One of Britain’s youngest Imams is on a mission to change the public’s perception of Islam at the start of Ramadan.

Sabah Ahmedi, 28, wants to tackle the misconceptions that have given rise to shocking levels of Islamophobia in the UK.

According to a recent study by the University of Birmingham, Muslims are the ‘second least liked’ group after Gypsy and Irish Travellers.

It is no wonder Mr Ahmedi, known as ‘The Young Imam’ on Instagram, is so keen to show what life is really like for British Muslims.

‘People feel that Islam is a religion of violence and terror and it’s not like that,’ the dad-of-two told Metro.co.uk.

‘Killing an innocent person is a sin, that’s in the Holy Quran. Another big misconception is that the headscarf or the hijab does not allow women to integrate in society.

‘Again, this is not true. My wife wears it and she is a secondary school teacher.

‘I work with people whose mothers are dentists, doctors or they work in the public sector, so that look has not stopped them from integrating.

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‘People feel like the niqab – the face veil – does not allow women to integrate in society.

‘But we have just seen everyone wearing face coverings because of Covid-19 and they got on with their lives without any problems.’

Mr Ahmedi said he recently met a young woman in a coffee shop who told him the reason why Muslims cannot integrate in society is because women wear the niqab.

When he pointed out she was wearing a face covering at the time, she hit back saying ‘maybe it is because the niqab is black’.

Mr Ahmedi added: ‘I pointed out she was wearing a black dress. I asked her, “Is that a reason why you cannot integrate?”

‘I then asked if she had ever personally met a Muslim woman who wears a niqab or a head scarf, but she said she hadn’t.

It also showed that more than one in four – and nearly half of Conservative and Leave voters – believe in conspiracies and false reports about so-called Sharia ‘no-go zones’ where white people are supposedly not welcome.

Lecturer Dr Stephen Jones said 21% of people wrongly believe Islam teaches its followers to read the Quran ‘totally literally’.

It compares with 7.5% for Judaism and the Hebrew Bible, 3.9% for Sikhism and the Guru Granth Sahib, and 4.8% for Christianity and the Bible.

This means Brits are almost three times more likely to be prejudiced against Islam than any other religion.

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These are just some of the myths Mr Ahmedi is trying to bust.

Alongside questions about fasting or holidays in the Islamic calendar, people from all walks of life also ask for advice on mental health, school struggles, and even domestic violence.

‘They say they have learnt so much about Islam from my reels on Instagram,’ the Imam said. ‘It has been so lovely to hear that.

‘People are looking for that quick, digestible information in the space of a minute.

‘My presence on social media shows what life is like as a Muslim on the ground – as an Imam, as a father, as a husband and a son.

‘That’s really important to see. Separately, I also open the doors to our mosque for people to come and see what it is, how the worship works.

‘Again, it is showing real-life perspective. If you want to hear from a Muslim voice or if you have questions about Islam, then you can reach out to me.

‘It’s about creating the safe space for people to ask questions which they might feel are not politically correct.’

When asked if he gets annoyed with basic questions about his religion that could be answered with a quick Google search, Mr Ahmedi said ‘that’s not how life works’.

‘We are all on the journey of learning and if we can’t help each other understand, we’re never going to live in a society of love, peace and harmony,’ he added.

In his role as press officer for the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden, south London, he also speaks to journalists on a day-to-day basis about religion.

Over Ramadan, Mr Ahmedi is welcoming people to break fast with worshippers in the evening.

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