Max Bruges speaks to Hyde Park Imam Qari Asim, who was awarded an MBE last year for community engagement efforts in the wake of the 7/7 bombings that were carried out by Hyde Park locals.

Less than a quarter of students at Leeds believe in a God, why do you think that is?

Generally, we now live in a secular society, where God is less and less influential in people’s lives. It’s just the material world we live in. There’s also a militant secularism movement that is trying to take God out of people’s lives; like instances of recent case law about not mentioning ‘God’ in council meetings or people not being allowed to wear crosses whilst going about their professional duties. I’m not just talking about Islam: people in general aren’t being allowed to express their faith in their lives.

Does more education mean less faith?

It would be difficult to pin it down to just education. It includes everything: the digital revolution, a feeling that faith is no longer needed in people’s lives, some of the politics that seem to link people of faith throughout the world, because if people of God are involved in troubles like terrorism across the Globe, then people ask what kind of faith that is. It’s a multitude of factors that are resulting in people believing less and less. Our lifestyles are very different now. Before, people ploughed their fields and thought they had to pray to God to get the rain. Their lives were too dependent on God. But now, there’s no need for it, that’s what people feel.

Three quarters of the British population, according Baroness Warsi, feel that Islam is ‘incompatible’ with British culture. Is there a negative perception of Islam in this country?

There is, firstly because of a lack of awareness, and secondly because if a person is involved in criminal activity like terrorism they are identified by their faith. That should not be the case. If the person is a terrorist, but is called an Islamic terrorist, then that insinuates that Islam is encouraging them to be terrorists. We all condemn those who commit violence, and we all need to work hard to condemn them, but we don’t need to associate a faith with their actions. It’s the individuals who are involved. What we see is a twisted interpretation made by idiotic people going about their own agendas.

The 7/7 bombers represented a tiny minority, but do you feel there’s a danger that young people can fall into extremism?

Nothing they did could be justified, not in any faith, whatever their grievances, not while there are democratic channels. The key thing is the demand and supply situation: all these young people find it fascinating to do something like that that gains them media attention. They can say things completely against the teachings of Islam, but the audience wouldn’t know. We need to meet that with more traditional and more orthodox teachings of Islam, which is why Leeds University Islam Awareness Week this month was so important.

Photo: BBC