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British Muslims Monthly Survey for October 1995 Vol. III, No.10
Features CRE and religious discrimination Short Reports Charity investigation in Slough Concern over Bangladeshi visitor Disbursements from the lottery Muslim/Hindu clash, Wandsworth Pakistani youth project, Reading Calderdale interfaith discussions Bradford: Ahmadiyya community centre Updates Education Call to opt-out, Bethnal Green Promoting teaching as a career Mosques
Features The Muslim Parliament's conference on the United Nations, Hiroshima to Sarajevo: Fifty Years of the UN, was held in London on 22nd October and attended by around 1,000 people (see British Muslims Monthly Survey for June 1995). In his inaugural address, the leader of the Muslim Parliament, Dr Kalim Siddiqui, described the UN as "an instrument of the new Crusade against Islam" (Daily Jang 23.10.95). He said that the conference had been convened to "help Muslims throughout the world to realise the dangers inherent in the 'peace keeping' facade of the United Nations". Exemplifying this remark, Dr Siddiqui said that, "The UN was sent to Bosnia not to keep [the peace?], but to hold down the Muslim of Bosnia, with their hands tied by an arms embargo, and to allow the Serb hordes to carry out their programme of murder, pillage and 'ethnic cleansing' [sic]". Other speakers developed the thesis with reference to UN resolutions on Palestine and Kashmir, in both cases Muslims were seen to have lost out. A series of resolutions was adopted by the conference. According to the list published in Q News (27.10.95), they were worded thus:
* A global struggle for civilisation between the West and Islam has begun. It is a battle the West thought it had won. The emergence of a global Islamic Movement has caused panic in the West. * The fifty Muslim nation states which now litter the world map, all members of the UN, are a living embodiment of the defeat and dismemberment of the structures and institutions of Islam. * The West is now putting every effort into opposing Islam in all parts of the world. The battle lines are drawn, the struggle is escalating and is likely to be long and bitter. * The West uses the UN to protect and further its global hegemony. The UN's claims to be promoting freedom and democracy and other supposedly universal values are no more than a smokescreen to enable it to promote its masters' interests. * As direct colonialism has been replaced by a more sinister form of [n]eo-colonialism, so the usage and importance of the UN have increased. The UN does for the West what Western governments could not, or would prefer not to, do for themselves. * The most dangerous of the UN's functions against Islam are the promotion of global economic ventures, global media, global culture etc. These are strategies to force Western domination of every aspect of every community everywhere in the world. At the same time, they are part of the West's promotion of the idea that the whole world should be integrated into a 'global community' or 'global village'. These are tactics for making all parts of the world more and more dependent on the West. * The membership of the UN of all existing nation states, including all Muslim ones, lends legitimacy to the West's claims to be the ultimate civilisation, representing and promoting universal values of freedom and justice. The West's claims to be the 'ultimate civilisation' are nonsense and totally unacceptable. * The idea that there should be an Islamic alternative to the UN is commonplace. Before this happens it is necessary to convert some of the Muslim nation states into Islamic states. The Muslim nation states are parts of the West's mechanisms for controlling the world of Islam. For the global Islamic Movement, the absence of formal structures constitutes a source of strength. * At present therefore, there is neither the need nor the prospect for Muslims to develop an Islamic alternative to the United Nations. When Muslims need such structures they will be shaped by the power of Islam in the conditions of the time. * Muslims reject the UN's claims to be a world body. Its decisions have no relevance to the global agenda of Islam. * Muslims must oppose the presence, influence and work of the UN and its agencies in all parts of the world. Those Muslim groups which seek to identify, co-operate or work with the UN and its agencies in fact act to the detriment of Islam and Muslims. * Islamic states of the future will have to leave the UN because the civilisations of Islam and the West are mutually incompatible. The Muslim Parliament is organising follow-up meetings in various parts of the country. The first will be in London on 5th November. The meeting will have two specific foci of interest, viz., the Muslim Parliament Jihad Fund, which supports the jihad [struggle in the way of God] of Islamic movements in many countries, and the Media Monitoring Project,which monitors and responds to misinformation about Islam in the mass media (Q News 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 1/2]
CRE and religious discrimination In the light of the boycott of the Commission for Racial Equality's meeting for "ethnic minority media editors" by the editors of the Muslim newspapers Q News and Muslim News in protest at the CRE's perceived refusal to apply all its influence towards the cause of securing legislation against religious discrimination (see BMMS for September 1995), the subject was aired at some length in a special section of Q News (06.10.95). The kernel of the section was a series of leaked documents which purported to be a legal opinion on the merits of introducing anti-religious discrimination legislation, a commentary by the Deputy Chairman of the CRE and a formal statement of the CRE's position. The legal opinion from a Queen's Counsel came to three conclusions: "(i) that Great Britain does suffer very extensive religious discrimination particularly in education, (ii) that religious discrimination is often but not always closely linked with racial issues, but (iii) it would not be in the interests of resolving race discrimination issues to have prohibitions on religious discrimination engrafted onto the Race Relations Act 1976". The commentary from the Deputy Chairman of the CRE, who is also a leading member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, concluded that, for reasons which he explained at length, he was opposed to an amendment to the Race Relations Act to cover religious discrimination and to separate legislation against religious discrimination whilst making it absolutely clear that he personally was opposed to religious discrimination as a member of a group "which has suffered more from both racial and religious discrimination than most". He also identified the demand for legislation on religious discrimination as coming predominantly from "sections of the Muslim community". The CRE Executive Policy Group statement which was reproduced in the leaked document gave an eight-point summary of the Commission's position which acknowledged that religious discrimination does occur even though efforts to quantify it and document it have proved inconclusive. This led to a final recommendation that "the Commission should maintain a low profile approach to campaigns for legislation on religious discrimination, either by amendments