As summer graces Farnham and schools close for the holidays, many young people look forward to rest. But for members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA), it’s an invitation to connect faith with action.

My work with AMYA often shows the opposite of what headlines suggest: youth aren’t adrift—they’re seeking purpose. This is supported by the Global Flourishing Study, a major survey led by Harvard, which found that declining religious engagement is strongly linked to a loss of fulfilment. The UK ranks 20th out of 22 nations studied, a stark sign that spiritual and communal voids leave us unhappier.

It’s precisely why AMYA youth across the UK, and in Farnham, are turning their summer into one of service: litter-picks, blood donation drives, care-home visits, refugee support and more. These are expressions of faith throughaction.

Our inspiration is two-fold. Firstly, the founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), taught: “The best among you is the one who is most beneficial to others.”

And, under the guidance of His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who said: “It is not enough to worship God in the mosque alone. A true Muslim is one who strives to ease the burdens of others and lives with a heart full of sympathy for mankind.”

Our community’s aim is to build bridges. The recent Life of Muhammad Conference in London convened scholars, young people, and leaders to reflect on the Prophet’s legacy of compassion, justice and dialogue. It reinforced that our faith is deeply relevant.

Here I also wish to mention that in recent days, conversations around religious attire have reignited across the country. Without delving into theological discussion, I wish to only pose the following for reflection: to remove the freedom of choice, under the guise of ‘liberation’ is paradoxical. How can one claim to empower people by denying them agency over their own choices?

Freedom of expression, religion and conscious are an integral British value, they are not merely a slogan to be dusted off in times of crisis. In the UK, we are so fortunate to live in a society that allows space for the open practice of religion. But that freedom should not make us complacent. When countries legislate against symbols of faith, be it minarets in Switzerland or the burqa in France, they do not protect society but fracture it by breeding resentment and alienation. If we are to call ourselves defenders of liberty, we must be willing to defend it for everyone.

To all my neighbours in Farnham, whether you wear a cross, a turban, a yarmulke or a veil, we are united not by what we wear, but in our shared belief that everyone deserves the right to express themselves without fear or coercion.

That is the Britain we must continue to build together and this is what the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community strives for.