A combination of strong attachment to culture, long-held attitudes and lack of knowledge has meant Muslims have been less willing to engage in the discussion of sexual health and HIV. However, we should recognise that resistance to sexual health messages is not limited to Muslims; other faiths and cultures have, at one time or another, also resisted open discussion of sex and sex education.

Certainly, many in our community still put up barriers against sex education. There are strongly-held views about, for example, family planning and the use of contraceptives; but such views are equally an issue for many other cultural or religious groups.

The Muslim community in the UK is very diverse, so how each of the different sub-groups responds to particular sexual health initiative differs. My personal view is that the perception of ‘hard to reach’ is being fuelled by a combination of several factors. Key among these factors are:

• A suspicion by community leaders that sexual health education will promote promiscuity amongst believers;
• The consequence of projects being planned and delivered without input from community leaders or Muslim religious leaders;
• lack of consultation and involvement of community members, including women and young people;
• People in the community having the feeling that they are always being ‘talked down to, or looked down upon’;
• A failure by stakeholders to deal with sensitive cultural, religious or social issues with due care and understanding.

Many Muslim scholars, including myself, have for some time been engaged in the process of creating a pathway for sexual health work with the Muslim community. A key initiative in which I have recently been involved is the Muslim Faith Tool Kit. The first of its kind, the Muslim Tool Kit is designed to equip Imams and Muslim community leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to engage in advocacy, raising awareness of HIV & AIDS and reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination within their community or congregation.

Consisting of a resource manual, activities booklet, leaflet, model poster, a USB storage device, model certificates and other goodies, the toolkit is a useful resource for not only faith leaders but also health promotion professionals and other people who work with Muslim faith communities. The Tool Kit was developed in collaboration with the African HIV Policy Network as part of the National HIV Prevention Programme (NAHIP) for African communities. Distribution will target Muslim religious leaders throughout London and the rest of England.

For more information about the Muslim Faith Tool Kit, please contact African HIV Policy Network (AHPN) on 020 7017 8910.