to the Race Relations Act 1976 or in separate legislation". However, the CRE committed itself to a fourfold plan of action; (i) to continue to assist race cases where religion is a factor, (ii) to promote good practice in relation to religious observance, (iii) to support the collection and co-ordination of relevant information on religious discrimination, and (iv) to review the CRE position annually. In response to the leaked documents, Iqbal Sacranie of the UK Action Committee on Islamic Affairs, summarised his comments by saying, "These papers just confirm what we've suspected all along - that there is structural discrimination that militates against Muslims being given equal rights. How else can we explain the fact that they deliberately chose to ignore the reality on the ground?" (Q News 06.10.95). An editorial in the same issue took marked exception to the position of the Deputy Chairman of the CRE and questioned the assumption that demand for anti-religious discrimination legislation was limited to Muslims. It catalogued some of the geographical areas in which contemporary Muslims are suffering, such as Bosnia, Kashmir and Palestine, and expressed the opinion that "we have no reason not to believe that it will happen to us here in Britain tomorrow". [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 2/3]
According to a report in Today (18.10.95), "Islamic extremists based in Britain may be involved in yesterday's bombing of a Paris underground train which injured 28 people. The eighth terrorist attack in France within three months came after a hard-line Islamic newspaper, published in London, threatened more action". The British government has been accused of conducting a dirty tricks campaign to silence Saudi Arabian dissidents in London whose presence is held to threaten Britain's relations with the government of Saudi Arabia and other Arab states (The Guardian 20.10.95). Pressure has come from the French government concerning Algerian dissidents (The Times 25.10.95) but mention was also made of Saudi Arabian dissidents and Turkish-language broadcasting networks. Certain London centres were implicated in a report in the Sunday Telegraph (29.10.95) which mentioned in addition Egyptian, Tunisian and Afghan dissidents. The dissidents' activities were linked to Hizb ut-Tahrir activities on university campuses in a report in Asian Age (02.11.95). Commenting on the situation, Iqbal Sacranie, the convener of the UK Action Committee on Islamic Affairs told the Daily Jang (31.10.95), "It is true that British policy is liberal and there is an aspect of tolerance, but in no one way can one say that any individual can simply come here [sic]. There is a procedure and scrutiny, it is not an open haven for dissidents... I do not believe mosques are being used as a propaganda base. Yes there may be isolated cases, where there are lectures by particular groups about movements overseas, but these present a small minority [sic]... There are 51 Muslim countries and in more or less each one [of] them there are groups who are not content with the government of the day. If they were all going to use mosques then I should imagine there would be quite a bit of disarray, with one section for the particular government and another against... Certainly, you will find a certain element of sympathy within some groups who do propagate the overthrow of a government but these should not be linked as Islamic groups. If the British government really believes that these individuals are causing tremendous harm to their country then it is up to them to pursue policies to stem this. This is just another example of the anti-Islamic media whipping up fear when in reality there is no justification for it... If Britain were to follow the French line in its handling of anyone who is Arabic [sic] or Muslim then I think this would pave the way for deteriorating race relations in this country". [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 3/4]
The commission of enquiry set up by the Bradford Congress to investigate the disturbances in June (see BMMS for June, July, August and September 1995) has published invitations to local people who wish to register to speak at a series of public meetings to be held before the commission during November (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 13.10.95). The trial of four young men accused of assaulting a police officer, using threatening behaviour and resisting arrest at the beginning of the disturbances in Bradford in June 1995 continued (see BMMS for September 1995). Evidence was given that two policemen held down one of the accused whilst another hit him with his baton (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 05.10.95). In his summing up, the defence solicitor alleged that there were "glaring inconsistencies" in the police evidence (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 06.10.95). The accused were ultimately cleared of all charges by the magistrates who said that neither side left the court with any great credit (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 07.10.95). A 15 year-old youth and a 22 year-old man who had been charged in connection with the disturbances in Bradford were released by the courts after the Crown Prosecution Service withdrew charges. The youth had been accused of kicking a police dog but he was vindicated by an independently-shot video film of the incident (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 18.10.95). The family of a 15 year-old Muslim youth in Bradford, who was cleared of charges of threatening behaviour by the magistrates' court, is to sue West Yorkshire Police for wrongful arrest. Ironically, the youth concerned was a promising boxer who trained at Bradford Police Boys' Club and always wanted to join the police force. His experience has caused him to review his career options (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 19.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 4/5]
The Archbishop of Canterbury's visit to the Sudan (see BMMS for September 1995) has prompted comment in the Muslim press. Q News (13.10.95) quoted sections from the Archbishop's speech in Green Square, Khartoum where he spoke out about unequal treatment experienced under the law by Christians in the Sudan. "I trust I will be understood by my Muslim brothers and sisters for speaking out for my Christian brothers and sisters who live in this great land of Sudan. They are not treated as equals... They often feel persecuted by the laws of this land. The list of grievances which Christians feel is long and heavy. Religious tolerance, which should be at the heart of any civilised nation, is not being granted to them... The process of Islamisation imposed on the nation undermines fundamental freedoms which hurts people of all faiths and is unacceptable to all". When checked against the pre-delivery text of the speech issued to the press by the Archbishop's office, a rather more contextualised picture emerges. The pre-delivery text reads: "A recognition of such unity in God should lead us automatically to an attitude of respect and tolerance towards one another irrespective of race, colour, religion or gender. I trust I will be understood by my Muslim brothers and sisters for speaking out for my Christian brothers and sisters who live in this great land of Sudan. They are not