BMMS February 95

Governors from Feversham College, Bradford (the former Bradford Muslim Girls' School), were called to a meeting at the Department for Education on 16th February to hear the government's decision on granting voluntary aided status to the school (see British Muslims Monthly Survey for October 1993; January, February, March, May and September 1994). The application had the support of Bradford city council, various Christian leaders and educationalists. The school had been given the use of the former Feversham School buildings by the city council at a peppercorn rent as a sign of their support for the project and had moved into the new buildings in September thus enlarging their potential roll.

The Secretary of State's decision was given in a written statement, which was delivered by Education Minister Robin Squire, which rejected the application because, "Management of the school is insufficiently developed to enable the school to meet its legal requirements for the national curriculum" (The Independent 17.02.95). Further, "The school's proposals for its curriculum failed to give a commitment to technology, a key component of the national curriculum" and "Inspectors decided that accommodation did not meet health and safety standards for schools entering the state sector. They were concerned about means of escape from the first floor and fire protection in general." (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 17.02.95)

Although the application was rejected, the Secretary's response was generally supportive. Her statement said, "I have given this application long and careful consideration. I am very much aware of the strong local demand for single-sex places for Muslim girls and the wide support for the school among the Bradford community: support that is not confined to the Muslim community. Whilst I have had to reject this present application, I do not want it to be seen as closing the door on this or any other Muslim school joining the state sector". She said that she had asked her officials to work with the sponsors of the school "to help them overcome the current shortcomings in their application... But all applications I receive for a new school to enter the publicly funded sector must be judged by the same criteria" (The Independent 17.02.95).

The vice-chairman of the Bradford education committee, Ralph Berry, reacted to the decision by saying, "It will be seen as a smack in the face by some. You don't get voluntary aided status unless you have suitable buildings and money, but the school wants to be voluntary aided so that it can get this money... This is not a complete 'no'. The council is determined to keep working with the school" (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 17.02.95). Mr Berry also commented, "I do not see why there could not have been some sort of conditional approval, with work on the present shortcomings carefully monitored... But we will do everything we can now to support another application. The message must be: 'Get angry, get organised'" (The Yorkshire Post 17.02.95).

The political delicacy of an application for voluntary aided status, which would have placed the school under the Labour-controlled Bradford city council, as opposed to an application for grant maintained status, which would have placed the school under the direct control of central government, was noted by The Guardian (17.02.95) which reported that, "Mr Ajeeb [a Bradford city councillor and former lord mayor] said that there was no enthusiasm among parents for going grant-maintained, an option suggested by Mrs Shephard as a way forward". Mr Ajeeb also commented, "We all thought we would be successful. If the problem is health and safety, I would have thought Mrs Shephard's staff could have advised in advance what changes needed to be made" (The Guardian 17.02.95).

The chairman of governors of the school, Akram Khan Cheema, noted that the rejection amounted to "double standards"... "State support is available to Christian and Jewish schools but again it has been refused for a Muslim school. There is bound to be frustration and anger in the community about this" (Yorkshire Post 17.02.95). He was further reported in the same newspaper as saying, "We seem to be in a Catch 22 situation. We are told that there are things we need to do for our application to succeed, yet we are denied the money that could make them possible. Why were we not told months ago after submitting our application that there were weaknesses in it, which we could have done something to address? Why was it left until today?"

The chairman of the Muslim Association, which owns the school, Mohammed Ibrahim, indicated that this will not be the end of the struggle to receive public funding and a further application can be expected. He said, "We are very optimistic for the future. We will work with the local education authority to put these things right" (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 17.02.95). Ibrahim Hewitt, development officer of the Association of Muslim Schools, commented that, "The decision is a great disappointment. The Government has missed an opportunity to show the Muslim community that it values what they are doing for their daughters... No doubt the school will struggle on... Their decision not to [grant voluntary status to a Muslim school when Christian and Jewish schools receive public funds] is a violation of the Muslim community's human rights" (The Independent 17.02.95).

Two northern newspapers commented on the government's decision in their editorials. The Yorkshire Post (17.02.95) noted that, "In a city which is notorious for the number of existing schools which fall short of the ideal in matters of health, safety and educational achievements, the Minister's verdict has already been suspected of racial or religious bias." The editorial went on, "But some of the Church schools have, in the past, had to be reproved for falling short of State standards, and it would be unreasonable to bend the rules simply in order to accommodate the Muslims. For once rules have been bent, they are very difficult to straighten out again. In this case, the Minister has more leverage by withholding State aid until a school reaches the required standard than she would have if she accepted substandard buildings in the first place, and then faced the cost of helping to upgrade them". The Bradford Telegraph & Argus (17.02.95) echoed these comments when it noted that, "It is right and fair that the Education Secretary should insist that these shortcomings are remedied and that the children at Feversham College enjoy the same minimum standards as those at other schools".

A report in the Times Educational Supplement (24.02.95) noted that, "Mrs Shephard has been markedly more encouraging towards Muslim schools than her predecessor John Patten. There is some private concern among liberal educationalists that Muslim schools for girls will encourage traditional stereotypes, damaging the cause of equal opportunities. The majority of Muslim schools are all-female... Advocates of Muslim schools say, on the other hand, that the national curriculum offers safeguards against discrimination... Should permission be granted, there is no likelihood that other schools will rush forward with similar applications. Like the Brent Islamia school, Feversham College is unusually well-resourced."

There is a general perception amongst Muslim commentators that the decision was political. "We think it's a political decision", Ibrahim Hewitt (Times Educational Supplement 24.02.95). Yusuf Islam, "[the decision] confirms, if confirmation is needed, that the government is adopting double standards... it [is] an act of blatant discrimination, no matter what technicalities you clothe it with" (Muslim News 24.02.95). Sahib Mustaqim Bleher, spokesman for the Islamic Party of Britain, "They try to portray that the decision was made on merit but it is a political one as they do not want to open the flood gate for VAS for Muslims" (Muslim News 24.02.95). Jahangir Muhammad, education spokesman for the Muslim Parliament, "The government will not give funding until they manage to control or a means of control of the Muslim community, as with that control they can dictate what type of Islam they are taught in schools [sic]" (Muslim News 24.02.95).

