The United Kingdom-Indian Muslim Council (UK-IMC) is an advocacy organisation for Indian Muslims; those residing in the UK, and in India. The UK-IMC strives to empower and celebrate the contribution of British Muslims of Indian heritage. Through strategic advocacy, we represent the Indian Muslim diaspora in the United Kingdom to promote justice, and equality. Our focus is also on ensuring human rights including the constitutionally guaranteed rights of Muslims and other minority groups.

We seek to work closely with the UK and Indian governments to ensure that our ongoing commitment to protecting the universality of human rights as expressed in international law. This includes protecting our rights to freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of assembly and association, and freedom of religion or belief and our commitment to social inclusion and ensuring equal human rights for socio-economically vulnerable religious groups and caste oppressed Indians.

Formation of UK-IMC

As a UK-based organisation established in 2022, the UK-IMC is formed by a handful of individuals and Muslim organisations of Indian heritage in the UK to engage with civil society and interfaith groups, government bodies and law enforcement agencies in an ongoing meaningful dialogue and advocacy to effectively safeguard social cohesion and challenge narratives that target disadvantaged groups that seek to divide us and foster disharmony.

The most recent Home Office report into hate crime in England and Wales showed Muslims to be the most targeted group when it comes to religious hate (despite only representing 6.5% of the UK population, according to 2021 census data). With 3,459 incidents recorded as religious hate crimes against Muslims in 2021-22 this was a 42% increase on the previous year.

British Indian Muslims however suffer even more disproportionately. Not only are they subjected Islamophobic abuse, but also racial prejudice, and furthermore they are also targets of nationalist extremism from abroad, and perpetrated in the UK. Unfortunately such nationalist views have become mainstream and specifically targeted minority groups in India that now reside in the UK, such as Christians, Dalits, and Muslims.

The UK-IMC seeks to effectively address these threats posed by forces of hate and divisiveness to our social cohesion, multicultural ethos and ensure that the voice of Indian Muslims in the UK is heard.

Towards this end, UK-IMC seeks to equip and empower British Indian Muslims with the skills, resources and materials necessary for them to play a more active role in society as well as the political sphere.