treated as equals. They often feel persecuted by the laws of this land. The list of grievances which Christians feel is long and heavy. Religious tolerance, which should be at the heart of any civilised nation, is not being granted to them. The introduction of recent laws, which makes Christian Churches voluntary societies and subject to government authority, whilst mosques are not, is a worrying violation of the religious freedom which has been enjoyed in this country for many years. Islam is not to be feared but a process of Islamisation imposed on a nation undermines fundamental freedoms, which hurts people of all faiths and will be unacceptable to them all. I hope that the authorities will pay attention to these concerns which are expressed out of a deep care for the people of Sudan who long for peace and justice". In a key paragraph, the newspaper quoted the Archbishop thus: "The Archbishop also referred to the 'torture, rape, destruction of property, slavery and death,' being endured by Christians as a result of Shari'ah laws. Mr Carey sent out a 'challenge to all those who are responsible for such inhuman behaviour to stop. It is no part of any creed to treat fellow human beings with such disrespect and cruelty'." This quotation did not appear in the pre-delivery text as issued to the press. The Archbishop also gave an address in Juba Cathedral on 8th October where he spoke to Christians who had been involved in the civil war in the south of Sudan. He assured them that he knew of their suffering and, according to the pre-delivery text issued to the press, went on: "I hear, too, terrible stories about the persecution of certain groups of people in different parts of your country - in the Nuba mountains and elsewhere, of torture, rape, destruction of property, of slavery and death. I ask those who are able to take this message to them: 'You are not forgotten. In your suffering, may you know the crucified Christ's presence and may he give you the courage to hold fast to all that is good'. I challenge with those who are responsible for such inhuman behaviour to stop [sic]. It is no part of any creed to treat fellow human beings with such disrespect and cruelty. Religion should never divide; true faith is always harmonious". In commenting on the Archbishop's words, comparisons were made to the plight of Muslims in Britain. Dr Hasan al-Turabi, "the intellectual dynamo of Sudan's Islamic rebirth", said, "I don't dismiss his criticisms 100 per cent, but this is a problem of underdevelopment of the south. I think the Christians in Sudan have more rights than the Muslims in Britain" (Q News 13.10.95). Similarly, "Tanzeem Wasti of the Muslim Solidarity Council accused the Archbishop of hypocrisy in speaking out against 'imaginary' discrimination against Christians but staying silent on the differential treatment of British Muslims at the same time as he continued to espouse inter-faith dialogue. 'His visit is disgusting. The Christians of Sudan are ministers in the government. They are represented in the ministries... How many Muslims in this country are even senior members of the civil service, let alone Parliament or the House of Lords... Muslims are not even protected by anti-discrimination laws when their basic right to find employment, wear headcoverings and have halal food is routinely abused" (Q News 13.10.95). The Archbishop's visit was also covered by Muslim News (27.10.95) which contained an editorial cataloguing the perceived inaction of the Church of England in defending the human rights of Muslims in Britain, Bosnia and Armenia. It noted that the Archbishop's speeches in the Sudan were not responses to what he actually saw there but were prepared in advance based on information "given by his advisers, including human rights groups, who have their own political agenda, and Christian evangelical organisations, which are losing their grip in Muslim and other third world countries". In a lengthy article in the same newspaper, disagreement was expressed with the views contained in the Archbishop's speeches on the part of Bishop Gabriel Roreg from the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in Sudan who is also a State Minister for Foreign Affairs. According to the article, he denied there was persecution or discrimination against Christians and Christian churches in the Sudan. "He [Dr Carey] saw thousands of Christians and Muslims attending in Green Square, if there was persecution would that have taken place". The Bishop was reported to lay the blame for the problems in the south of the Sudan on the British government which had cut off the south from the north during the period of colonial rule. The article went on to mention some of Dr Carey's misconceptions which were corrected by President al-Bashir during the visit. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 5/6]
Guildhall University was forced to close for a day on police advice after a protest by about 300 Muslims at the Whitechapel site. The protest was organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir to counter alleged bigotry against Muslims (The Times 07.10.95). The incident which prompted the protest occurred when a Muslim female student had alcohol spilt over her by members of the rugby club. A Hizb ut-Tahrir statement alleged that the incident was part of a "hate campaign orchestrated almost exclusively by the Union of Jewish Students and their lackeys in the National Union of Students" (The Times Higher Education Supplement 13.10.95). A group calling itself the Muslim Education Society was expelled from a freshers' fair at the University of London Union when they were found to be distributing leaflets associated with the Hizb ut-Tahrir which had been refused a platform at the event. The National Union of Students set up a 24-hour hotline for students to ring in with fears of intimidation or harassment on university campuses. The results of the year's calls were analysed and published in an NUS report entitled Campuswatch. This revealed that "threats and harassment were twice as likely to be blamed on extreme Islamic groups than on ultra right-wing organisations" (The Times 31.10.95). "There were more than 100 reports of distribution of offensive material by Islamic extremists, primarily Hizb ut-Tahrir, and 50 reports of offensive meetings, 47 threats of violence and 31 acts of physical intimidation or harassment" (The Guardian 31.10.95). In all there were 271 complaints about Islamic extremists as opposed to 91 against the British National Party. Hizb ut-Tahrir was particularly identified as a source of concern by the NUS president. "It is the single biggest extremist threat in the UK at the moment. The college authorities know it, the police know it, and it is astonishing that Michael Howard, the Home secretary, is doing nothing about it", according to the NUS president (The Guardian 31.10.95). The Yorkshire Post (31.10.95) noted with relief in an editorial that "the problem is largely confined to London" and that Muslims in Yorkshire are "thankfully immune to the evil charms" of HuT. The findings of the NUS report were queried by the Muslim weekly Q News (27.10.95) which pointed out the lack of sound investigation and analysis behind the statistics and drew attention to the orchestrated activities of the Union of Jewish Students in a long-running battle against Hizb ut-Tahrir in particular. Such opposition has been based on anti-Zionist positions taken by Muslim groups rather than any opposition to Jews as a racial or religious group. In a comment reported in the Daily Jang (02.11.95), Omar Bakri Mohammad, the leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the UK, returned to a familiar theme by saying, "We can only say that this is the work of children incapable of bringing forward an intellectual argument against us". [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 6/7]