The specific reasons for the application being rejected have been challenged. Akram Khan Cheema, chairman of governors, said, "It is insulting and stupid of the Department for Education even to suggest that our school doesn't meet health and safety legislation. Do they think that we would allow our daughters to enter a building which is dangerous? If we were not safe then how is it that we have been allowed to operate for so long? Why has the local authority not shut us down?" (Q News 24.02.95). Ralph Berry, vice chairman of Bradford education committee, commented, "We'd have to shut down an awful lot of schools if the standards were applied that rigorously" (Q News 24.02.95). On the question of the school's ability to deliver the technology elements of the national curriculum, Ibrahim Hewitt noted, "It's interesting that Feversham College had 13 statements supporting its commitment to technology across the National Curriculum and that it had made adequate health and safety assurances [sic]" (Q News 24.02.95). Similarly, Akram Khan Cheema regarded this reason as "factually inaccurate and I said it to his (Schools Minister, Robin Squire) face" (Muslim News 24.02.95).

The Catholic international weekly, The Tablet (25.02.95), commenting on the decision, noted that, "There are two different segments of public opinion which will be gratified by this latest decision: those who deplore what they call 'sectarian education' and therefore oppose the existence of all denominational schools; and those who regard Islam as incompatible with the very idea of a liberal education. They fear that a Muslim school would be likely to become a fifth column for fundamentalist extremism... Such fears have a certain plausibility." It went on the justify this latter remark by reference to the common perception of Muslims in Britain as supporters of such perceived extremes as the fatwa against Salman Rushdie and the recent trials of Christians in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy. It was noted that Muslims in Britain had done nothing to distance themselves from these events. "None of these things helps to encourage public support for the idea of a state-funded Muslim school, particularly when most British people know very little about Muslims in Britain, and what they do know, inaccurate though it may be, makes them very uncomfortable". On the former point, the article commented that, "...anybody who supports denominational schooling in principle, in the name of religious freedom and parental choice, would be on weak ground in arguing that while schools in the Judaeo-Christian tradition are acceptable for state funding, those schools whose ethos is Islamic are not".

The governors of Feversham College have already held a meeting with representatives of the Bradford education committee to discuss the situation with a view to working together to remedy the points made in the Secretary's report. It is expected that a new application will be made directly (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 24.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 1-4]

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Judges' controversial remarks

The controversial retired judge, James Pickles, is at the centre of a row over statements which he made at a literary luncheon in Leeds. He was reported to have alleged that, "Black and Asian people are like a spreading cancer... There are no-go areas in Halifax, where I have lived all my life, where white people daren't go even with their cars... All immigration must stop... The country is full up. We don't want people like that here. They have a different attitude to life. They are not wanting to adopt our ways of life" (India Mail 02.03.95). Bradford MP, Max Madden, described Mr Pickles as a "repulsive old buffer" who had "plumbed the depths by his remarks which will cause widespread offence to people of all races and nationalities". Such sentiments were echoed by a range of politicians and race relations consultants including Liaqat Hussain of the Bradford Council for Mosques who called for Mr Pickles to be prosecuted under the Race Relations Act.

Comments were also made in the press about a remark passed in a trial at Derby Crown Court by Judge Alexander Morrison where a young Muslim man from an Asian family was charged with robbery. After flicking through photographs of twelve Asian men, the judge remarked to the jury, "I have in front of me photographs of twelve Asian men, all of whom look exactly the same, which I'm sure you appreciate" (Eastern Eye 28.02.95). The comments caused Keith Vaz MP to write to the Lord Chancellor asking him to investigate. He said, "I am astonished at this remark which seems to be most offensive... Even judges should realise that we do not all look alike".

Judge Morrison refutes the idea that the remarks were racist and says that he has been misinterpreted. He was merely pointing out that the twelve men in the photographs looked alike as a caution to the jury. "The comment - which perhaps should not have been made - was, if anything, directed by implication to warn the jury that there was nothing singularly striking about any of the persons depicted in the photographs, in so far as identification is an issue in this case... That comment has been taken as carrying with it some sort of insult. I'm appalled that anybody could suppose that such an inference was fairly to be drawn." (India Mail 02.03.95) [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 4]

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Sunni-Shi'a tensions

Zia Ur-Rehman Farooki, the head of Sipah-e-Sahaba, "a fanatic anti-Shi'ah organisation based in north Pakistan" is reported to have "slipped into Britain, evading detection by the Special Branch" according to a report in Q News (03.03.95). His principal host is apparently Maulana Imdad ul-Hassan who is associated with the Central Mosque, Birmingham, where Farooki was invited to give lectures on the Qur'an during the last ten days of Ramadan. Maulana ul-Hassan is reported to have told the newspaper that "Khomeini and all those who follow him [that is, the Shi'ahs] were kafirs and should be regarded as such". Such sentiments, which are by no means representative of mainstream Muslim opinion, have been denounced by Muslim leaders in Britain. Sipah-e-Sahaba was blamed by Iranian newspapers for the attacks on two Shi'a mosques in Karachi in which twenty people were killed.

In an editorial which strongly condemned the importation into Britain of the political agendas of Muslim countries and groups overseas, the Muslim weekly Q News (03.03.95) commented that, "...our brothers from the subcontinent have gone too far. Now, with overweening arrogance, they have brought the odious Sipah-e Sahaba here. We have learnt that a large number of mosques support it and are willing to act as collecting agencies for funding it... This organisation... has decided, on grounds which as yet remain unclear, that it is entitled under the Shari'ah to go around murdering people just because they are Shi'ahs... We do not want this sectarianism imported into these islands. We do not want those who support this kind of thing in these islands. We do not need this within our communities... The visit of this Pakistani demagogue provides all those 'leaders' of the 'British Muslims', who seem all too eager to speak on behalf of Islam and the Muslims of these islands at other times, the opportunity we have all been waiting for. We want to hear them state something categorically controversial. We want them to give a lead, and tell these stupid people that they have gone too far. That they can take their evil hatreds and take them back to where they came from... Here we are Muslims, British and civilised. We do things the way the noble Prophet, upon whom be blessings and peace, taught us". [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 5]

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Short Reports

Wembley protesters sentenced

The two men who were arrested for protesting against the treatment of homosexuals by Muslims outside the Khilafah Conference at Wembley Conference Centre on 7 August 1994 (see BMMS for May, July and August 1994) appeared before Brent magistrates where they were charged with offences under the Public Order Act and obstruction. They were found not guilty of the former, more serious, charges but were fined £75 each for obstruction. Peter Tatchell, one of those found guilty, told the Kilburn Times (02.02.95), "We are not prepared to pay a fine for exercising our democratic right to protest peacefully against the murder of lesbians and gay men in Iran. We are prepared to go to jail". [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 5]

Bosnian roundup

Bosnians in Britain now have a new cultural centre in Cricklewood, London, thanks to the generosity of Yusuf Islam and other benefactors. The centre comprises a charity shop, office, mosque and library and will be used to educate Bosnian refugees and offer assistance in legal and financial matters. An appeal has been launched for additional financial support.

