For South Asian Heritage Month (from 18 July to 17 August 2025), and in keeping with this year’s theme ‘Roots to Routes’, the West Midlands Racial Justice Initiative shares a powerful reflection by Dr Karamat Iqbal on racism, faith, and leadership in the Church.
Dr Karamat Iqbal has a background in race equality and education, providing consultancy support to national organisations. Recently he supported the racial justice work of the Church of England in the West Midlands and at the national level. Karamat’s current ministry includes lay leadership at Riverside Church, Birmingham, intercultural consultancy and hospital chaplaincy.
What would it take to uproot racism from the Church of England’s leadership — and plant something new that reflects the journeys and identities of South Asian communities today?
Racism is a sin. This fact has been acknowledged, at least on paper, but much more needs to happen in order to eradicate it from all the systems and structures. There is much education and training need across our nation’s churches and their congregations.
Ethnic diversity is not an adjective or something ‘nice to have’ but a strategy. It is necessary for us to recognise and appreciate that we are members of a multicultural worldwide community. It is important to create the necessary ethos in our churches that reflects the journeys and identities of South Asian communities today.
Churches should actively seek out partnerships and solidarities in the wider community. There are communities, including those from other faith backgrounds who suffer from racism and hostility in society. The Christian church should fulfil our Biblical calling and utilise our power and privilege to speak up against racial injustice in our communities and societal structures and systems.
How do colonial legacies continue to shape the Church’s ‘routes’ — in its worship, authority, and witness — and what needs to be unlearned?
There needs to be an acceptance that we as a church are a product of our society’s colonial past. There are many in our congregations and leadership who are the product of a colonial white supremacist and majoritarian education system.
It is essential for us to educate our communities so that they are able to appreciate our colonial heritage and the concept ‘we are here because you were there’; in other words we have a large Asian community as well as other communities because hundreds of years ago our ancestors went out to India and other parts of the world[1].
Of course, some of our colonial past was positive in the legacy that it left. For example, it is well known that our Christian ancestors made a massive contribution, in the 1800s, in establishing education in Kashmir[2] and especially working to emancipate women[3] in that part of the world.
What would a truly inclusive Church look like if it honoured the full ‘roots and routes’ of South Asian people — in story, structure, and spiritual leadership?
It is necessary to remember that the world portrayed in the Old and New Testament is multicultural and multilingual and God created all humankind in His image. This has been reinforced in Revelation:
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
We have an opportunity, in our world, to respond to our multicultural communities. Many of our churches are already accepting the challenge of ‘loving our neighbour’, ‘welcoming the stranger’ and capacity building in our communities through projects such as Near Neighbours, The Feast[4] and Thrive Together[5]. Of course, much more needs to be done to help the Church and our congregations to reflect our diverse society, for us to be the peacemakers in a divided world and express the love of Christ in our racially hostile society.
References:
[1] https://www.bvsc.org/blog/we-are-here-because-you-were-there
[3]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372761319_BENEFACTION_OF_CHRISTIAN_MISSIONARY_FOR_THE_EMANCIPATION_OF_KASHMIRI_MUSLIM_WOMEN
[5] https://thrivetogetherbham.org/about
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