The Muslim hiker inspiring his community to hit the hills

The Muslim Hiking group received racist comments when they posted pictures of their Christmas day walk in the Peak District. And that makes their leader Haroon Mota even more determined to ensure the great outdoors is a diverse and inclusive place

“I was coming down Mount Snowdon and in the far distance I thought I could see brown people, and I thought my eyes were kidding me. Then, as I descended and got closer, I realised they were women in hijabs. I was like ‘wow Muslim women on the mountain’, like ‘am I dreaming?’” Haroon Mota, the founder of Muslim Hikers, is remembering a walk he did around 15 years ago and, if you look at the statistics, his shock at seeing members of his own community out on the trails makes sense. Only 1% of national park visitors come from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.

A 2021 report by the countryside charity CPRE reported data showing ethnic minorities have, on average, 11 times less access to green space than their white counterparts, and that only 20% of BAME children who visit natural environments go to the countryside, compared with 40% of white children.