A young Bosnian woman who had been forced to flee from Stolac in Bosnia due to hostilities was profiled in the weekly magazine Just Seventeen (08.02.95). She met a British Muslim of Malawian background in a refugee camp where he was working. Through his support, she came to terms with her ordeal and travelled to Britain to resume her education. She is currently studying for A-levels as part of the "Children of the Storm" project at Hampstead School, London, where nearly 10% of the student population are refugees from various disaster areas around the world.

Youth Ahmadiyya, based at the London Mosque, have despatched their sixth relief mission to Bosnia with 17 tonnes of food aid. Islamic Relief has assembled food, blankets, medicine and clothing to a total of 440 tonnes which will be despatched by lorry convoy to Bosnia. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 6]

Internal divisions, Halifax

Divisions within the Muslim community in Halifax which led to the police confiscating the keys of a community centre in December have been resolved by an agreement to hold fresh elections in March supervised and paid for by a grant from the Calderdale Council (see BMMS for December 1994 and January 1995). One faction did hold up proceedings by demonstrating outside the town hall to draw attention to their claim that the elections of last year were constitutional. The Conservative group on the council indicated that it would not support any further public funding of the community centre until the dispute was resolved (Halifax Evening Courier 09.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 6]

Relief work for Chechnya

Two Birmingham aid workers attached to Islamic Relief who had taken an emergency relief convoy to Chechnya returned with horrific stories of the conditions endured by the injured in the city of Grozny. They told of the primitive conditions under which emergency medicine is practised and announced that they would be forming a further mission to return at the end of March (Walsall Express & Star 14.02.95). Muslims in Manchester are marshalling aid for a relief convoy due to leave at the end of February. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 6]

Halal leaflets, Leicester

A Muslim butcher in Leicester with 15 years experience in the trade has complained at leaflets distributed by the Halal Food Authority after he severed his relationship with them due to the price which they were charging for their meat which was certified as halal. The man claims to have an impeccable record of selling only genuinely halal meat but this has now been questioned by the leaflets. He says that he could not sell the HFA meat as it was too expensive for customers who preferred to buy from other outlets who obtained their meat from other wholesalers. It was claimed that HFA meat was costing "almost 28p a pound more" (Q News 10.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 6]

"PC" madness, Walsall

As a result of the campaign to promote safer sex through a controversial range of posters in Walsall (see BMMS for January 1995), the number of young people attending a contraceptive advice centre has doubled during the past month. Each Saturday clinic now attracts around 50 young people. Walsall has one of the highest rates of unwanted pregnancies in the West Midlands (Black Country Evening Mail 15.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 7]

Gloucester: Sunday burials?

Muslim community leaders in Gloucester have an agreement of some years' standing with the city council to permit burials on Saturdays. They have now petitioned the council to extend the provision to permit burials on Sundays too. The chairman of the Muslim Welfare Association said, "At the moment, it is a bit upsetting because Muslims in all other major towns have permission [sic]... This would bring Gloucester into line. We would be willing to pay for any extra cost" (Gloucester News 16.02.95). The council has agreed to discuss an extension to the current provision. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 7]

Taxi racism, Glasgow

A Muslim man of Asian heritage and his white wife were both awarded £1,500 compensation by a tribunal after it found that they had been the subject of racial discrimination on the part of a taxi firm in Glasgow. The man applied for a job but was turned down. His wife then applied and was accepted until the firm found out that she was married to an "Asian" husband when the offer of employment was withdrawn on the grounds that "the firm didn't take darkies" (Q News 17.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 7]

British Pakistani Christians comment

The leader of Britain's Pakistani Christians, Dr Naseem Dean, appealed to Prime Minister John Major to use his influence in the case of the two Christians in Pakistan who were under sentence of death for allegedly writing blasphemous comments on the wall of a mosque. "The boy is being used as a pawn in a political game", commented Dr Dean (Walsall Express & Star 16.02.95). The convictions have since been overturned by the Appeal Court in Lahore. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 7]

Kilroy Silk complaint

Sahib Mustaqim Bleher, spokesman of the Islamic Party of Britain, lodged an appeal with the Press Complaints Commission [PCC] over an article by Robert Kilroy Silk in the Daily Express of 15th January alleging that it contained Islamophobic views. The appeal was dismissed by the PCC which stated in its response that, "After careful assessment the Commissioners did not find that the substance of your complaint suggested that the Code of Practice had been breached. The column clearly represented a named columnist's personal view and would be seen as no more than his own robust opinion" (Q News 17.02.95). The editor of the Daily Express told Q News that, "I can see that this kind of generalisation is too sweeping and I don't think that too fair on any group of people. The point about columnists in newspapers is that they express their own opinions... What he's done is taken various things that irritate him and put them all together but they are his opinions. He's not actually attacking all Muslims. He's just attacking the ones he doesn't like". [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 7]

Turkish centre opens

Over 1,000 demonstrators from the PKK, the Kurdish Peoples' Party, were reported to be in evidence on 5th February at the opening of the London Islamic Culture and Recreation Centre in Dalston, north London, which is owned by the Turkish Milli Gorus organisation. The Milli Gorus is associated with the Refah Partisi or Welfare Party in Turkey which seeks an Islamic revival in that country (Q News 10.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 8]

Power struggle in Slough

Fifteen representatives, with their lawyers, each from the Pakistan Welfare Association [PWA] and the Slough Islamic Trust [SIT] met with the Slough police area commander in an attempt to resolve the internal power struggle between the two groups which resulted in a public brawl on 30th January (see BMMS for April, August, September, October, November 1994 and January 1995). The meeting, on 6th February, resulted in an agreement to a further meeting on 22nd February to discuss the constitution of the Slough Islamic Trust. The PWA wants the constitution changed so that trustees are democratically elected (Slough & Langley Express 09.02.95).

The meeting scheduled for 22nd February did not take place. The postponement was occasioned by an insufficient number of trustees of the SIT being present in this country on that date. There are only four registered trustees, with several honorary trustees who are ineligible to vote. Of these four, two were in Pakistan attending to family matters. A further meeting has been called by the Slough police area commander for 9th March. Solicitors acting for both parties have given a commitment that this meeting will take place but it appears to be dependent on the return of at least one of the trustees (Slough & Langley Express 23.02.95).

Eight men who were involved in the 30th January incident have been arrested and charged by the police on various public order and assault charges. The group included the former chairman of the PWA but one man, who was sought by the police, left the country for Pakistan on the evening before the arrests to attend his mother who had suddenly been taken ill and was in a fatal condition (Slough & Langley Express 16.02.95). The arrested men were released on bail and are due to answer charges before Slough magistrates on 29th March. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 8]

Rise in Islamophobia?

