Being a Muslim in British schools can be very confusing. Muslim children have three identities: their British identity, their religious identity and an identity stems from their ethnic roots. Muslim pupils feel alienated in schools because non-Muslims peers and teachers do not understand the importance of their faith and languages.

	Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with Muslim teachers for the development of Islamic Identity as well as to raise standard of education to compete with the rest of the population. There are over 100 Muslim schools and only four are state funded. There are hundreds of state schools where Muslim pupils are in majority, in my opinion such schools may be designated as Muslim community schools under the management of Muslim educational Trusts.

Majority of British Muslims are from the Indian sub-continent but their culture and languages has always been ignored by the British education system. It is crucial that children feel secure in their bilingual identity. If young people see that their community's language and culture is valued they will feel integrated in this society. There are lots of Asians who have developed successful careers in UK by being fluent in both English and their mother tongue. Language lies at the heart of any culture. The different languages spoken provide clear links with the family and community traditions which enrich British culture.

The policy makers at DfEE and LEAs never realized that Muslim children not only need to learn Standard English to follow National Curriculum but also need to learn Arabic and Urdu language to read and understand Islamic literature and poetry. Urdu is a lingua franca of communities from the Indian sub-continent living in UK. Majority of young generation speaks Punjabi, Gujrati and Bengali at home but use Urdu within their communities. Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and one of the 15 official languages of India. The increasing number of TV channels and radio stations are unable to find presenters fluent in Urdu. TTA is unable to find enough potential teachers for Urdu because schools failed to teach community languages including Urdu.

Identity is crucial for mental, emotional and personality development. Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with Muslim teachers for the development of Islamic Identity as well as to raise standard of education to compete with the rest of the population. There are over 100 Muslim schools and only four are state funded. There are hundreds of state schools where Muslim pupils are in majority, in my opinion such schools may be designated as Muslim community schools under the management of Muslim educational Trusts. There are already state schools and LEAs under the management of private companies and my proposal is in accordance with the law of the land. Extra funding, specialist schools and city academies are not going to help Muslim children to raise their standard of education and to develop Islamic Identity.

On a positive and perhaps frivolous note, one could say that the best thing about British Muslims, particularly the South Asian minority groups, is that we are a highly visible community. As such, we provide a vibrant splash of colour against a rather dull grey canvas. The mere fact that our women will wear bright sequined green saris with pink ankle socks to TESCO, choose to wear spangle open toed sandals, possibly also with carefully chosen pink ankle socks, in the midst of winter is sufficient to qualify us as ‘colourful’ community. Their beautiful dark eyes further dramatised with kohl, hair oiled and brushed to a healthy shine, and woven into neat manageable plaits. The same care and attention to dress is evident as delicate, vulnerable old men in the purest white cotton tunics make their way, solemn and deep in thought, for community prayers on a Friday afternoon. The ‘sensible’ dress code of hush puppies with grey tweeds or woollens is rarely an option. This unwillingness to let the weather, or even possibly hostile curiosity from the host community dictate our dress code, or distract from our sense of who we are, is truly a sign of mature community strong and confident.

	One of the ways in which we have successfully influenced British outlook and caused them to loosen up, has perhaps been through our healthy disregard for inconsequential rules. As far as the ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’ rule goes, we’ve managed to pretty well trash that one...

As a minority group, I think we are quite charming, and its only a matter of time before the Brits feel the same way. They should be no less than elated that we chose to settle on their shores. We bring Eastern spirituality, considered wisdom, and a multitude of alternative ways of looking at the world - the placing of the family front and foremost, valuing our elderly, allowing our children the freedom to be children yet instilling strong family values and responsibilities.

Weekend family visits to the library, often spanning as many as three generations are always fascinating. Holding up the traffic during the Saturday shopping frenzy to allow elderly members to inch their way across the road is done in an unapologetic and admirably matter-of-fact way. Parents seem oblivious to the effect that their excited chit chat in the Urdu language section, or their children wreaking havoc in the young readers section might be having on the quiet solitude of the library. Bright grateful smiles are flashed at the counter on their way out, books are date stamped and all is forgiven.

However, it could be these very family ties that could serve to exacerbate an outsider’s feelings of exclusion, and give the impression of closed communities. I was genuinely surprised at a friend’s comments about family-centred communities being very difficult to break into, particularly as I felt that we truly excelled at hospitality. I guess this means that, as comforting as it is to wallow in the warmth of the family or a community environment, it is essential to allow some ventilation in order to maintain a free flow of ideas. Interaction and open communications with other communities gives us a mirror with which to view ourselves. No civilisation or community in history has excelled as a result of complacency to adapt positive and alternative ideas.

And while most of Europe is happy to believe that the Brits’ idea of a good time is falling down drunk at every given opportunity, we must admit that they are on the whole a remarkably tolerant race. This is particularly so given that they have to change from the mindset of a large colonial power to living as equals with a community they once subjugated.

One of the ways in which we have successfully influenced British outlook and caused them to loosen up, has perhaps been through our healthy disregard for inconsequential rules. As far as the ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’ rule goes, we’ve managed to pretty well trash that one, followed closely by the one requiring you to talk in English in the company of someone who can’t gup-shup in Punjabi or engage in a tete-a-tete in French.

So, in return for their recognition that East is indeed East, we present them the precious gift of colour in their daily lives; magical Alladins caves of luxurious fabrics, exotic grocery stores, mosques with bright green domes amongst rows of dreary terraces, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and bhangra.

For most Brits though, our most gratefully acknowledged contribution would inarguably be introduction to our mouthwatering alternatives to their chips n pies and cauliflower cheese. We give them naans, paratthas and puris, mangoes, pomegranates and papaya, masalla chai, sherbets and lassis, chutneys, curry sauces and pickles, herbs flavourings and spices, yadayadayada….

So of course they are grateful, why wouldn’t they be??