Short Reports Councillors in the London Borough of Feltham have given permission for burials to take place in the local Hatton Cemetery without the use of a coffin. The shrouded bodies will be buried directly in the ground although there is a particular concern as the water table is never less that 48 inches below the surface in the cemetery which often results in graves filling with water before the burial takes place (Brentford, Chiswick & Isleworth Times 13.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 7] Charity investigation in Slough The Charities Commission has been called in to investigate the long-running dispute over the control of the Diamond Road mosque (see BMMS for April, August, September, October and November 1994; January, February, March, April and September 1995). The Slough Pakistan Welfare Association complained to the Commission about the way in which the mosque is being run by the Slough Islamic Trust. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 7/8] A judge sitting in Harrow Crown Court has dismissed a case before him against 14 Muslim youths who were accused of assault and public order offences after a disturbance between Sikh and Muslim students at the West Thames College in Isleworth in January 1995 (see BMMS for January, March and April 1995), on the grounds that media coverage of the incident had rendered a fair trial impossible (The Guardian 13.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 8] The Halal Meat Company (Birmingham) Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation with an estimated trading loss of £687,715 in the last financial year (Birmingham Post 17.10.95). The company, which was the largest supplier of halal meat in the country with a turnover of £30m, blames its demise in part on a decrease in demand for beef following the BSE scare. The company's properties have been taken over by UK Pak Halal Meat which will continue to supply halal meat in the area. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 8] Muslims in Harrow are complaining after a decision was made by Harrow Council not to spend an additional £25,000 to provide an extra cemetery attendant which would have allowed burials to take place on the same day as the person's death. It was argued that this practice is not specifically required by the Qur'an and often burials are delayed for a day or two in Muslim countries (Harrow & London Recorder 05.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 8] The dispute over access to the only mosque in Norwich has continued (see BMMS for August and September 1995) with a prayer meeting outside the mosque filmed by the Middle Eastern Broadcasting Company (Norwich Evening News 30.09.95) and a march to Norwich City Hall by fifty Muslim protesters (Norwich Evening News 14.10.95). The protestors have also contacted the investigation division of the Charity Commissioners to see if they are aware of the closure (Eastern Daily Press 16.10.95). The group of Muslims who are locked out raised a petition containing 200 names which called on the city council to step into the dispute and held a meeting with Norwich North MP, John Garrett, in an effort to have the mosque re-opened for worship (Norwich Evening News 26.10.95). The news that the Murabitoon group are to hand over the running of the mosque to a London-based "group of West Indian Moslems" was met with anger by local Muslims who have consistently maintained that the mosque was given for the use of all Muslims in the city (Norwich Evening News 30.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 8] To coincide with the "Million Man March" on Washington DC on 16th October organised by the Nation of Islam, there was a rally organised by the Nation of Islam in Britain held on the Broadwater Farm estate in north London. This event prompted an article in Time Out (11.10.95) which explored the ideas of the Nation of Islam and its relationship to Sunni Islam. The presence of Tottenham MP, Bernie Grant, and Lee Jasper of the National Black Caucus raised some concern on the part of commentators although the two made it plain that they did not share every aspect of the Nation of Islam's agenda (The Guardian 14.10.95). Particular concern about the event was expressed by the Board of Deputies of British Jews because of alleged anti-semitic statements by Nation of Islam leaders and literature (Morning Star 16.10.95). Not all members of the Nation of Islam in Britain agreed with the leadership of Wayne X who has shown himself willing to associate with other Black groups. Some of these, led by Hilary X, dissociated themselves from the meeting and staged their own Day of Atonement in Brixton (The Sunday Times 15.10.95). Around 1,000 people were reported to have attended the rally where Bernie Grant was booed when he expressed people's sorrow at the death of PC Keith Blakelock in anti-police riots in London in 1985 (The Times 17.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 8/9] A former Conservative Party parliamentary candidate, Abdul Qayyum Chaudhary, has joined the Labour Party in Small Heath, Birmingham. Mr Chaudhary, chairman of the British Council of Pakistanis, said he believed that the Labour Party was more sympathetic towards the inner cities and people from ethnic minorities (Black Country Evening Mail 18.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 9] Muslims in Luton have been called upon to join a new grouping, the British Muslims Association, which aims to represent all Muslims regardless of their ethnic origins (Luton Herald & Post 12.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 9] A new 1,000-grave Muslim cemetery has been officially opened in Bury by a ceremony in which the direction for burial according to Muslim custom was duly located and marked by a permanent structure (Bury Times 29.09.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 9] Concern over Bangladeshi visitor The visit of Moulana Delwer Hossain Saidee to Stoke on Trent prompted some Muslims in the town to denounce him as a political activist who incited young Muslims to join a "radical fundamentalist organisation" (The Stoke on Trent Sentinel 06.10.95). About 45 people demonstrated outside a meeting which he addressed. They were complaining about his record of activities in Bangladesh. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 9] The Ahmadiyya Muslim Association headquarters in Southfields, London has applied for permission to erect a satellite dish to beam the messages of their leader via the association's satellite TV network MPA. The dish will act as a backup to the mobile transmitting station which currently follows the leader around the country (Wandsworth Borough News 06.