An industrial tribunal in Leeds heard a catalogue of complaints about abusive treatment meted out to a Muslim man in a castings factory including being sprinkled with pig's blood, being urinated over in the showers and receiving verbal abuse at the time of the Gulf War. A judgement is awaited in the case but it has prompted a member of the Bradford Racial Equality Council to warn that there is an increasing wave of Islamophobia in the area which is causing pressure particularly for the young (Q News 10.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 8]

Marrying without family consent

A Muslim man was gaoled for twelve years upon conviction of plotting to kill his niece and her husband by attempting to hire an assassin who turned out to be an undercover detective. The crime was occasioned by his niece contracting marriage with a Muslim man without the knowledge of her family (Q News 17.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 8]

Women in conflict

The situation of women of Asian heritage in conflict with their families was discussed at length in the March edition of Cosmopolitan. The need for counsellors who shared and thus understood the cultural background from which the women came was a particular feature in favour of refuges and helplines with a particular "Asian" orientation. An important feature of some services was that they offer counselling for the wider family in an attempt to work through transcultural issues. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 9]

Oldham minorities report

The situation of the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities in Oldham has been assessed in a report by the council's chief executive (Manchester Evening News 17.02.95). In summary, the communities face the worst overcrowding in housing, rates of unemployment and health records in the town. The Bangladeshi unemployment rate is four times the town's average. Illness rates for Pakistani men are 81% higher than average and for women 36%. The Bangladeshi community has increased by 160% in the past ten years leading to a high level of overcrowding and a large proportion of the housing stock is old and unfit. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 9]

Dundee: security measures

Tayside Regional Council voted a sum of £1,760 for security measures to be taken at two Muslim centres and a Hindu temple in Dundee to protect them from vandalism and graffiti. The council convenor issued a statement which said that, "Vandalism at all churches and places of worship is to be condemned but it is worse when the attacks are racially motivated. This vandalism is the work of a small, mindless minority" (The Dundee Courier & Advertiser 17.02.95). The decision comes in the light of breaks-in and graffiti attacks at all three sites in the city. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 9]

London: Ramadan radio concerns

Concern has been expressed about three Muslim local radio stations which have been set up in London during the month of Ramadan and which are all thought to be "shop-fronts for the controversial Hizb ut-Tahrir group" (Q News 10.02.95). The stations are reported to have made little attempt to accommodate the varied nature of the capital's Muslim communities. Whilst the effort to establish community radio stations, particularly during Ramadan, has been welcomed by Muslim leaders, concern has been expressed about the lack of consultation and the fact that the groups appear to be targeting grass-roots Muslims with their own agenda. All three stations have been granted "Restricted Services Licences" by the Radio Authority which does not see it to be part of their remit to investigate the representational spread of applicants but rather grants licences on a "first come - first served" basis provided only that they do not overlap in coverage of the same geographical community. According to a Greenford listener reported in Q News, the presenters are "Hizbo-friendly" and callers regurgitate rehearsed pieces. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 9]

Mosque helpline

The Jumma Masjid in Batley has opened a telephone helpline for local people to call in for confidential advice and help with any personal problems which they might be experiencing. The line is run by a local Muslim group. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 9]

Illegals seek asylum?

It has been claimed that certain solicitors from minority communities have been advising illegal immigrants to apply for political asylum in Britain. The claim was publicised in an investigation by the News of the World (19.02.95). An investigative journalist from that newspaper visited solicitors of Pakistani heritage claiming that he had entered the country illegally in a lorry overland from Pakistan. He claimed that he was advised to apply for asylum which would give him a protected period to remain in Britain whilst his case was processed by the Home Office. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 10]

Hospital patients further delayed

Comment has appeared both in the local and national press over the delay caused to patients in a hospital outpatients' clinic when one of the doctors attending to patients left to attend prayers in the mosque (Bolton Evening News 17.02.95, Daily Star 20.02.95). The Muslim doctor was a locum attached to the clinic for two weeks. As part of his terms of employment he was permitted to take his lunchbreak to coincide with prayers in the mosque. On the day in question, the clinic was already running late for other reasons by the time the doctor left. This resulted in some patients waiting over two hours to be seen. A complaint has been lodged with the Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust and the Department of Health. The thrust of the complaint is that the hospital ought to have provided additional staff to cover the agreed absence for prayers during the lunchbreak. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 10]

Prison search complaint

A Muslim prisoner serving an eight-year sentence for arson at Frankland Prison, Durham, has appealed against his treatment in prison to the High Court (The Northern Echo 15.02.95). As part of the prison routine, the prisoner has been required to strip naked for searches on about 30 occasions. He is arguing that this is against Islamic codes of modesty which require him to remain covered from the navel to the knees in the presence of anyone other than his wife. His barrister is also arguing that the prison is in breach of the 1964 Prison Rules which state that a prisoner should not be required to be totally undressed (Asian Times 25.02.95). The case has been adjourned for two months to allow the prison authorities time to draw up their reply to the accusations. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 10]

HFA butcher for Huddersfield

The first butcher's shop in Huddersfield to sell HFA guaranteed meat has been opened to the consternation of other traders who claimed that it is threatening their trade which they are sure is equally halal. The HFA outlet claims that it has made the move to assure people that they are buying certified halal meat at a premium of three or four pence per pound extra (Huddersfield Daily Examiner 15.02.95). Other traders feel that this move is a slight to their integrity as, "the Muslim community is based on trust and if a shop says it's meat is halal, then it is". [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 10]

Funeral shelter for Gloucester?

The Gloucester Muslim Welfare Association asked the city council for permission to erect a wooden shelter at the cemetery to provide a place for Muslims to pray at funerals. In the past, the community used the former Widden School for funeral services but it has now been converted for use as a Muslim school. An architect has been commissioned to draw up plans for a covered structure measuring around 30ft by 20ft. The shelter would be available for use by all mourners, not just Muslims, and the Welfare Association is hoping that the council will cover part of the cost of construction (The Gloucester Citizen 16.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 10/11]

White butcher loses case

A white butcher with 20 years experience in the trade applied for a job in a halal butcher's shop in Oldham which was advertised through a local job centre. When a representative of the job centre telephoned the shop concerning the application it was told that "We are looking for an Asian". This led to an appeal for racial discrimination before the local industrial tribunal. The owner of the shop, which already employs several white people, told the tribunal that the response had been given by a 14 year-old girl who should have responded "We are looking for a Muslim" because the trade was in halal meat. Both parties were apologetic and conciliatory before the tribunal which said that it was an interesting legal conundrum. The tribunal decided that the man had been rejected on religious rather than racial grounds and thus rejected the appeal for racial discrimination (Oldham Evening Chronicle 13.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 11]

