Mosques and religious schools must embrace change and move forward by giving women and young people a greater say and becoming part of wider society, said representatives of two national Islamic organisations.

Farooq Murad, of the Muslim Council of Britain, and Maulana Raza, chairman of the Mosques, Imams National Advisory Board, were among up to 100 people in Bradford today at the unveiling of Bradford Council for Mosques’ radical report, A Call For Engagement.

The 22-page document, compiled after extensive consultations in Bradford and Keighley with mosques, imams, women, young people, teachers and professionals, calls for new approaches in Bradford’s 85 mosques and religious schools including greater use of English.

Mr Murad said: “Reports tend to be about ticking boxes; they end up on shelves collecting dust. We cannot afford for this report to be just another report.

“What we need is leadership and will. This means change. Change is a difficult process. But you must embrace change to move forward.

“This could be a milestone, not only in Bradford but across the country.

“I very much hope that the recommendations in respect of the increased level of participation of our young people and women are taken as a priority.”

Sellina Ullah, assistant director of Bradford Council’s Safer and Stronger Communities programme, said: “The recommendations of this report are absolutely mind-blowing. If we can implement them we will can take this to another level, showing that Muslims can drive change.”

Mohammed Saleem Khan, chief executive of the Council for Mosques, said the consultation was a bottom-up initiative. The next step had already been taken.

“We have got 12 mosques putting on a six-month training programme for their management committees, to make their skills more effective,” he said.

Mohammed Ajeeb, a former Lord Mayor of Bradford, said after the meeting there should be more emphasis on the democratisation of mosque management committees, with representation of young people and women.

“The registration and accountability of religious teachers is also important. I think there needs to be a regulatory body that is accountable to the community,” he added.