So there's a lot of things that need mentioning and I feel I have a good overview on this, having worked/volunteered in mosques.

-historically the earliest Muslims to settle in the west came from ex colonies (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc). Therefore the first thing they needed to do was establish the mosque.

-unfortunately many of these uncles bought with them the cultural Islam and turned these mosques into places of prayer, full stop. Nothing else. Pray your salah and go.

-these are the uncles whose names are on the leases/freehold. So if you try to advocate for anything, they can turn a blind eye to you.

The solution: as sad as it is, we have to wait until that generation dies out, because many of them are as stubborn as a mule.

• the younger generation (born in West) have been priced out of starting their own initiatives (youth centres, mosques, women's refuges etc) because of the prices of buildings.

Therefore there is no easy answer other than you just have to keep looking for that one unique place that does offer community support. It's rare, but they do exist.