Assalamo Alaikom all,
A new year is upon us; 2025 was an eventful year, but
2026 shows no sign of calm. Both domestically, and
globally, we live in uncertain, volatile times, and we
must remain vigilant and alert. With that in mind, I
thought it would be worth thinking about the scourge of
Islamophobia in the NHS more deeply in this editorial.
Islamophobia is not a new phenomenon and it is certainly
not confined to the NHS alone. It rears its ugly head
across society, but the growing strength of the far right
and attempts to hide Islamophobia behind “Free Speech”
have made it more difficult to combat in recent months.
A colleague of ours, Dr Hina Shahid, wrote a powerful
piece in the BMJ a few months ago detailing how the
denial of Islamophobia is harming Muslim doctors in the
NHS and made mention of institutional Islamophobia
within the organisation that seeps down to hospitals and
health centres. Doctors feeling unsafe in their place of
work is deeply troubling, and some ironically face
hostility from the very people they are seeking to treat.
What makes the situation even more troubling is the
seeming lack of progress from the NHS or the
government on this issue. Our BIMA President, Dr
Sahira Dar, has written to the Secretary of State for
Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting on this. There are
reports that the government is in its final stages of
confirming a definition of anti-Muslim hatred, but the
fact that the definition makes no mention of
Islamophobia – a subtly different term – is concerning.
The government, and by contrast the NHS in its practice,
seem too scared of upsetting “free speech” campaigners
who are against the use of the term Islamophobia as they
think that any critique of Islam would not be allowed.
This is absolutely not the case, and whilst we want
people to be able to speak their mind and share opinions
freely, it must be done without causing offence and harm
to others.
Furthermore, there is also irony in that the UK, being so
dependent on international medical graduates, is
beginning to haemorrhage overseas trained doctors due to
the rising tide of hostility against migrants. Instead of
cherishing these doctors and treating them with the
respect they deserve, the NHS is giving them no choice
but to leave due to a lack of leadership on this issue;
another example of attitudes trickling down from the top.
Many migrant doctors are Muslim, but many others are
not, and regardless of the faith they practice, they should
be able to work in an environment which celebrates their
diversity and achievement, and allows them to thrive.
It is worth mentioning that 2025 witnessed the first
edition of the British Muslim Health Awards. I would
like to thank colleagues at BIMA for their efforts in
organising this fantastic event on the 13th of December
Birmingham. It was an opportunity to reflect on how far
BIMA has come since its humble beginnings in 2013 and
the work of many has not gone unnoticed. A lot of what
BIMA achieved in 2025 was mentioned in the Awards
too, as the organisation grew with over 1,000 new
members joining and the community impact work of
activities such as the Lifesavers campaign and advocacy
efforts increased too.
On a final note as we welcome 2026, the people of Gaza
still live precariously. As we think about the new goals
we set ourselves, the people of Gaza think purely about
survival. The October ceasefire has been broken
repeatedly and there are still barriers to the entry of
humanitarian relief and medical aid to the strip. Do
remember them in your prayers and continue to shine a
light on their struggles.
We ask Allah to grant us a prosperous 2026 and a year in
which we have much to celebrate.
Prof. Sharif Kaf Al-Ghazal
JBIMA, Editor in Chief