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 9] The Centre for Computerised Research in Islamic Sciences in Iran has produced a computer game entitled "Embracing Islamic values and beliefs" which is currently under mass production prior to its release on the international market (The Sheffield Star 06.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 9] People from many different religious traditions, including Muslims and Christians, gathered together at the Ladywood Community Centre in Birmingham on 17th September to remember and pray for all those who are suffering in the former Yugoslavia. Dr Mashuq Ibn Ally from the Centre for Islamic Studies at Lampeter spoke on the theme of the new world order at the Islamic Centre, Butetown, Cardiff as part of the One World Week celebrations organised by the Cardiff Interfaith Association. Representatives of all the major world faiths in the city took part in an hour-long celebration to mark the opening of a multifaith place of worship at St Luke's Hospital, Bradford. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 10] The Community Services Committee of Kingston Council has agreed to designate 30 grave spaces in Surbiton Cemetery for Muslim use. The 1,000 Muslim families in the borough currently have to be buried elsewhere thus incurring a double charge because they are not residents of the area in which they are buried (Kingston, Surbiton & New Malden Times 29.09.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 10] Disbursements from the lottery The Hartington Road Mosque Committee in Stockton has applied to the National Lottery for £242,000 towards the cost of building a three-storey Ethnic Community Training and Resource Centre in the town. Applications have also been made to the European Regional Fund and English Partnerships to make up the balance of a total sum of £821,000 (Middlesborough Evening Gazette 11.10.95). Concerns have been raised in correspondence to the press after Muslim groups have benefitted from National Lottery money in spite of the fact that gambling is not permitted in Islam. The recipients cited were £66,000 for Bangladeshi elders in Hyde, £12,660 for Asian elders in Trafford, Manchester and £102,900 for a Bury Asian group. The question was raised as to whether this is not somewhat anomalous (Manchester Evening News 26.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 10] Wayne X, the leader of the Nation of Islam in Britain, has begun a series of talks with Black Christian groups including the Seventh Day Adventists, Pentecostalists and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to see if there is common ground for them to work together to turn young Black people away from crime and other social problems (The Voice 03.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 10] The Liverpool Muslim Society has been instrumental in helping to set up a survey of the Muslim and other minority communities in the city to investigate why there is a low uptake for preventative health services by women within these communities (Merseymart & Star 12.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 10] Reading's Muslim community has objected to a local "kissagram service" dressing women in Muslim attire and having them pose as illegal immigrants before stripping and passing on a message of greeting to unsuspecting customers (Reading Evening Post 05.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 10/11] Muslim/Hindu clash, Wandsworth Muslim and Hindu leaders in the London Borough of Wandsworth have appealed for calm after an incident in which a group of allegedly Muslim youths attacked a group of Hindus waiting to enter the Civic Suite to take part in celebrations for the Hindu festival of Navaratri. One Hindu man received serious head wounds after he was attacked with a sword (Wandsworth Borough News 06.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 11] Pakistani youth project, Reading Berkshire County Council has agreed to fund two paid youth workers at the Pakistani Community Centre in Reading with a view to organising a range of youth activities to keep Pakistani young people out of trouble. The 8,000 members of the Pakistani community in the town form the most deprived group with an unemployment rate of 24.7% (Reading Evening Post 16.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 11] The former Methodist church which has been lying empty for some years, which is at the centre of a row between a Muslim group, the Islamic Brotherhood, and members of the Afro Caribbean community in Coventry (see BMMS for September 1995), has been sold to the Islamic Brotherhood who eventually managed to outbid the Education and Development Initiative Trust. There has been a deal of unpleasantness which has reawoken earlier concerns that this part of Coventry is the focus of an anti-black atmosphere which has prevented Caribbean groups who have wanted to establish business and leisure facilities there in the past. It appears that the building was formerly owned by Muslim groups who refused to sell to the Islamic Brotherhood, which group has now bought it from the liquidators handling the affairs of the former owners. Councillor Shabbir Ahmed, a member of the Islamic Brotherhood, stated that there was no racial dimension to the opposition to the Afro Caribbean group, rather there was a general feeling in the community that the presence of "undesirables" and "anti-social behaviour" which might have resulted from the proposed youth centre would be unwelcome in the neighbourhood (Weekly Journal 26.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 11] Coventry Bereavement Services have agreed to find a suitable place in one of the city's cemeteries for the burial of worn out copies of the Qur'an (Coventry Evening Telegraph 02.11.95). A section of the Hills of Dunipace cemetery in Falkirk is to be set aside specifically for Muslim burials (Falkirk Herald 19.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 11]
The Cambridge Union Society debated a motion which stated that "This House Fears the Rise of Radical Islam" on 20th October at which one of the guest speakers brought in to sum up was Omar Bakri Mohammad, the leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the UK. The debate prompted an article in the Daily Jang (17.10.95) which explored the tensions amongst student societies in Cambridge around the Hizb ut-Tahrir issue. The familiar themes of Zionism and homosexuality were explored. The article then went on to explore the tensions between the Islamic Society and the Pakistan Society which were held to be "considerably more serious", according to a former president of the latter. The debate itself attracted little press attention with the exception of the Cambridge Evening News (21.10.95), which recorded that the motion was passed by 252 votes to 84 with 58 abstentions. The Muslim weekly Q News (27.10.95) devoted a page to a report of the debate which detailed the depths of ignorance about Islam which typified most of the speakers and the fact that the result was a foregone conclusion. Omar Bakri Mohammad was reported to have invited people to make an intellectual study of Islam in an impassioned if, at times, "barely comprehensible" speech. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 11/12]
