Sabir Bham

Dr Sabir (Sab) Bham, the founder of Salaam Peace talks about the importance of community cohesion

Dr Sabir (Sab) Bham, the founder and director of Salaam Peace

“I am proud of being a British Muslim, so why am I being perceived as a terrorist?”

This was a question Dr Sabir (Sab) Bham, the founder and director of Salaam Peace, asked himself in 2005 – shortly after the 7/7 London bombing attacks. 

He continues: “When I boarded the Tube at Victoria, every pair of eyes zoomed in on me. People thought I was a terrorist and they started jumping off at the next station, even though it wasn’t their stop, and breaking sweat. I saw what was going on.”

Two years later, Sab set up the Eid Cup to unite communities in east London and celebrate diversity through sport.

Sab explains: “I decided to do something to show a bit of solidarity and show how our communities do live in harmony. 

“So we set up an event called the Eid Cup, which brought together Muslims and people from all faiths and non-faiths in 2007. 

“We officially set up Salaam Peace in 2009 to bring people together through sport, media and education.” 

Seventeen years later, Salaam Peace continues to bring people from different religions and backgrounds together.

Around 900 people from across east London participate in the programme every week, which offers opportunities in sport events, homework clubs and mentoring.

Sab explains: “I’ve always been a big believer in how much we have in common across faiths. 

Sometimes people just overlook it, and in society we can be very quick to look at differences and divisions, as opposed to good news stories. 

“When I set up Salaam Peace I had two key visions. The first one was that the organisation is open to everybody. 

“I wanted our staff and our volunteers to represent the communities we engage with. People can identify with them and think, yeah, that person grew up with me – they understand who I am.

“The other thing was that we invest in our local people, especially our young people, to become future volunteers and staff. Every member of staff started at Salaam Peace as a participant.”

Sab, who grew up in Hackney, attributes much of his sense of community to his upbringing.

He explains: “I am born and bred in this country. I’ve been volunteering in Hackney since I was 13 years old, and I’ve always given my best for my community and for my country.

“I was fortunate that I was brought up in a household where both my parents were very proactive in the community. 

“My dad would say hello to everyone. He knew everybody by name, and he was always very open. He’d always say to us that you should respect people until they give you a reason not to.” 

In 2025, Salaam Peace won the King’s Award for Voluntary Service, which is the highest honour given to local volunteer groups in the UK.

Sab continues: “Whatever people come with is important to me. What’s more important is where they can go. 

“My analogy is that I’m going to give you a bike. I will show you how to ride it, but how far you ride it is up to you. Some people will go miles and miles. Some people fall off. I think I’ve always been comfortable with that.” 

Visit: https://salaampeace.org/