Punjabi Muslim Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

Most Punjabi Muslims in Birmingham have roots in the Punjab province of Pakistan, from cities such as Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Jhelum and the villages around them. Many families came in the 1950s and 1960s to work in the city's industries, and others have followed.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 4,576 residents whose main language is Punjabi gave their religion as Muslim. Many Punjabi Muslims give Urdu or English as their main language.

Working for Birmingham

Punjabi Muslims work as doctors, pharmacists, teachers, lawyers, accountants, engineers, taxi drivers and business owners, and Punjabi Muslim-owned restaurants, shops, wholesalers and property firms employ thousands of people across the city.

Every community that has settled in Birmingham has helped to shape it. Newcomers have filled gaps in the workforce, opened shops and restaurants, and raised children who have gone on to become the city's doctors, teachers, engineers and entrepreneurs. The Punjabi Muslim community is part of that tradition of hard work and ambition, and of the city's own motto: Forward.

Culture and community life

Ramadan and Eid are the highlights of the year, and mosques are at the heart of community life. Punjabi poetry, including the verses of Bulleh Shah and Waris Shah, is deeply loved, and Punjabi food, from saag to kebabs, is shared at every celebration. Cricket is a passion.

In a city where scores of languages are spoken, the Punjabi Muslim community adds another voice to the conversation. Its members, old and new, are helping to make Birmingham the confident, outward-looking city it wants to be.