Concern has been expressed in Birmingham about the decision of the city council to lease the former school premises in Tilton Road, Bordesley to the Ahmadiyya Association for use as a community headquarters (see BMMS for July 1995). The matter was investigated by the Daily Jang (31.10.95) which reported that the property had been openly advertised in the press but only two applications were forthcoming. A condition of the lease was that the lessee should refurbish the property at their expense, which costs were estimated at around one million pounds. This requirement ruled out one of the applicants, Westminster Endeavour and Liaison, who was already in arrears over ground rents on other properties. This left only the application from the Ahmadiyya Association. Two other organisations were informed of the availability of the property, viz. the Jamiat-e-Ulema Britain and the UK Islamic Mission, but neither made an application. This meant that the Ahmadiyya were granted the lease, although the council has made it absolutely clear that no public funds have been given to support the work of the Association. The question as to whether the Ahmadiyya were considered to be Muslims by the city council was never discussed nor was it in any way relevant to the application. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 12]
An animal welfare campaigner in Wakefield has launched a bid to gain a million signatures on a petition to parliament to have halal and kosher methods of slaughter declared illegal in Britain. The campaign has the support of the local MP but has been condemned by local Jewish and Muslim leaders. The campaigner is at pains to make clear that he is prompted only by concern for the animals' welfare and not by any anti-religious feeling (Wakefield Express 20.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 12]
The president of the Iranian parliament, Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, told the Reuters newsagency that, "the Islamic Republic of Iran will not send a death squad to kill Rushdie", however, he continued, "We do not want to give written confirmation because we want to protect our dignity and honour... We refuse to let ourselves be placed in the defendant's chair like that by anyone" (Daily Jang 01.11.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 12]
A verdict has been reached in the case of a gang of young men from the north London Bangladeshi community who were involved in the killing of a 13 year-old white youth in the Somers Town district of London on 13 August 1994 (see BMMS for August 1994). Only two young men were brought to trial although it was accepted that there had been several more involved in the incident. One of the men was gaoled for three years for his part in a separate attack on the same night as the fatal stabbing. The other, Badrul Miah, was found guilty of murder on a majority decision of the jury and given a life sentence even though it was accepted in court that there was no proof that he had actually held the knife which did the deed. The attack was referred to as a "joint enterprise" and it was suggested that some of the others who were involved had left Britain for Bangladesh (Daily Jang 01.11.95). The conviction was based on a DNA test which confirmed that the victim's blood was on Miah's jeans and witnesses stated that Miah had boasted of being involved in the incident. An appeal is to be lodged. Concern has been expressed at the severity of the sentence which has been compared to an eleven-month sentence for actual bodily harm passed on a white youth who was convicted of being one of a gang of about 20 who carried out a racist attack on a young man from the London Asian community in 1994. Makbool Javaid, the chairman of the Society of Black Lawyers, commented "There is one law for whites, another one for blacks and Asians, and a draconian one for Muslims. The discrepancy in sentences says it all. What more does one need to say?" (Q News 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 12/13]
Islamic Relief has opened a workshop for artificial limbs in Sarajevo at an initial cost of £50,000 with £6,000 per month running costs. The workshop will both produce the artificial limbs and train local people in the necessary skills. It is estimated that there are 12,000 permanently disabled people in the area and a further 60,000 with temporary disabilities (Muslim News 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 13]
A dispute has broken out over the management of a mosque in Sheffield. The owner of the building in David Pidcock, the leader of the Islamic Party of Britain. He claims that the present group of seven trustees have turned the mosque into a Yemeni centre rather than making it open to all Muslims. He has begun an action in the courts to have the trustees removed from office and barred from using the mosque whilst he is appointed as the sole trustee. Mr Pidcock's perception of the situation is challenged by other members of the mosque (Barnsley Star 21.10.95). When the case was heard before a Sheffield court, an initial injunction against the present trustees was refused and the case was adjourned until 2nd January (Sheffield Star 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 13]
The seventh Islamic Relief Games were held at the NEC near Birmingham on 22nd October. Around 5,000 people took part, which was rather fewer than the organisers expected (Birmingham Evening Mail 20.10.95). The usual array of sporting and family attractions were provided including a special women-only programme. Sponsorship came from Emirates Airlines, Midland, Natwest and Barclays Banks, Pepsi Cola, Tronseal Ltd and ZR Insurance. The games were opened by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham (Q News 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 13]
Darius Guppy, who is serving a five-year prison sentence for the notorious £1.8m jewellery insurance fraud which made the headlines in 1991, has informed Q News that he has embraced Islam whilst in Sudbury Open Prison. This prompted the newspaper to investigate the phenomenon of prisoners converting to Islam. One imam said that, "in the ten years that he had been visiting London's Pentonville Prison... [he has] come across 460 converts, including a visiting priest" (Q News 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 14]
A new report into unemployment rates has been published by the TUC. The report, Black and Betrayed, indicates that the unemployment rate amongst black people in general is 24.2% but amongst people of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage it is 27.3%. Amongst female workers, the figures are 21.5% for black women and 28.1% for women from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. In the 16-24 age group, the unemployment rate in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities is 31% which is more than twice the rate in the white community. The figures are based on the latest Labour Force Survey. "The report also calls for an increase in funding for minority educational initiatives as well as improved ethnic monitoring and evaluation procedures on the part of employers" (Q News 20.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 14]
The Liverpool Muslim community has a new resource centre under the name of "The Olive Tree" which houses a collection of books and other da'wah materials. It is publishing a monthly newsletter called The New Crescent, which name recalls the publication associated with Shaikh Abdullah Quilliam who was the leader of the 19th century Muslim community in that city (Q News 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 14]
