What We Do

The Inclusive Mosque Initiative is an intersectional feminist mosque and registered charity dedicated to creating inclusive, safer places for marginalised Muslims. We are not a proselytising organisation and do not seek to convert non-Muslims to Islam. Our work is aimed primarily at Muslims and we welcome all people of any faith or none.

What we do:

• With funding from Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, we work in partnership with organisations and individuals to challenge Islamophobia in different sectors. We are currently working with organisations in the LGBT+ sector, the mental health sector and the domestic violence sector.
• We run workshops, conferences, and trainings on different elements of Islam and social justice including: feminism, sexuality, gender, resistance, joy and resilience, Islamophobia, secularism and religion in legislation.
• We run a monthly Qur’an discussion group aimed primarily at women, nonbinary and genderqueer people.
• We train imams to support Muslim communities with an intersectional feminist understanding of social justice. We work primarily with imams who are women, nonbinary or genderqueer.
• We provide vital community space for marginalised Muslims through social events.
• We provide much needed space for practicing Islam in an inclusive feminist environment without any segregation. Examples of this are our regular Jummah prayers (Friday prayers), both online and in a variety of hired accessible spaces.
• We hold Eid prayers, Ramadan events, including taraweh (extended prayers), and events to mark the Muslim calendar such as Muharram, Ashura, Arba’een etc.
• All our events are inclusive of LGBT+ Muslims and we encourage people to attend with their families including their chosen families.
• We prioritise making our events accessible to disabled people and highlighting disability justice in all our work.

IMI offers bespoke consultancy and trainings to individuals and organisations on Islam, feminism, and inclusion of Black and brown people and LGBT+ communities.

IMI also provides several services to the public, including Muslim marriage (nikkah) ceremonies for couples including interfaith couples and couples of all sexes and genders.

You don’t need an imam for your nikkah to be valid. The key criteria of a marriage in Islamic jurisprudence is primarily that:

• there is consent and free will between the individuals getting married, indicated by the couple agreeing upon a marriage contract;
• in the Sunni schools of jurisprudence it is also stipulated that the union be witnessed by at least two people.

Both of these criteria can be fulfilled by a civil marriage so a religious ceremony is not required if a civil ceremony will be done.

We currently have availability for up to two marriage ceremonies per month on a first come, first served basis. Our ceremonies are officiated by a female imam; we cannot currently provide or recommend male or nonbinary imams. You can contact us here if you’re interested in this service.

We do not have our own building, but we hold hybrid events in accessible venues, mostly in London and occasionally across the UK.

You can support our work by donating to our fundraiser and sharing it with friends, family, and on social media. You can also set up a one-off or monthly donation by visiting our Donate page.

IMI does not currently have the resources to provide counselling or mediation services. We’ve included some resources that might be of use below.

• Counselling and therapy resources for people of colour
• LGBT Foundation helpline
• FFLAG for friends and family of LGBT+ people
• The London Intercultural Couples Centre
• Muslim Youth Helpline
• Muslim Women’s Helpline
• Black, African and Asian Therapy Network
• Rainbow Migration for LGBT+ asylum seekers
• Gendered Intelligence trans-led organisation supporting transgender people