Activities
Since the project started in 2021, the team’s main activities have been to collect data from different participants using different research methods.
We have also organised and participated in activities where we have shared emerging themes from the research with different audiences.
Data collection
We interviewed people involved in environmental governance and service delivery in Manchester to develop an understanding of the policy and socio-cultural context in which we are researching with immigrant participants.
Most of these people have a role in local government (as officers and councillors) and others are involved in non-governmental organisations and grassroots community groups.
We conducted a detailed survey to collect data on Manchester residents’ environmental concerns about global and local environmental issues, on the extent to which they engage in household practices that are typically considered to be environmentally friendly, and where they get trusted information about environmental issues.
We also gathered socio-demographic data about survey respondents (e.g., gender, income, age, length of time living in the UK). We have a sample size of 500 survey participants, with approximately 200 Pakistani immigrants, 200 Somali immigrants, and 100 who were born in the UK.
Most of the data collected was in the wards within the city of Manchester with the largest Pakistani and Somali populations (such as Moss Side, Rusholme and Longsight). We recruited, via snowball sampling, a total of 530 respondents for the surveys.
After the survey stage of the research was complete, we started on follow-up interviews with Somali and Pakistani-origin participants to discuss in greater depth some of the key issues we asked about in the survey.
The interviews were conducted between 2022 and 2023.
Interviews: We conducted a total of 59 interviews with Pakistani and Somali participants who we recruited via snowball sampling method.
In July 2024 and January 2025, we organised community panels with members of our research advisory boards to review and reflect on our project’s findings, ensuring our work is informed by their insights.
Webinars, talks and community events
Researchers involved in the TIES Project were invited to attend the event ‘Championing Muslim communities in the climate conversation: COP29 and environmental action’ in the Houses of Parliament on 29 October 2024.
The event was jointly organised by Afzal Khan (MP for Manchester Rusholme), Muslim Aid and Friends of the Earth. It brought together climate activists, advocacy groups, and leaders from different Muslim communities across Britain to celebrate the work already being done in response to the climate crisis - locally and globally – and to discuss how Muslim communities in the UK can participate more effectively in the climate conversation.
Zarina Ahmad and Sherilyn MacGregor organised the highly successful event ‘Mangoes, meat and motors: confronting the climate on Manchester’s Curry Mile’ as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science.
The purpose of the event held at the Whitworth Art Gallery on Tuesday, 8 November 2022 was to have a community-facing, friendly and generative discussion about how to make the Curry Mile a place that serves people and the environment better.
About 50 people attended, joining first to view an exhibition of 24 photos submitted by local people over food and drink.
After the exhibition came some introductory remarks by Dr Safina Islam (Head of the AIURRRC) and Zahid Hussain (writer and Manchester City Councillor for Levenshulme).
Attendees participated in a ‘World Café’ facilitated by Zarina, guided by the question: how does life, work and play on the Curry Mile help and/or hurt the environment? From the answers generated by the small group discussion, the team will produce a short report that combines TIES research with insights and photos from a diversity of local people.
In addition to residents, the event was attended by businesspeople, grassroots activists, and ten councillors and officers of MCC.
The photos were scored by three independent judges, Jenna Ashton, Zahid Hussain and Qaisra Shahraz MBE.
The event received funding from the UoM ESRC Festival team and the SCI. Donations were received from two long-established businesses on the Curry Mile: £300 worth of gift vouchers as prizes for the top three photos from My Lahore and of enough assorted Mithai to feed tables from Sanam Restaurant and Sweet Centre.
On Monday, 27 September 2021 we held an online webinar in collaboration with the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and the Muslims of Britain Research Network (MBRN).
Led by Nafhesa Ali, the webinar aimed to bring together a unique mix of voices and perspectives to showcase and discuss the diverse ways in which British Muslims engage with, and understand, environmental sustainability.
We started from the understanding that Muslims in the United Kingdom (UK) have faced both socio-economic and socio-cultural marginalisation due to ethno-religious identities and migratory backgrounds.
Alongside experiences of structural inequality, British Muslim experiences are framed by religious practices and beliefs, and strong ethno-religious community ties that tend to homogenise the population.
The webinar enabled interactive discussions for innovative ways in which social inclusion and environmental sustainability can co-exist.
Academics, researchers, authors, activists, organisations, religious leaders, and many others came together to explore practical ways in which, often marginalised, Muslim voices can be included in wider debates around the environment, climate change, and the green policy agenda. The following themes emerged from the dialogue.
- There are many ways in which Muslims engage in positive environmental practices.
- Faith in Islam plays a key role in motivating Muslims to care for the environment in their practices, behaviours, and lifestyles.
- More attention is needed to how Muslims can meaningfully and purposefully be engaged in wider debates around issues of sustainability, inclusion, and the implementation and design of policy.
Guest speakers included:
- Zara Mohammed, Secretary-General, Muslim Council of Britain (MCB);
- Dr. Safina Islam, Head of the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre (AIURC);
- Rianne C. ten Veen, Environmental Author of 199 Ways to Please God;
- Shafali Kapoor, Head of Neighbourhoods, Manchester City Council (MCC);
- Alessandra Palange, Muslims Declare;
- Dr. Lutfi Radwan, Willowbrook Farm, Oxford;
- Kamran Shezad, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES).
This event took place in March 2021.
Sherilyn MacGregor gave a talk about the TIES research at a policy insight workshop at the People’s History Museum hosted by the British Academy on Friday, September 29 2023.
Two members of the TIES project team were invited to participate in events organised by MACFEST (Muslim Arts and Culture Festival).
Dr Saima Ansari was a panellist at the “Universities Global Event on Sustainability and Environment,” an international forum that brings together leading academic institutions worldwide to address critical issues related to sustainability and environmental conservation. She appeared alongside Dr Faiza Abbasi from Aligarh University in India, Professor James Trevelyan, Emeritus Professor at the Engineering School of The University of Western Australia, and Professor Odeh Al-Jayyousi, Head of Innovation and Technology Management at Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain.
It was hosted by Dr Karin Vogt, Professor of Teaching English as a Foreign Language and Head of Professional School at the University of Education in Heidelberg, Germany.
The event aimed to foster collaboration, showcase innovative research, and develop actionable strategies to tackle pressing environmental challenges.
Professor Sherilyn MacGregor also hosted a webinar with Dr Iyad Abumoghli, Founder and Director the Faith for Earth Coalition of the United Nations Environment Program. The main topic of discussion was Al-Mizan: A Covenant for the Earth, which is a landmark document adopted by the UN Environment Assembly in 2024.
Information about MACFEST 2025 can be found on the MACFEST website.