Prince William, heir to the British throne and now Prince of Wales, is best known for his royal duties, international diplomacy, conservation and social work. But his views on Islam and Muslim communities also merit attention internationally.
His stand against anti-Muslim hatred, religious intolerance and terrorist attacks, his expressions of solidarity with Muslim communities and his remarks on people of different faiths living together point to a humane and pluralist outlook.
Several themes stand out in William’s words and actions: refusing to equate Islam with terrorism, recognising Muslims’ religious identity and dignity, religious freedom, compassion, mutual respect and social unity among people of different faiths.
Speaking up for Islam at the Christchurch mosque
Prince William’s most significant remarks on Islam and Muslims came on 26 April 2019, when he visited Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. On 15 March that year, 51 worshippers were killed in terrorist attacks there and at Linwood mosque. The attacks were racist, Islamophobic terrorism aimed at the Muslim community.
William went to show solidarity with the families of the dead, the injured, the worshippers who survived and the local Muslim community. He opened his speech with the Arabic greeting “Assalamu alaikum”.
He said a mosque is a place of worship, faith and friendship, a refuge for community and family. The terrorist had tried to sow hatred and division in a place that stands for unity and kindness, but he had failed.
The most important part of his speech was his statement that the Muslim community had shown the world the true face of Islam, as a religion of peace and understanding.
He said that when a community becomes the target of hatred and violence, ordinary religious practices such as wearing the hijab or the call to prayer can bring a sense of safety and reassurance to frightened people.
He noted that an attack meant to divide people against Muslims had instead brought people of other communities closer to their Muslim friends.
The significance of the speech went beyond sympathy for the Muslims who were killed. He clearly recognised Muslims’ religious identity and took a stand against the tendency to equate Islam with violence.
He also said there was much to learn from the way Muslim families and people of different faiths and backgrounds had helped one another and stood together in a crisis.
One feature of the speech stands out. He did not present Muslims only as victims of a terrorist attack, but as a positive example of religious values, family solidarity, humanity and mutual help.
Towards the end, he said people must stand together against extremism in all its forms. In his view, Christchurch had shown that even when a global ideology of hatred tries to divide people, the power of love and humanity can win in the end.
The full speech is kept on the British royal family’s official website. British broadcaster ITV and the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel also gave the visit prominent coverage.
Badshahi Mosque in Pakistan: an interest in Muslim heritage
Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales, toured Pakistan from 14 to 18 October 2019. The royal visit was an important diplomatic effort to highlight the UK’s historic ties with Pakistan, its cultural diversity and the country today.
On 17 October they visited Lahore’s historic Badshahi Mosque. Built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, it is one of the most important works of Islamic architecture in the subcontinent.
They were welcomed by historian and author Fakir Syed Aijazuddin and the mosque’s khatib, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, who told the couple about the mosque’s history, architecture and religious importance.
Representatives of different communities joined them at the mosque for an interfaith discussion. The imam recited several verses of the Quran and explained their meaning in English.
The couple spoke of being struck by the scale of the mosque’s architecture and the calm of the place. The visit introduced them to Muslim heritage and Mughal architecture and gave them a chance to meet representatives of different religious communities.
William’s father, Charles, visited the same mosque in 2006, and his late mother, Princess Diana, in 1996. Talking to the khatib, William mentioned his family’s long connection with the mosque.
Prince William’s visit to Al-Aqsa
On 28 June 2018, Prince William visited the compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. The visit, on the last day of his Middle East tour, drew wide international coverage. It was the first official visit to the site by a member of the British royal family since 1948.
He was welcomed at the compound by Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, director of the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem, along with officials of the Jordanian-run religious trust. A team of Israeli security personnel was responsible for his security.
Prince William visited Al-Aqsa Mosque and the golden-domed Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra) in the compound. Known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, the compound is Islam’s third holiest site.
His 2018 visit was therefore not just a royal visit; it was also seen as an important diplomatic journey for the British royal family amid the sensitive politics of the Middle East.
Muslims’ religious identity and social dignity
An important aspect of William’s Christchurch speech is that he did not hide Muslims’ religious identity or confine them to a civic identity alone.
He mentioned the importance of Muslim religious practice, the hijab and the call to prayer. In doing so, he suggested that expressing religious identity is a normal and dignified part of any society, and that when a community is attacked, its religious identity should be protected rather than erased.
That matters against the background of continuing debate in Europe about Muslim immigrants and minorities. When countries argue over the hijab, mosques, religious education and the right to show one’s faith in public, William’s words carry a positive message for religious freedom.
His remarks cannot, however, be read as personal support for every British policy on immigration, religious dress or religious education. He was speaking mainly about the safety, dignity and religious freedom of a community under attack.
Telling Islamophobia apart from extremism
Another important aspect of William’s words is that while taking a stand against religious extremism, he also rejected the tendency to view Muslims as a whole with suspicion.
In his Christchurch speech he described the terrorist attack as the product of a twisted ideology. He also referred to the attack on a church in Charleston in the United States, the killings at a Pittsburgh synagogue, the attack in Finsbury Park in London and terrorist violence in Sri Lanka.
In his view, violent extremism is not the problem of any one religion. Hatred and extreme ideology lie behind violence against people of many religious and social identities.
This position matters in countering religious terrorism, because blaming a whole religious community for the faith of an offender deepens social division and gives extremists the opening they want.
William therefore stressed love, social solidarity and mutual help as the answer to hatred.
The royal family’s wider policy of religious coexistence
To understand William’s outlook, the constitutional and social role of the British royal family also has to be considered. The British monarch is also Supreme Governor of the Church of England. But in modern, multi-faith Britain, the royal family’s role is not only to uphold Christian tradition; keeping goodwill and social cohesion among people of different faiths matters too.
Britain’s Muslim population plays an important part in the country’s social, economic, educational and cultural life. Royal family members’ contact with Muslim communities, mosque visits and attendance at religious festivals therefore carry political and social weight.
William’s Christchurch visit and his visit to the Badshahi Mosque in Pakistan matter in that wider context. His father’s long-running interfaith dialogue work cannot, however, be treated as William’s own philosophical project.
A stand against Islamophobia
A look at Prince William’s public words and actions on Islam shows that he has given weight to respect for Muslims, the protection of religious identity, social coexistence and opposition to Islamophobia.
His speech at Al Noor mosque in Christchurch was especially significant. He did not only mourn the Muslims who were killed; he praised the Muslim community’s humanity, family solidarity and religious values, and said plainly that the community had shown the world Islam’s face of peace and understanding.
His visit to Pakistan’s Badshahi Mosque is an important example of his engagement with Muslim heritage and Islamic architecture. His public position rests mainly on humanity, religious freedom, mutual respect and interfaith harmony.
As a central figure in the future leadership of the British monarchy, his position carries weight, because in a multi-faith, multicultural society the acceptance of state and social leadership depends largely on recognising the dignity of people of other faiths and cultures.
The core lesson of William’s words is that society should move forward not through division over religious identity but through mutual respect and human solidarity. At the least, that outlook is clearly reflected in his public position on Islam and Muslim communities.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report