The British Council is launching a media guide to the Muslim community next week, to be used as a reference source and training tool for young journalists.
Put together by writer Ehsan Masood, British Muslims: Media Guide is being will be published by Counterpoint, the British Council's think-tank on cultural relations.
It will aim to address issues such as: how British Muslims feel they are represented by mainstream UK media; how they interact with British society in the areas of education, politics and culture; how have they been affected by recent terrorist attacks in London, New York and beyond.
The organisation says it is a "clear, dispassionate explanation of who British Muslims are, what they care about and what they do". It is co-published with the Association of Muslim Social Scientists and features a directory of contacts in Muslim organisations.
"It is published in the belief that a detailed understanding of communities within British society gives us a fuller and more accurate picture of Britain, its faiths and cultures," says the publisher.
The British Council is the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.
London based Ehsan Masood has a fortnightly column on the online magazine opendemocracy.net and also writes for Nature, New Scientist and Prospect magazines.
His latest books are Dry: Life Without Water (Harvard University Press 2006) and How Do You Know: Reading Ziauddin Sardar on Islam, Science and Cultural Relations (Pluto Press 2006). He is also the author of Trust Me I'm British: Britain and its Muslim Audiences in the Post 9/11 World, published again by the British Council.
An event to launch the book will be held next week at the London Mayor's office.
Media contact: Aislinn Casey on 020 7389 4872 or e-mail aislinn.casey@britishcouncil.org.