Pregnant women exercise

A women-only exercise and relaxation session is being organised at Batley swimming baths which is aimed specifically at pregnant women from the local Asian community. The session will be run by a midwife with a community linkworker and every facility for Muslim sensitivities is provided. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 11]

Model's identity mistaken

There was consternation in Rotherham when a 17 year-old Muslim A-level student was linked to nude photographs in a "soft porn" magazine called Asian Babes. Fellow students at college thought that they recognised the girl as being one of the models. Rumours spread so fiercely that the girl's father felt forced to send her into hiding in Pakistan and spend £1,500 on a private detective to track down the real model who turned out to be a Brazilian currently working in London. The model agreed to travel to Rotherham to meet Muslim community leaders to convince them that she was really the model in order to clear the name of the Muslim girl. Once they were satisfied with the model's identity, leaders from the Muslim community decided to seek legal advice concerning the magazine's title. Naz Ahmed, a local councillor, said, "These girls are from all sorts of background, but are made up to look like Asians. It is an insult to the Islamic culture" (The Sheffield Star 13.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 11]

Struggle for Glasgow imam

A Glasgow imam fell ill over a year ago and has been unable to perform his duties. This led to an application to the immigration authorities for a substitute imam to be brought into the country on a one-year visa to lead prayers and recite the Qur'an. During the sixteen months of negotiations with the immigration authorities, Muslim leaders were required to provide evidence as to the exact medical condition of the current imam and to show that the post had been advertised in local job centres without being filled. Eventually, the temporary visa was granted but not until half way through Ramadan. This procedure led to criticism from the Glasgow Central MP, who said, "The ludicrous insistence that the post should be advertised simply underlines the Government's general assumption that everyone, particularly from the Indian sub-continent, seeking to enter Britain is doing so for dishonest reasons and intend[s] to stay permanently. There's no appreciation at the immigration department of the importance to Muslims in Glasgow of Ramadan. That sort of attitude is fundamentally racist and must be challenged" (The Glaswegian 09.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 11/12]

"Play Against Racism"

A soccer goalkeeper from Manchester, himself half of Pakistani origin, is pioneering a scheme to gather a mixed race youth team to tour Pakistan this summer playing football in an effort to fight racial stereotypes in the Manchester area. The scheme will be called "Play Against Racism" and will be filmed for a promotional video. Additional sponsorship is currently sought (Manchester Evening News 10.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 12]

Reporting Ramadan

Community newspapers published times of fasting during Ramadan (Bucks Free Press 03.02.95) and devoted their religious pages to Muslims explaining the significance of the fast (Ascot & Sunningdale Observer 03.02.95). Rotherham Muslims were encouraged to use Ramadan as a time to consider the health-promoting qualities of their diet by avoiding highly fatty foods to break the fast (The Sheffield Star 13.02.95). Youth culture pages were devoted to an explanation of fasting from the young Muslim perspective (Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph 14.02.95). Festival lights were arranged by the city of Coventry to celebrate the festival of Eid ul-Fitr. They were switched on by the deputy lord mayor on 24th February. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 12]

Regent's Park mosque demo.

Police were called to the Regent's Park mosque on the first night of Ramadan after a group of around 40 members of Hizb ut-Tahrir arrived, by some accounts for a demonstration (Westminster Ham & High 03.02.95) and by others, peacefully to distribute leaflets (Q News 10.02.95). On subsequent nights during the fasting month, security guards were retained to prevent trouble. This led to a Q News photographer being manhandled and having his film, containing a photograph of a booted policeman entering the mosque, being confiscated. The way in which the mosque decides which Muslim groups to allow to operate on its premises was criticised in comments in Q News and an editorial in the same edition discussed the wider questions of the representative nature of the mosque and its director. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 12]

Muslim burial plot, Nelson

The Muslim community in Nelson petitioned the local council for a separate Muslim burial plot (see BMMS for January 1995), which resulted in further discussions and a report which was presented to the Pendle Council Environmental Health and Control Committee which recommended that the request should be refused. The chairman of the committee said that an exclusive burial plot was against council policy. "Pendle is a multi-racial borough seeking full integration of the various ethnic groupings but this request would encourage separation rather than togetherness" (Nelson Leader 24.02.95). The Mayor of Pendle indicted that Muslims were quite at liberty to follow the Roman Catholic example by purchasing their own land for burials. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 12]

Dudley: poultry abattoir

A Muslim businessman in Dudley has applied for permission to convert a derelict shop in Lye into a poultry abattoir to provide halal meat for the local community who are currently travelling to Birmingham to buy halal chicken. The application, which has been referred to the environmental health department for reports, has been opposed by local residents and animal rights protestors (Dudley Express & Star 24.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 13]

Muslim Institute lectures

The Muslim Institute, London, has announced its spring lecture course under the title Aspects of the Global Islamic Movement. The four lectures will be given by: Rachid Massoudi, an Algerian journalist, France's cultural colonialism in Algeria; Dr M. Masa'ari, Committee for the Defence of Legitimate Rights in Saudi Arabia, Islam in the Saudi Kingdom; Dr Yaqub Zaki, A critique of western civilisation; and Dr M. Ghayasuddin, The potential for Muslims in Europe. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 13]

Qur'an in braille

The question of providing copies of the Qur'an in braille for use by blind Muslims has been raised by a former VSO volunteer who served in Nigeria. During her time there, Josette Paul found that blind Christian children, who were a tiny minority in the northern Nigerian blind school where she worked, had access to substantial amounts of Christian writings, including the Bible, in braille but Muslim children did not even have access to one copy of the Qur'an. Her search for a braille version of the Qur'an proved fruitless even though she corresponded with various Muslim governments and agencies. Eventually an Urdu-Arabic version of the Qur'an in braille was located in Pakistan which is currently under production. So far around two-thirds have been transcribed in braille with the remainder due to be completed later this year. Contact has been made with the Royal National Institute for the Blind who report that they have three copies of the Qur'an in braille from the Pakistani source. The RNIB does have an Arabic text section and is willing to transcribe any book which is requested into braille at no cost to the blind person (Q News 24.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 13]

"Book of the Year Award"

The Islamic Publishers Association [IPA], which was established in 1994, has announced a "Book of the Year Award" for the best book on Islam written in English during the year. There will be three prizes of £10,000, £7,000 and £3,000. The IPA have called for nominations from authors and publishers. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 13]

Bolton youth centre damaged

A new youth centre in Bolton, which is being built at a cost of £88,000 as part of a City Challenge project, has been damaged by youths breaking in to light a fire. It is reported that the fire was used by Muslim youths to prepare food during one of the nights of Ramadan (Bolton Evening News 28.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 13]

