In this chapter we present a short case study of one of the project partners, West Bowling Youth Initiative, examining its methodological approach including the development of home-grown workers from the Pakistani community. We analyse how workers and young people from the project, encountered what we call ‘near peers’ from other projects involved in the Touch Project, and show how learning across difference can mitigate against mistrust in communities.

Overview

The West Bowling Youth Initiative (WBYI) is a local, voluntary sector organisation working with young British Pakistani Muslim men in Bradford. It was established in 1991 to provide a space for young people to express themselves and encourage them to get involved in community life. West Bowling is an area close to Bradford city centre, within the wards of Little Horton, Odsal and Bowling. It suffers from high levels of poverty and deprivation; Little Horton has been ranked the 42nd poorest ward in England and Wales (IMD, 2000).

While this has been a priority of WBYI for some time, in the light of the Bradford riots and the London terrorist attacks of 2005, young Muslim Pakistani men have been the focus of local and national governments with a plethora of initiatives variously promoting cohesion between communities (Home Office, 2001), fostering a stronger sense of Britishness (see, for example, CRE, 2005), building active citizens (see, for example, Goldsmith, 2008), challenging extremism (DCLG, 2007) and encouraging a sense of ‘shared futures’ (COIC, 2007).

According to Gill (2008), WBYI offers a useful example of how to provide an inclusive space where young British Muslim Pakistani men feel safe to express their identities, faiths and beliefs without ridicule or discrimination, and in a context where project workers and volunteers have respect and understanding. From our observations it was striking how the project workers were able to effectively strike a balance between recognising the backgrounds from which the young people came, understanding the pressures and expectations of the community while not overemphasising the role of faith of those they engage, and building trust locally among other, non-Pakistani Muslim people.