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Fact check: What is the current number of Muslim mayors in England as of 2025?
Executive Summary
As of the sources collected in mid-to-late 2025, there is no single, reliable official count of how many mayors in England identify as Muslim. Reporting highlights several named Muslim mayors and a notable cluster of Muslim women holding mayoral posts in 2025, but multiple pieces emphasize that official records do not track religion for mayoral officeholders, and estimates vary across outlets [1] [2]. The most defensible statement is that Muslim representation among England’s roughly several hundred mayors has increased visibly in 2025, but an exact number cannot be confirmed from the available reporting [1] [2].
1. Headlines naming individuals—What reporters are asserting and why it matters
Several news items published in 2025 list specific Muslim mayors by name, creating an impression of growing representation. Multiple outlets name Sherin Akthar, Safiya Saeed, Rukhsana Ismail, Munazza Faiz as Muslim women serving as mayors in 2025, and other reports identify Mohammed Asaduzzaman in Brighton and Hove and Ajit Atwal in Derby as Muslim mayors [2] [3]. These profiles matter because they foreground symbolic firsts and local diversity, but the pieces do not aim to compile an exhaustive national count; they focus on storytelling and local milestones rather than statistical completeness [2].
2. Examples named repeatedly—Concrete cases we can verify from reporting
Across the examined articles, a consistent set of names appears: the four Muslim women mayors highlighted in mid-2025, Mohammed Asaduzzaman in Brighton & Hove, Nash Ali in Camden, and Rakhia Ismail in Islington are repeatedly reported as serving in mayoral roles [2] [3] [4] [5]. These articles are dated between May and September 2025 and treat those mayoral appointments as established facts, demonstrating a measurable increase in visible Muslim officeholders at the local ceremonial and civic level. However, none of the articles claims to have cross-checked a national roster of mayoral identities by religion [5] [4] [2].
3. Why there is no definitive national tally—Official data and methodological gaps
Reporting points to a structural reason for the absence of a reliable number: British local government does not systematically record or publish the religious affiliation of mayors, and mayors in England include both directly elected metro mayors and largely ceremonial civic mayors, complicating comparisons [1]. One article explicitly notes that there are “several hundred mayors” in the UK and that religion is typically considered a private matter in UK politics, which means any national count would require self-identification or ad hoc journalistic compilation rather than an authoritative dataset [1].
4. Conflicting tones and possible agendas in coverage—Watch the framing
Coverage varies in tone: feature pieces celebrate diversity and “firsts” among Muslim women mayors, framing them as role models and markers of inclusion [2] [5]. Other articles take a markedly different stance by highlighting concerns or fears about rising Muslim political representation and, in one case, attempting to connect electoral gains to security anxieties [3]. These divergent framings suggest editorial agendas—one set emphasizing representation, the other amplifying worry—so readers should treat opinionated framing and selective examples with caution [3].
5. Timeline and recency—What dates tell us about the pattern in 2025
Most reporting on named Muslim mayoral appointments is concentrated in May through September 2025, indicating a cluster of local ceremonies, council selections, or elections during that period [3] [2] [4] [5]. Feature profiles published in June 2025 spotlight four Muslim women mayors for the 2025–2026 civic year, and follow-up local reporting in September 2025 records additional mayoral selections. The timing suggests a wave of civic-year appointments rather than a single nationwide electoral event, and thus any national count would need to account for staggered local calendar cycles [2] [4].
6. Bottom line and what a rigorous answer would require next
Based on the supplied reporting, the accurate public position is that there is no verified, comprehensive number of Muslim mayors in England as of 2025; named examples confirm increased visibility but not a complete tally [1] [2]. To produce a rigorous count would require a systematic audit: compiling a list of all mayoral offices, obtaining self-reported religious affiliation from each incumbent or council records where voluntarily provided, and clarifying which positions (ceremonial vs. directly elected metro mayors) are included. Until such an audit is published, statements claiming a precise national total are not supportable by the available sources [1] [2].