Youth scheme extension, Halifax

A flourishing Muslim youth scheme in Halifax, the Himmat Project, has applied to the council to extend a former shop to create a bigger youth centre. The centre would support young people in their studies, found a job club and work for crime prevention and prisoner rehabilitation (Halifax Evening Courier 20.02.95). The scheme hopes to attract funding through the Single Regeneration Budget and, when completed, would provide three full-time and three part-time posts in the area. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 13/14]

Blackburn discrimination decision

Lancashire County Councillor, Arif Umerji, was awarded damages of £14,300 by an industrial tribunal in Manchester when it decided that he had been the subject of discrimination by Blackburn Borough Council. Mr Umerji had been interviewed for the post of Welfare Rights Officer and, according to a member of the interviewing panel, it was agreed that he would be appointed to the post. Later it transpired that he was not offered the job on the grounds that he lacked adequate communication skills (Muslim News 24.02.94). Apparently this was not discussed at the interview and was challenged by one of the interviewers who gave evidence to the industrial tribunal. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 14]

Mortuary facilities, Birmingham

The Bordesley Centre in Camp Hill, Birmingham, which is run by the Yemeni community through the Muath Welfare Trust, has appealed for donations from the public as well as local, national and European agencies to provide the estimated £12,000 necessary to establish mortuary facilities which would be at the service of the whole Muslim community (Birmingham Evening Mail 22.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 14]

Reporting Eid ul-Fitr

The festival of Eid ul-Fitr was anticipated by a feature in the Bradford Telegraph & Argus (23.02.95) which explained some of the customs associated with the celebration as well as its significance. One Muslim group took out an advertisement feature in the Bradford Star (23.02.95). The area around Birmingham Central Mosque was clogged with traffic as some 15,000 Muslims from the area attended Eid prayers. The mosque has a maximum capacity of 3,500 so five separate congregations were scheduled between 0630 and 1030 (Birmingham Evening Mail 02.03.95). The celebration of Eid ul-Fitr was noticed by the press in many places around the country including Bradford, Burton on Trent, Colchester, Fife, Halifax, Leicester, Manchester, Peterborough, Scunthorpe, Southampton and Stoke on Trent. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 14]

Al-Quds Day in London

Two thousand people turned out for the annual Al-Quds Day march in London on 25th February. They walked from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square carrying banners denouncing Yasser Arafat as a "traitor" and the Oslo Peace Accord as a "sellout". The Unity Committee issued a declaration at a rally in Trafalgar Square calling for the resumption of the intifada and denouncing the duplicity of the UN and other international bodies which allowed the status quo in Palestine to continue (Q News 03.03.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 14]

Community complex, Dublin

The Islamic Foundation in Dublin, Ireland, which was responsible for setting up the first Muslim National School in 1990, is to build an extensive community complex. The school moved to a new site in Clonskeagh in 1993 which was opened by President Mary Robinson. The current plan is to extend this school site with the addition of five classrooms, a hall, offices, mosque, ablution facilities, shop, restaurant and a flat. The project, which will cost £4.5m, is being sponsored by Shaykh Hamdan al-Maktoum of Dubai and is expected to be completed in 1997 (Muslim News 24.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 14/15]

Scunthorpe bookshop opens

The first bookshop in Scunthorpe specialising in material on Islam translated into English has opened. It has been patronised by a number of Muslim and non-Muslim people locally where people have shown a deal of early interest. The proprietor has indicated an interest in selling Christian material additionally as he sees the project as a way of drawing together all sections of the local community (Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph 01.03.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 15]

Tensions result in death

Tensions between young Muslim men of Asian heritage and black Africans have been reported at the Newham Community College, London. The tensions erupted on 28th February when an African student was stabbed to death. A group of ten Asians were reported to be "marching around the campus shouting Allahu Akbar" (The Guardian 01.03.95) on the same day as the attack took place. A somewhat different gloss was given by an eye-witness reported in the Newham Recorder (01.03.95), who said, "I think the Muslims were trying to make peace but one of the Africans suddenly pulled out two knives. It should never have happened". The police are investigating the murder and a spokesman commented, "It appears there may have been some provocation but that does not mean there is any excuse for this killing". Additionally, a Nigerian student was wounded after being stabbed with a penknife during a squabble over table tennis. Students have claimed that the college authorities have not been sufficiently firm in dealing with the communal tensions. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 15]

Conspiracy against Muslim councillor?

Ahmad Shahzad, a millionaire Muslim businessman, who served on Brent Council and sought the nomination for the Manchester Gorton parliamentary constituency for the Labour Party, has claimed that political enemies conspired to have him investigated by the fraud squad at a time which coincided with his standing for re-election for the local council. The fact that he was then under suspicion meant that he was forced to withdraw. The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that no charges will be brought against him (Kilburn Times 16.02.95). Mr Shahzad, encouraged by Brent East MP, Ken Livingstone, has asked his lawyers to investigate who at Brent Town Hall might have been involved in triggering the police investigation. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 15]

Medical schools discrimination?

A study has been conducted into the ethnic make-up of students recruited into medical schools by Dr Aneez Esmail of the Medical Practitioners' Union and Dawn Primarolo MP. The study showed that there was no discrimination amongst the best qualified candidates but amongst candidates with lower grades, white students were twice as likely to be accepted as candidates from minority communities with the same grades. The alleged discrimination occurs in only a minority of medical schools; nine were listed where the rate was twice as high for white students, one where it was three times as high and one where the rate was five times as high. The report made clear that it was considering only British-born students and not overseas applicants. It concluded that all medical schools should review their admissions policy (Daily Jang 24.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 15/16]

Housing the elderly

Concern for the housing needs of elderly members of the minority communities has prompted Hammersmith and Fulham Council to hold an open afternoon in one of its sheltered homes so that such people can learn more about the council's provision and inform council officials about their particular needs now and in the future. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 16]

Unfair conversion methods?