The Asian Music Service has been launched in the north west of England by the Oldham Leisure Service and the Manchester Sangeet Academy. The service will extend the knowledge of Asian music in schools in the area through workshops, classes and residencies as well as though individual and group tuition in the community (Daily Jang 01.11.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 14]
Max Madden, the member of parliament for Bradford West who has served the Muslim community there for many years, was awarded the Hilal-e-Quaid-e-Azam medal by the government of Pakistan. The award was presented by the High Commissioner for Pakistan who said, "Mr Max Madden is an eminent parliamentarian. He continues to render commendable service to the Pakistani community in Britain, especially in his constituency of Bradford. His contribution in high-lighting the plight of the people of Kashmir in their just struggle for the right of self-determination is widely respected and appreciated" (Daily Jang 31.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 14]
Calderdale interfaith discussions Christians and Muslims in Calderdale have made a start in improving relations between the two communities by staging a joint meeting at the instigation of the Calderdale Christian Assembly to discuss social problems, in particular homelessness and unemployment. It was generally recognised that this initiative should have begun some years ago but general support for the exchange was expressed on all sides (Halifax Evening Courier 30.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 14/15]
The Ahl ul-Bayt Islamic Centre in Clapham, London has suffered four breaks-in over the last few months which have resulted in thousands of pounds worth of damage. The management of the centre has now written to the Home Secretary, the police, Lambeth Council and the press in an effort to highlight the problem and ask for further assistance to counter such criminal activities (South London Press 17.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 15]
In an article on the widespread availability of information on Islamic subjects on the Internet in Q News (13.10.95), attention was drawn to a service offered by the University of Buffalo in the United States of America. The site can be accessed on http://wings.buffalo.edu/student-life/sa/muslim/isl/isl.html and contains Qur'an and hadith databases, information on fiqh [jurisprudence], kalam [systematic religious thought], tasawwuf [mysticism], philosophy and bibliographies of Islamic books, as well as prayer timetables, pictures of mosques and even the syllabus of the International Islamic University in Malaysia. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 15]
The Islamic Foundation, Leicester organised its third annual intensive orientation course on Islamic banking, economics and finance from 9th to 12th November at its conference centre in Markfield. The event was sponsored by the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah and Loughborough University. The course brought together pioneers in the field from many Muslim countries as well as the UK and USA (Leicester Mercury 24.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 15]
There have been over 300 objections to plans to open a public house and off-licence next-door to a mosque in Burnhead Lane, Falkirk. The Falkirk District Licensing Board has postponed a decision until after a site visit (Falkirk Advertiser 18.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 15]
Bradford: Ahmadiyya community centre Bradford City Challenge has contributed £25,000 towards the £84,000 cost of a community centre for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in that city. The balance of the cost will be met by the association itself from national funds. The new centre, which is expected to be completed early in the new year, will provide a base for a wide range of sporting activities for both men and women from the local community (Bradford Telegraph & Argus 30.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 15]
Watford Council brought an action in the courts against the trustees of Watford Jamia Mosque for illegally lopping trees on their property. Now the Watford Mosque and Welfare Association has appealed to the Watford Council for Racial Equality for help in the matter which they see as being racially motivated given that the mosque made several reports concerning a neighbouring tree which was even more severely lopped by a white resident without any action being taken. Other instances of alleged racial discrimination by elements of the council have been enumerated and the National Commission for Racial Equality is being asked to investigate the matter (West Herts & Watford Observer 20.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 15/16]
The town of Rochdale is twinned with Sahiwal in Pakistan. A three-member team of people who work with deaf children has been sent from the town to its twin to help with assessing the needs of deaf children there and advising on appropriate medical and educational methods which can be employed to assist them (Manchester Evening News 01.11.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 16]
Muslim community leaders in Nelson have joined with local police in condemning an attack by three youths from the Asian community on a 56 year-old woman who was violently assaulted and robbed at 2300 on 30th September. The damage to race relations in the area has been noted and Muslim leaders have asked all members of their communities to assist the police in any way in bringing the culprits to justice (Nelson Leader 13.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 16]
The Birmingham Gender Clinic has taken out advertisements in the Daily Jang (11.10.95) drawing attention to the availability of sex-selection techniques based on the Ericsson method from California. According to the advertisement, this method for male selection "produces 75% to 80% male infants". The advertisement prompted one correspondent to write in to the newspaper making reference to the dangers of sex selection in the light of the practice of pre-Islamic Arabs who practised infanticide on their unwanted girl babies (Daily Jang 25.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 16]
Plans for two new Muslim community centres have been submitted to the appropriate authorities. One by Lenton Muslim Social and Welfare Association in Lenton, Nottingham (Nottingham Evening Post 21.10.95), and the other for an Islamic Cultural Centre in Oldham (Oldham Evening Chronicle 23.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 16]
Ten members of the Falkirk Muslim Women's Group have completed the needlework required to make a hanging panel as part of a display of Moghul art for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The panel brings together influences from the Scottish and South Asian cultures and was funded by grants from the Regional Council, Scottish Arts Council, Stirling District Council and the Falkirk Community Arts Project (Falkirk Herald 19.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 16]
