Faith Matters

Faith Matters was launched in 2006 "...to enable faith communities to reduce conflict using conflict resolution tools. Faith Matters works on integration, cohesion, hate crime and countering extremism projects." The oganisation aims to develop strong relationships between faith communities using historical and religious contexts and by identifying commonalities between communities. Faith Matters has worked on countering extremism projects in Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.

History

According to an archived version of its website from 2009, Faith Matters 'was formed in early 2006 as a vehicle to facilitate faith communities to reduce conflict within local areas'. It 'was incorporated as a not for profit Community Interest Company in February 2007'. In a Directors report for 2007 Fiyaz Mughal reported a project called the 'Bridging Beliefs Forums' that were undertaken in 5 cities across the UK, with 'attendees' 'primarily from Muslim and Jewish communities'. 'The project was conducted in partnership with the Three Faiths Forum, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Sufi Muslim Council.'

Fiyaz Mughal registered the domain name 'faith-matters.org' on 3 July 2008.

People

Board of Directors

• Asra Ayesha Sabir - Director (not listed on the Faith Matters website), appointed 14 April 2010.
• Haifa Shhadeh - Director (not listed on the Faith Matters website), appointed 29 January 2013.
• Fiyaz Mughal - former Secretary and Director, appointed to both positions on 5 February 2007. According to Companies House Mughal resigned from his position as Secretary and Director on 16 January 2020. However he is the only person currently listed on the official Faith Matters website as being on the Board of Directors.
• Robert James Cooper - former Director, appointed 1 January 2017 and resigned 23 November 2018.
• Zuber Ahemed Ibrahim - former Director, appointed 30 June 2008 and resigned 15 February 2012.
• Michelle Anne Lawrence - former Director, appointed 5 February 2007 and resigned 25 July 2009.
• Andrzej Warhaftig - former Director, appointed 1 January 2017 and resigned 23 November 2018.

Staff

Fiyaz Mughal / Sarah (surname not given) / Iman Atta / Andrzej Warhaftig

Patrons

Irfan Malik / Azeem Ibrahim / Varinder Singh Bola / Simon Hughes / Rana Youab Khan / Alex Carlile / Laurence Brass / Akbar Ahmed / Sally Becker / Julia Neuberger / Navnit DholakiaNavnit Dholakia / Peter Tatchell / Filip Slipaczek

Projects

• Tell MAMA

Funding

Faith Matters has recieved funding from the Home Office’s Building a Stronger Britain Together (BSBT) programme.

Publications and Reports

• Research by Rabbil Sikdar, Pegida, Faith Matters, May 2019.
• William Allchorn and Matthew Feldman The Democratic Football Lads Alliance - A Far Right Antechamber?, Faith Matters, May 2019.
• Research by Rabbil Sikdar, Generation Identity: Creating Racial & ‘Cultural’ Lines of Division in Europe, Faith Matters, April 2019.
• Research by Rabbil Sikdar,Rebel Media, Faith Matters, March 2019.
• Tell MAMA Annual Report 2017: ‘Beyond the Incident’, Faith Matters, August 2018.
• Ian Acheson, Faith, Hope and Clarity, Faith Matters, May 2018.
• Bethany Elliott, Rethinking Links Between Mental Health Issues and Extremism: Towards a More Preventative Approach?, Faith Matters, April 2018.
• Lead researcher: Steve Rose, From antisemitism to anti-Muslim racism: the evolving face of the far-right in Poland, Faith Matters, December 2017.
• Lead researcher: Steve Rose, Sectarianism, Extremism and Hate Crime: The impacts on the Ahmadiyya Community, Faith Matters, October 2016.
• Imran Awan and Irene Zempi, We Fear for our Lives:Offline and Online Experiencesof Anti-Muslim Hostility, Faith Matters, October 2015.
• Dr Serena Hussain, Professor Mike Hardy and Fiyaz Mugha, The 7/7 London Bombings: A Decade of Reflection, Faith Matters, July 2015.
• Bharath Ganesh Implementing Prevent - From a Community-led to a Government Centred Approach, Faith Matters, July 2015.
• Building Our Futures Together – Bridging the Armed Forces with Diverse Communities, Faith Matters, April 2014.
• H.S. Lane, The Innocence of Muslims: The People Behind the Movie, their Motives and the Drivers of their Hate, Faith Matters, Febraury 2013.
• Dr Matthew Feldman, From Radical-Right Islamophobia to 'Cumulative Extremism:' A Paper on the Shifting Focus of Hatred, Faith Matters, December 2012.
• H.S. Lane, A Study of the English Defence League: The Faith Hate Report, Faith Matters, September 2012.
• Ishtiaq Hussain, The Tanzimat: Secular Reforms in the Ottoman Empire, Faith Matters, October 2011.
• The 'Mosques in the Communities' Project: Understanding the Role of Mosques in Relation to Their Local Communities, Faith Matters, September 2011.
• The Our Faiths and Our Shared Futures, Faith Matters, April 2011.
• Kevin Brice, A minority Within a Minority: A Report on Converts to Islam in the UK, Faith Matters, December 2010.
• Faith Leadership Through Chaplaincy: Experiences from Muslim Communities: Summary of Issues and Recommendations from Consultations with Chaplains, Sector Leaders and Communities, Faith Matters, December 2010.
• Nigel Copsey, The English Defence League: Challenging Our Country and Our Values of Social Inclusion, Fairness and Equality, Faith Matters, November 2010.
• Our Faiths and Our Shared Futures: Derby, Faith Matters, September 2010.
• The Role of Righteous Muslims, Faith Matters, July 2010.
• Developing Diversity Directory, Faith Matters, June 2010.
• The Prevent Peers Programme, Faith Matters, May 2010.
• Gurharpal Singh, The Adab 'Respect' Research Programme, Faith Matters, May 2010.
• The Role of Chaplains in Public Sector Institutions: Experiences from Muslim communities, Faith Matters, April 2010.
• Fiyaz Mughal, Cohesive Communities Programme, Working Towards Bridging Divides Between Sikh and Muslim Communities, Faith Matters, March 2010.

Contact, website

Web: faith-matters.org

Youtube: Faithmatters100

Facebook:FaithMattersUK

Twitter: FaithMattersUK Joined January 2010