How ’sexist’ was the East London Mosque’s male-only charity run?

Critics have hit out at British media coverage for labelling an East London Mosque Trust male-only charity run as “misogynistic”, adding that single-sex events were lawful and common among various faith groups, and that the issue had been blown out of proportion.

The Muslim Charity Run, which was held on Sunday in Victoria Park in London’s Tower Hamlets, was “open to men, boys of all ages and girls under 12, but everyone is welcome at the park to cheer on the runners”, according to the organisation’s website.

The event, previously known as ‘Run 4 Your Mosque’, was the 12th race organised by the charity.

The apparent exclusion of women has divided opinion online and sparked a barrage of debate, with major news outlets covering the issue extensively and critically, amid condemnations of the mosque’s actions from Communities Secretary Steven Reed, who said he was “horrified and appalled”.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is assessing whether the East London Mosque Trust breached the Equality Act 2010 and is considering whether it should intervene.

‘British law, not Sharia law’

Right-wing news outlet GB News said that it was a “bogus inclusive family event”, with presenter Martin Daubney stating: “Muslim organisers of this have a problem with women going for a jog?”, asking why Muslims were “afraid, ashamed or clamping down on the participation of women in sports”.

“This is British law, not Sharia law,” he added, echoing similar comments on social media.

Fahima Mahomed, a London-based media commentator, told The New Arab that she had felt much of the narrative around the issue had been sensationalised rather than curious, with many headlines jumping straight to moral outrage instead of trying to understand why organisers had structured the event in such a way.

“This whole situation says less about Muslims and more about how Britain still struggles to handle cultural difference with nuance,” she said.

She added that many of the news headlines covering the topic were “feeding into this tired narrative that Muslims are somehow against equality or modernity, when in fact, this community was just exercising a right that every other religious group quietly enjoys”.

According to Mahomed, single-sex spaces and events are common across religious communities, and never usually spark outrage.

“Orthodox Jewish communities separate genders for prayer, Christian groups host women’s retreats and men’s fellowships, and even secular events like Race for Life were women-only for years,” she said, adding that such events provided spaces for comfort, modesty, or simply solidarity.

She said that for women in particular, separate events had provided a space where they can feel safe, relaxed, and respected, adding that “it’s not exclusion, it’s just a different form of inclusion”.

Some Muslim women, however, have expressed on social media that they would like to see more women-only events, particularly sporting ones, within the local community.

Others have pointed out that the East London Mosque offers women-only prayer halls, counselling services, classes, and welfare projects specifically for women. The mosque also offers health clinics, domestic abuse support, and educational courses.

Commenting on the issue, London-based genocide researcher Arnesa Abuljusmic-Kustura, wrote on X: “The worst part about all of this is that any criticism I do about the Muslim community in the UK is then immediately utilised by the rabidly hateful alt-right/fascists/racists etc. Which is exactly why so many women in this community stay quiet and never complain about any of it.”

‘Obsessed with Muslims’

Author and philosophy lecturer Adrian Hilton also weighed in on the topic, writing on X: “…The East London Mosque is operating entirely within the law, which entertains sex-segregation for educational, religious and charitable purposes. If the Minister is really ‘horrified and appalled’ that women are banned from this event, he needs to change the law.”

Social media users also commented on the coverage, with one person saying: “It’s a private charity event…they have all the right to decide age limits for sports events. Both boys and girls participated, what’s the problem? GB News is obsessed with Muslims.”

Speaking to The New Arab, Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman said: “Providing inclusive and accessible leisure and sport in Tower Hamlets and tackling barriers to women’s health and fitness, has been one of my top priorities, which is why I brought our leisure centres back into public hands to make them more affordable and why I introduced free swimming lessons for all women and girls in the borough, as well as men over the age of 55, to tackle health inequalities.”

“We attended the event, which was also attended by the Labour Mayor and Deputy Mayor from the previous administration, to support charitable fundraising, and it was assumed women’s races were being held,” he said.

“The Council contacted East London Mosque to seek urgent clarification and the Mosque have said in their statement that women’s races were not held at this event because of low take up but that they will organise women’s races going forward and work to increase women’s participation,” he added.

Hostility towards Muslims, not genuine concern for equality 

The Muslim Women’s Network UK issued a statement saying that they believe that while the event was likely lawful, “event organisers could have taken practical steps to accommodate women and girls without compromising religious beliefs. For example, women could have participated by starting their run at a different time or in separate groups”.

The statement added: “We are also concerned about the disproportionate media attention given to the event, which suggests that the reaction reflects a broader hostility towards Muslims rather than genuine concern for women’s equality”.

“The level of scrutiny in this case appears to have less to do with advancing equality for Muslim women and more to do with an opportunity to be negative about Muslims. If the concern for women’s rights were genuine, there would be equal focus on the widespread anti-Muslim abuse that Muslim women endure in today’s hostile environment,” Baroness Shaista Gohir, a British women’s rights campaigner, said.

In a statement to reporters, the East London Mosque Trust charity said it had “a long-standing commitment to supporting women and girls”, and encouraged “women to take part in sporting activities”, noting that its Maryam Centre was one of the first UK purpose-built facilities for women.