9,903
4,340
44
Pakistan
9,316
4,719
51
Bangladesh
1,777
1,030
59
-32
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adams, Caroline, 1987, Across Seven Seas and Thirteen Rivers, London.
Anwar, Muhammad, 1980, 'Religious Identity in Plural Societies: The Case of
Britain', the Journal of the Institute of Muslim Minority Af fairs, 2:2/3:1, pp.110121.
Anwar, Muhammad, 1982, Young Muslims in a Multi-Cultural Society - Their
Educational Needs and Policy Implications: The British Case, The Islamic Foundation,
Leicester.
Ballard, Roger, and Ballard, Catherine, 1977, 'The Sikhs: The Development of South
Asian Settlements in Britain', Between Two Cultures, ed. Watson, James, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Barton, Stephen, 1986, The Bengali Muslims of Bradford, Community Religions
Project, Monograph Series, University of Leeds
Butterworth, Eric, 1969, 'Muslims in Britain', A Sociological Yearbook of Religion in
Britain 2, ed. Martin D. & Hill M., London.
Census Figures, 1971, 1981, 1991, Leeds Planning Department, Leeds
College de France, 1983, 'Muslim Immigration and Settlement in Britain, colloquium
on Islam in Europe Today, October, Association Pour L'Avancement Des Sciences
Islamiques, Paris.
Dahya, Badr, 1974, 'The Nature of Pakistani Ethnicity in Industrial Cities in Britain',
Urban Ethnicity, ed. Abner Cohen, ASA Monographics.
Geaves, Ronald, 1994, 'Sectarian influences within Islam in Britain with special
reference to community', PhD thesis, University of Leeds
Jeffery, Patricia, 1972, 'Pakistani Families in Bristol', New Community, 5:3.
Joly, Daniele, 1988, 'Making a Place for Islam in British Society: Muslims in
Birmingham', The New Islamic Presence in Western Europe, ed. Gerholm,Tomas &
Lithman, Yngve, George, Mansell, London.
Khan, Verity, Saifullah, 1976, 'Pakistanis in Britain:Perceptions of a Population',
New Community, 5:3.
-33King, John, 1993, `Tablighi Jamaat and the Deobandi Mosques in Britain', Paper presented to the Conference on New Islamic and Related Movements in the West, 11th
December, 1993, The Centre for New Religious Movements, Kings College, London.
Knott, Kim, & Kalsi, Seva Singh, 1994, 'The Advent of Asian Religions in Leeds',
Religion in Leeds, ed. Alistair Mason, Sutton Press.
Nielsen, Jorgen, 1987, 'Muslims in Britain: Searching For An Identity', New Community, 13:3.
Price, C.A., 1963, Southern Europeans in Australia, Melbourne.
Rex, John, 1986, 'The Urban Sociology of Religion and Islam in Birmingham',
Centre for Research in International Migration and Ethnic Relations, Stockholm
University.
Ritchie, J.M., 1972, 'A Survey of the Muslim Community of the City of Glasgow',
unpublished paper.
Sanneh, L.O., ND, 'The Muslim Community in Britain: The Religious Factor in
British Immigration', Unpublished Paper.
Shaw, Alison, 1988, A Pakistani Community in Oxford, Blackwell, Oxford.
Shepherd, D. & Harrison, S., 1982, 'Islam in Preston', 2nd Edition, Preston Curriculum Development Centre, Preston.
Silverstone, Daniel, 1978, 'The Bengali Community in Tower Hamlets', Research
and Development, Social Services Departmental Report, Tower Hamlets.
-34INTERVIEWS
Rashid Muhammad, 23rd March, 1989
Kasim, Hajji Muhammad, 28th March, 1989
Shuttari, Ahmad, 30th March, 1989 Shah,
P.G.J., 17th April, 1989
Khan, Chaudri Bostan, 18th April, 1989 Imam,
Shah Jalal Mosque, 5th May, 1989 Yaqub,
Wasim, 14th December, 1992 Hafiz Fateh
Muhammad, 20th January, 1994 (Imam,
Almadina Jamia Mosque)
Rahman, Mofizur, 11th December, 1994
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
University of Leeds
Community Religions Project Research Papers
(New Series)
1.
'Community Religions' at the University of Leeds.
Kim Knott, 1984.
2.
A report on Hinduism in Britain.
Ursula King, 1984.
3.
Religion and identity and the study of ethnic minority religions.
Kim Knott, 1984.
4.
A report on Afro-Caribbean Christianity in Britain.
Vanessa Howard, 1987.
5.
The role of the Polish Catholic church in the Polish community of the
U.K:
a study in ethnic identity and religion. Joanna Marzec, 1988.
6.
The Greek Orthodox community in Leeds.
Katherine Kotsoni, 1990.
7.
The role of religious studies in understanding the ethnic experience.
Kim Knott, 1992.
8,
The religious beliefs and practices of Hindus in Derby.
Judith Law, 1991.
9.
The religious beliefs and practices of the Vietnamese community in Britain.
Judith Law, 1991.
10.
Muslims in Leeds.
Ron Geaves, 1995.
11.
The changing character of the religions of the ethnic minorities of Asian
origin in Britain: final report of a Leverhulme Project. Kim Knott,
1992.
12.
The function, education and influence of the 'Ulama in Bradford's
Muslim
communities. Philip Lewis (forthcoming).
Cost: 1-5 £2.50 each; 6-12 £3 each.
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
University of Leeds
Community Religions Project Monographs
Hinduism in Leeds:
A study of religious practice in the Indian Hindu community and in Hindu related
groups.
Kim Knott, 1986 (£8 plus £1 p&p). ISBN 1 871363 004. 334 pp.
(Recently reprinted)
The Bengali Muslims in Bradford:
A study of their observance of Islam with reference to the function of the mosque
and the work of the Imam.
Stephen Barton, 1986 (£6.50 + £1 p&p). ISBN 1 871363 012. 244 pp.
The Sathya Sai Baba Community in Bradford:
Its origins and development, religious beliefs and practices.
David Bowen, 1988 (£8.50 + £1 p&p). ISBN 1 871363 020. 411 pp.
The Evolution of a Sikh Community in Britain:
Religious and social change among the Sikhs of Leeds and Bradford.
Sewa Singh Kalsi, 1992 (£8+ £1 p&p). ISBN 1 871363 039. 226 pp.
Cheques should be made payable to 'The University of Leeds' and sent to Jill
Killington, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, The University, Leeds
LS2 9JT.