Chaplains

A chaplain is a member of staff responsible for the supporting the religious welfare of the students and staff on campus. Their role is pastoral and to provide one-to-one guidance and counselling to the students and staff that request it regardless of their belief, and the majority of Higher Educational Institutions (Universities and specialist colleges) have at least one chaplain, usually from a Christian background.

The Muslim community, Muslim students included, have collectively come under immense suspicion following the tragic events of 7/7. This coupled with sensationalist media reporting and the malevolent attacks by some academics and think-tanks, have created a false perception of widespread extremist activity on UK university campuses and thus given rise to serious challenges for Muslim students. Islamic Societies continue to do a fantastic job in providing a multitude of services to Muslim students and represent their interests, despite the huge pressures they face.

As part of the Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) Strategy, aimed at preventing people treading the path of extremism in the first instance, the government have highlighted to role that Muslim chaplains play in public institutions (including in universities). Coupled with the Single Equalities Bill, this means that we can expect to see an increase in the number of Muslim chaplains recruited into universities and other public institutions.

FOSIS was consulted by the Department of Communities & Local Government, responsible for this part of the PVE Strategy, in early 2008 on the creation of a framework of recruiting Muslim chaplains.

FOSIS will continue to offer guidance, support and deliver a more hands on and active support to Islamic Societies, students unions, university management and chaplaincies in ensuring that Muslim activity on campus remains student-run and student-led; whilst developing ways in which the work of Islamic Societies and Muslim Chaplains works in harmony.

For further information, help or to express your concerns/recommendations, please email: chaplains@fosis.org.uk

In the meantime, in representing the interests of and empowering Islamic Societies and Muslim students, we highlight the following:

  1. Muslim activity on campuses, from the provision of welfare concerns such as prayer facilities to representing their interests to university management and their Students' Union, have been led by Islamic Societies for decades. The success of Islamic Societies continues to amplify, despite the increasing pressures they face.

  2. Islamic Societies operate, like other campus societies, autonomously and under the banner of their Students’ Unions. The activity of student societies should always be student-run and student-led with staff restricted to a supporting and advisory role.

  3. Chaplains are responsible for pastoral and individual one-to-one care and support. As members of student services, they provide are able to provide much needed support and advice to Islamic Societies and Muslim students.

  4. Muslim chaplains are a new phenomenon in HEI and we feel more needs to be done to educate them, as well as the providers of chaplaincy training, university authorities and student faith societies, on what their role entails.

  5. There have been and, in some cases, continue to be occasions where chaplains (both Muslim and non-Muslim) have acted in a way that undermines the work of student faith societies on campus. Although such incidents are small and not widespread, it is growing in number.

  6. Research and experience, including that of MI5, have shown that a true and established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalisation1.

  7. Islamic Societies play a key role in cultivating an established religious identity and should be empowered rather than undermined.

  8. The context and environment that prison (and other institutions’) chaplains work in is radically different from that of a University. Therefore, all activities relating to the recruitment and development of University chaplains should consider this critical difference. We are concerned that this has been fully understood by current stakeholders in the field of University chaplains.


chaplains@fosis.org.uk

Notes

1 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/aug/20/uksecurity.terrorism1
© Federation of Student Islamic Societies 1963-2012