According to the president of the National Hindu Students' Forum, young female Hindu and Sikh students are converting to Islam in a way which causes significant concern. He said, "I know for a fact that Hindu and Sikh girls are being bullied into converting to the Muslim religion. It could be your daughter or sister that is being used in this appalling manner. They rely on the fact that these girls are young, naive and are scared of being away from home for the first time" (Q News 24.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 16]

South London Arab Association

A new community organisation has been founded in Croydon called the South London Arab Association which will be non-political and non-profit-making. It will aim to serve the cultural and social needs of the Arab community. It has set up a marriage bureau, translation service, funeral service and will run educational courses. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 16]

Kureishi: The Black Album

A new novel by Hanif Kureishi entitled The Black Album has been published by Faber & Faber. The novel is set in the London suburb of Kilburn and features a south Asian youth who is "wavering between an affair with his college tutor and an increasingly militant Islamic group" (The Guardian 01.03.95). "The novel draws links between Muslim militancy in Britain and the racism it arose partly to combat". The publishers are reported to have had the novel read by advisers. The author said, "I was careful not to do anything blasphemous - I wouldn't want to. And its quite different from Rushdie's book. He wrote about religion; mine's about what people might do in its name. I'm not interested in the spiritual, but in religion as ideology, as a system of authority, a kind of business. It's important we ask questions: what are they doing with their money, with young people?" "It would be a disaster for everyone - including Muslims - if we couldn't write about religion, or ourselves. It would be playing into the hands of people who think badly of Islam, who say it's so volatile and insular and intolerant, Muslims will go nuts. Those I've met aren't like that at all." Kureishi believes many British Muslims see the fatwa as a "terrible mistake". "It's been very bad propaganda for Islam. It's allowed it to be represented as something it doesn't have to be, with Muslims labelled as fanatics and book-burners". [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 16]

Vatican Eid message

As is now customary, the president of the Vatican's council for inter-religious affairs, on behalf of Pope John Paul, sent greetings to Muslims around the world on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr. This prompted the Catholic Bishop of Leeds to associate himself with these greetings in a letter to Muslims in West Yorkshire which was published by Q News (03.03.95). He linked the fast of Ramadan to the Christian Lent and expressed the hope that this would lead all Christians and Muslims to a greater concern for the God-given world in which all humankind lives. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 16/17]

Bradford forum established

A new non-political forum has been set up in Bradford to discuss global and local issues. The Islamic Men and Women Association, which claims to have 30 members but with support from continental Europe, was established by a Muslim woman who said, "There is a great need for an organisation like this. When you go to other organisations you find that they are politically motivated or they talk about religion - they are not interested in looking out for the welfare of the community. We will look at issues which affect the Muslim community all over the world" (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 23.02.95). Local topics of concern were listed as Muslim girls and boys leaving home, marital problems and youth crime. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 17]

Nasreen: racism in Britain

Taslima Nasreen, the Bangladeshi writer who was forced to flee to Sweden to escape blasphemy charges in Bangladesh, was in Oxford to deliver a lecture as part of the Oxford Amnesty series. She spoke about racism in Britain, particularly that targeted on the Bangladeshi community here. It is reported that she is considering writing a book about the plight of Bangladeshis in Britain (Q News 03.03.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 17]

Birmingham man shot

A Muslim man in Birmingham, who is reported to have set up home with a married Muslim woman who left her husband last year to form the liaison, was shot in the back garden of his house. The man received shotgun wounds to his arm and back and is currently in a stable condition. The police are investigating the attack but are not presently disposed to infer that the assault was connected with the woman's family. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 17]

Katme for Washington DC

Dr Abdul Majid Katme, the president of the Islamic Medical Association (UK) and Muslim co-ordinator for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, flew to Washington DC to join 100,000 people in the annual "March for Life" in the American capital. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 17]

Benefits in Middlesborough mosque

Council welfare officers in Middlesborough have set up an advice centre in a local mosque and Sikh gurdwara in an effort to reach members of those communities who are currently missing out on benefits to which they are entitled. The community of Asian heritage in the city make up around 5.5% of the population but it has been estimated that about half of those entitled are not receiving benefits. The Principal Benefits Officer, Brendan Brown, explained, "Asians are under-represented among claimants and this may be because of lack of understanding. We will have Urdu- and Punjabi-speaking advisors for the benefits team and forms in those languages" (Daily Star 01.03.95). The move has been welcomed by Muslim leaders but local councillors and an MP have complained. Stockton South MP, Tim Devlin, commented, "Why don't we send benefits advisers to all the churches, and what about the new Irish pub near the bus station? It is not feasible to do all of this so it is favouritism to one group to go to the mosque" (Middlesborough Evening Gazette 02.03.95). Further, he said, "People should be able to look after themselves on an equal footing" (Daily Star 01.03.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 17]

Cleethorpes centre controversy

Plans to convert a former post office in Cleethorpes into a Muslim community centre have been rejected by local councillors in spite of their having tendered £5,000 more than an art group who will use it as an artists' centre. Accusations of racism have been levelled by Labour councillors who are in the minority. The charges have been rebutted by Conservative and Liberal councillors with the suggestion that the artists' centre will be an attraction in the resort (Grimsby Evening Telegraph 25.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 18]

Oldham history of immigrants

Local historians in Oldham are planning a new book charting the experiences of members of the Asian community who immigrated to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. The project is based at the Oldham museum where a collection of photographs, video material and taped records has been established. An open day has been planned to publicise the project and a full-scale exhibition will be staged to display the results of the research (Manchester Evening News 02.03.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 18]

Multi-lingual 999 service?

A non-English speaking Muslim mother in Peterborough had to rely on a 13 year-old neighbour to call the fire brigade. This prompted a local Muslim councillor to demand that the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service recruit multi-lingual telephonists to deal with emergency calls in community languages. The fire services are to meet with the councillor for further discussions but there are no plans to introduce the changes as British Telecom are able to trace calls in seconds and even stating a name and address will bring an immediate response (The Peterborough Evening Telegraph 23.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 18]

Kashmiri sentences review

Muslims in Bradford have been organising local councillors to write to the Home Secretary asking him to review the cases of the two Kashmiri men who were gaoled for unlawfully imprisoning and then murdering an Indian diplomat in Birmingham in 1985. There are calls for the two men to be released but Mr Howard recently indicated that he would like their sentences to be extended (Daily Jang 03.03.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 18]

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Updates

Education

Fasting in schools

The problems concomitant upon observing the fast of Ramadan whilst following a normal school timetable were explored in an article in The Guardian (22.02.95). It was observed that children can feel dizzy, tired, inattentive and prone to headaches; all of which can affect their performance in the classroom and contribute to some discipline problems, especially during the first few days. There is a deal of confusion in the minds of parents as to at what age their children should begin fasting. There are more children fasting in primary schools than in former years and this places an additional burden of care on teachers who must ensure the children's safety and well-being. In general the advice given to schools is that fasting is a matter for parental discernment although a ruling from a competent religious body on what age might be appropriate to start fasting would be welcomed. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 18]

Halifax assemblies profiled

Beech Hill Junior and Infant School in Halifax became the first school in the Calderdale area to be given a determination for Islamic worship last October. Since then, separate Islamic acts of collective worship have been run three times per week with the children assembling as a whole school on one day and in year groups on the other. The Islamic assemblies have been led by a local imam who is also a parent governor and have been worked around a series of themes to parallel the assemblies offered in a broadly Christian manner to the minority of children who are not Muslims. The successful implementation of the determination was profiled in a report in the Halifax Evening Courier (10.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 19]

