hyphen
Thursday July 25, 2024
By Aisha Rimi
Muslim outdoor groups across the UK are claiming their place in the countryside
Walking towards The Copper Horse statue in Windsor Great Park. Photography for Hyphen by Ameena Rojee
At 10am on a sweltering Sunday in June, I met up with 40 people at Virginia Water railway station. Our mission: to complete a nine-mile hike through picturesque Surrey villages and Windsor Great Park, with Windsor Castle our final destination.
Brought together by the Leeds-based walking group Somali Hikers, some people came on their own while others brought a friend or two. A few had coordinated with one another via WhatsApp and shared lifts from London, Luton and the Midlands.
When the last participants arrived, group leader Mukhtar Adam briefed us on the route, what to expect on our journey and the safety precautions we needed to take. A few nervous chuckles notwithstanding, everyone seemed ready for whatever the next five or six hours had in store.
Setting off, I couldn’t help but notice that many of the walkers were women. Speaking to several of them, I learned that some had previous hiking experience, but the majority were first-timers. What they all shared was a hunger for a new challenge and a desire to make new friends.
Adam launched Somali Hikers in August 2023, taking 17 people to the White Cliffs of Dover. In less than a year, word of the organisation has spread and waiting lists for excursions have grown. Now, Adam organises two trips a month, leading treks through the Peak District, across the Shropshire Hills and along the Seven Sisters Cliffs in Sussex. In August, he will take a group to Mount Snowdon in north Wales.
Adam’s love of hiking began while he was at university in Leeds, with national parks including the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District on his doorstep. When he later moved to London, he continued to hike regularly but found it difficult to fit in with most organised groups.
Somali Hikers founder Mukhtar Adam chats with the group while taking a rest break. Photography for Hyphen by Ameena Rojee
“I used to hike with groups made up of predominantly white people,” said Adam. “But it’s not the same as hiking with your own people. The network, the social connections and the banter are all completely different. There’s also the religious aspect as well — those other groups don’t accommodate prayer times.”
Adam took part in a couple of hikes with another Muslim group, but found he was one of the few Black participants. Since starting Somali Hikers, he has discovered that other people had similar problems. As we continued along our route, I saw very few other Black people and barely any visible Muslims.
Research carried out by the Campaign to Protect Rural England in 2021 found that ethnic minorities in the UK tend to have far less access to green space and spend less time in the countryside than their white peers. A 2020 report by the Ramblers walking charity also found that only 1% of visitors to national parks are from BAME backgrounds.
Somali Hikers has quickly developed into a close-knit community, but Adam is keen to make getting out in nature accessible for anyone who wants to join. After every excursion, his wife posts photographs and videos on Instagram and TikTok, which often lead to inquiries from friends and followers.
A 2020 report by the Ramblers charity found only 1% of visitors to national parks are from BAME backgrounds. Photography for Hyphen by Ameena Rojee
“A lot of UK Somalis have grown up in inner cities, like London and Birmingham, and have never really been to the English countryside,” Adam said. “A lot of young Somali professionals don’t have that escape from the hustle and bustle of life, which is what a lot of our participants are yearning for. They also want to gain the health benefits and networking opportunities from hiking as well. It’s not just a physical challenge, but also a social event too.”
The social benefit of the group was clear as we made our way through Windsor Great Park. People who arrived with friends had separated and formed new bonds with other hikers.
Walking through a stretch of sky-high trees, heading toward the Obelisk pond near the town of Egham, many of us marvelled at the scenery. Hodan Jama, 32, a special educational needs teacher from London, told me it reminded her of her childhood in Sweden.
The group takes a break before starting the Long Walk, the final part of the hike, towards Windsor Castle. Photography for Hyphen by Ameena Rojee
“My backyard was very much like this — green, beautiful nature and animals,” she said. “Now, I have to go and find a park. But you don’t always get the tranquillity and serenity that you can get when being outdoors like this.”
For Saudi Ali, 34, a teacher and mother of two from Hillingdon, west London, finding the time to get out and walk has often proved difficult. Then she discovered Somali Hikers on Instagram.
“I grew up in west London and there just aren’t as many opportunities to be active,” she said. “This is a great way for me to get out, interact with my community and maybe even make new friends. I’d definitely consider doing something like this with my children.”
Somali Hikers is just one of a growing number of organisations focused on opening up the great outdoors for UK Muslims, including The Wanderlust Women and Muslim Hikers.
Bea Young, 28, from Cardiff, launched Muslimah Outdoors in 2022, three months after she converted to Islam. Drawing on her longstanding love of walking and nature, she aims to create more opportunities for Muslim women to get together that are not based around religious gatherings and eating out.
Teacher and mother of two Saudi Ali from London discovered Somali Hikers via Instagram. Photography for Hyphen by Ameena Rojee
To make the group as accessible as possible, Young tries to keep the activities local and overheads low. Participants just contribute to petrol costs to get to hiking destinations and, for group retreats, they pay only for accommodation. In two years, Muslimah Outdoors’ membership has grown from 10 women to 250.
“I didn’t understand why we couldn’t have something local, affordable and completely accessible to the women based here,” Young told me. “Now, we’ve made it clear that, as Muslim women, we belong out on the hills and mountains just like everyone else.”
Back in Surrey, as we neared the end of our 20,000-step journey, the turrets of Windsor Castle loomed into view. Reaching the Long Walk, which leads to the imposing building, we took a break to pray and catch our breath. Aside from a few moans about sore feet and a couple of walkers needing blister plasters, there was a genuine feeling of pride that we had all managed to push through the heat and make it to our destination.
As we recovered in a nearby coffee shop, I heard people who started the day as strangers arranging to share lifts back to the station and helping each other figure out the best routes home. Adam told me that, one day before, the group had hosted an unexpected family reunion. A set of cousins who had not seen each other in five years all signed up to walk the same route as we had, none aware that the others would be there.
“I love what we’ve created here,” Adam said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie, a consistent theme where a lot of people initially come for just the hiking, but they stay for the energy, the community and the friendships. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
‘People initially come for the hiking, but they stay for the energy, the community and the friendships,’ says Mukhtar Adam. Photography for Hyphen by Ameena Rojee