Coventry exhibition on Islam

The education authority in Coventry has been staging a series of exhibitions about various religious groups in the area for school children to visit as part of their RE programmes. An exhibition on Islam has been planned from March 6 to 10 at the Muslim Resource Centre. There are already seventeen schools booked to visit the exhibition with wide interest coming from schools outside the city across Warwickshire. The exhibition will include a tour of a mosque and video films of the hajj. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 19]

Supplementary school, Merton

Muslims in the London Borough of Merton have applied for planning permission to convert some disused offices in Crown Lane into a supplementary school to operate on weekday afternoons. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 19]

Eaton Hall set to open

The Regency mansion and former teacher training college near Nottingham, Eaton Hall, which was purchased by a Muslim group in December 1994 to serve as an academic institute (see BMMS for December 1994) has begun to advertise for boys to be enroled ready for its opening in April 1995. The school aims to offer the national curriculum plus Arabic, Islamic studies and memorisation of the Qur'an. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 19]

Oxford plans need revision

The site between Holywell Cemetery and Holywell Mill Stream in Oxford is intended for development to provide residences for four Oxford colleges as well as the new building for the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. Preliminary drawings for the Centre for Islamic Studies exist but the planning authority has told the colleges that all five developments must be co-ordinated to form an architectural whole so that it will be a fitting development for this prime site. The colleges have been asked to co-operate and come forward with a harmonious plan covering the total development. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 19]

Mosques

Bolton

The proposed new mosque on Peace Street, Bolton has been given planning permission in spite of sustained opposition from various local groups (see BMMS for October and December 1994; January 1995). However, the opposition has not abated. The Bolton Evening News devoted two letters pages to the subject (23.02.95 and 02.03.95). The letters revolved around the lack of parking provision, the sheer size of the building and the lack of adequate consultation. Some correspondents attacked the perceived lack of toleration of Christians in Muslim countries whilst at least one correspondent welcomed the proposed building arguing from Christian principles. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 19]

Burnley

Residents in the Daneshouse district of Burnley continued their opposition to the amplified broadcasting of the adhan [call to prayer] from the new mosque in that area (see BMMS for January 1995). A petition was submitted which supported the mosque in all aspects except for the noise generated by the adhan which was proposed to be rated at 70 decibels. The sound level proposed was contrasted to some local church bells which were rated at 55 decibels when they ceased to be rung due to the noise nuisance four years ago (Sunday Express 12.02.95). Eventually, permission was refused for the installation of broadcasting equipment. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 20]

Edinburgh

The final building phase of the £3.5m central mosque in Edinburgh is due to begin directly and is scheduled for completion in the autumn. The building, which was started in 1989, has been delayed due to problems over obtaining funding from the government of Saudi Arabia and several other benefactors. The building plans were approved by the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland and consist of a sandstone and granite exterior with domes in copper and lead. The whole construction has been arranged to fit in with its location in Scotland's historical capital city (Edinburgh Evening News 09.02.95). [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 20]

High Wycombe

An appeal has been launched for £150,000 to pay for the construction of a new community centre incorporating leisure and prayer facilities on Bowerdean Road, High Wycombe. The evening congregations during Ramadan have amounted to around 2,000 people which has caused severe overcrowding. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 20]

Hounslow

Work on the Jamia Masjid Islamic Centre, Hounslow, was halted in December due to lack of funds but it has now re-commenced. Currently the steel girder frame of the building is completed but the local Muslim community, which is raising money for the project worldwide, hopes to bring the £1.5m construction to completion by the end of this year. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 20]

Kirklees

Muslim leaders and local representatives met in Dewsbury town hall at the end of January to discuss a code of practice for the amplification of the adhan [call to prayer] in the whole Kirklees area. The draft code of practice placed five restrictions on the broadcasting: that it should be limited to 0800 to 2000, that it should not exceed four broadcasts per day, the adhan should be limited to two minutes duration, the maximum sound limit should be 70 decibels and that a regulator should be fitted to amplification equipment to ensure that the sound limit was not breached.

Muslim leaders objected to all aspects of the draft code, viz. the limits on time, duration, frequency, and sound level. They argued that the adhan is part of regular worship and not a symbolic act which could be regulated in this way. They drew attention to the lack of a code of practice on the use of church bells in the area and asked for parity in religious matters. Discussions continue. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 20]

Newham

The London Borough of Newham has agreed to take a parcel of land in the Beckton area off the market for six months to give the United Muslim Association time to run a feasibility study and come forward with plans for the construction of a mosque together with an offer for the site. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 20]

Nottingham

Muslims in Hucknall, Nottingham, have purchased a former URC chapel which was built in 1879 to serve their community as a community centre once necessary repairs have been completed during the remainder of this year. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 20/21]

Oldham

The planning committee has rejected an application for a mosque and teaching centre in Lees Road, Oldham due to a lack of off-street parking provision and the potential for disturbance to neighbours. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 21]

Smethwick

In spite of a petition signed by forty local residents (see BMMS for January 1995), the planning authority has approved plans to build a teaching and community centre in Shireland Road subject only to revised provision of parking facilities. The objections centred on additional noise and traffic congestion. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 21]

Stoke on Trent

Opposition continues to mount to plans to extend the Darbar Unique Centre in Stoke on Trent (see BMMS for January 1995). Sixty local residents met in a public house to discuss the proposals which they say will block the sunlight from their houses and cause an invasion of their privacy. In addition to the physical extension of the building, which includes a copper dome, residents are concerned about an application to extend the opening hours of the centre beyond the current restriction of 2330. The architect commissioned to oversee the extension was quoted in the Stoke on Trent Advertiser (09.02.95) as saying, "As regards the dome construction, I believe that if it were an Anglican church applying for a bell-tower, there would be no complaints. However, because it is a Muslim temple [sic], a fuss has been kicked up". [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 21]

Swindon

A price of £133,000 has been agreed between the Muslim community in Swindon and Wiltshire County Council for the purchase of the site of the former Queenstown School (see BMMS for August and September 1993; April, May, June and December 1994). A delegation from the town recently visited Saudi Arabia and returned with the hope that they might be given the £1m needed to build the mosque. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 21]

Walsall

Muslim leaders in Walsall have applied for retrospective planning permission for the use of a disused factory for holding educational classes and worship. The factory has been used for some time without permission but protests have been lodged about the amount of noise, parking problems and the use of loud music in a residential area. Planning officers are recommending the authority to refuse planning permission to the project. [BMMS February 1995 Vol. III, No. 2, p. 21]

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