Dr Abdul Majid Katme of the Islamic Medical Association has joined the debate over the future of boxing in the light of the recent injuries to James Murray. He called for the sport to be banned due to the risk of severe and irreparable damage which can affect those who participate (Daily Jang 18.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 16]
Burnley Racial Equality Council has proposed that the town should mount a festival to coincide with Eid ul-Fitr next year to increase awareness of Islam and the local Muslim community. The proposal is to be discussed by the town's Equal Opportunities Subcommittee (Burnley Express and Burnley News 24.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 17]
A four year-old Bradford Muslim boy suffering from Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, an immune deficiency disease, is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. An appeal has been launched amongst the community of Asian descent in Britain for people to come forward as potential donors. It is necessary that there should be an exact tissue match between the donor and recipient and this is most likely to occur within the same ethnic group. The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust, which is organising the search for a donor, said that only 3,000 Asian people are registered as donors out of a total of 264,000 (Daily Jang 01.11.95). The President of the Bradford Council for Mosques, Sher Azam, has given his full support to the appeal, which follows shortly after the fatwa on the subject issued by the Muslim Law (Shari'ah) Council of the UK, and has helped to set up a screening centre in the city (Daily Mail 02.11.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 17]
The new £10m Brunei Gallery which is part of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London University is to be opened officially on 22nd November. It was profiled in an article in The Art Newspaper (01.11.95). The facilities of the new gallery were explored and attention was drawn to its first major exhibition which is scheduled for March to June 1996 which will comprise of 250 items of Ottoman art from the collection of Nasser David Khalili. This led to some discussion of the immense collection of Mr Khalili and speculation about whether significant pieces from it will be deposited in the gallery's permanent exhibition room. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 17]
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, the principal of the International Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity and himself a convert to Christianity from Islam in his late teens, staged a three-day lecture tour of Scottish churches on the understanding that there would be no prior publicity, as earlier appearances had been picketed, according to a report in The Scotsman (21.10.95). The interview with the newspaper "was granted on the understanding that venues of talks would not be mentioned". Two particular themes were reported to have figured in Dr Sookhdeo's talks, viz. the danger of a "creeping institutionalisation of racism" through moves for separate schools and the need for Muslim countries to allow religious freedom for non-Muslims. He estimated that less than 1,000 people have converted from Islam in Britain but around 4,000 women each year in Britain convert to Islam through marriage. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 17]
Updates Education The way in which Muslim families of Asian heritage are striving to get their children into quality independent schools through the assisted places scheme was explored in a report in The Independent (10.10.95). At Batley Grammar, the school's Asian population has risen from 10.2% to 14.2% over the last two years. Many of these are coming through the assisted places scheme in which Asian children have risen as a proportion by 11%. A similar pattern can be seen in London and the Midlands. The mosque was identified as the meeting place in which parents of differing economic means exchange information about accessing available places. Of those who apply for assisted places, 75% of all the Asian applicants receive the full assistance, which is means tested, compared to around 33% in the wider community. Parents report that there is no social stigma within the community about accessing independent education in this way because of the paramount importance given to quality education amongst Muslims. The lack of racism in such schools was noted in the article. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 18]
The West Yorkshire Black Governors Support Service, with support from the Rowntree Charitable Trust and Local Education Authorities, organised a conference for school governors from the ethnic minority communities on 21st October in Huddersfield. Topics covered included the role of governors in the management of schools, OFSTED inspections, grant maintained schools and procedures for exclusion from schools. The conference was prompted by a feeling that children from these communities are not being adequately catered for in schools and that governors from the minority communities are both under-represented and poorly supported (Daily Jang 20.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 18]
The Madni Trust, based in Nottingham, has launched an Islamic home study course under the auspices of the World Islamic Forum in partnership with the Da'wah Academy of the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan. The course will operate through English language and offer modules on the principles of Islam, Hadith and Sunnah, social etiquette, Sirah [biography of the Prophet Muhammad], Islamic morals and manners and Islamic history (Muslim News 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 18]
Muslims in West Yorkshire are pressing the Prime Minister to clarify his position on religious schools after his statement on the subject at the Conservative Party Conference. He said that he wanted to give religious schools to all those who wanted them but, given the way in which all applications for state funding for Muslims schools to date have been rejected, doubt was expressed by some leaders about his seriousness in extending religious schools to Muslims (Yorkshire Post 14.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 18]
The perennial question of the appropriate catchment for church schools was aired in an article in the Church Times (06.10.95). The question typically provokes two diverse answers. Some hold that church schools exist to nurture the faith of children from Christian families, whilst others maintain the tradition of the Church of England serving the local community irrespective of religious affiliation. These two schools of thought were exemplified by reference to primary schools serving a multireligious East End community and a more monocultural Brentwood area. The East End school was founded by Victorian Christians to serve the poor of the area irrespective of their religious affiliation. From its earliest days, the school was multireligious although this aspect of its population has changed dramatically with the predominance of Bangladeshi families living nearby since the 1960's. Around 200 of the school's 245 pupils are from Muslim Bangladeshi families now, with the remaining children being drawn from a wide variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds. This makes requirements on the school in terms of identifying its Christian character whilst respecting the faith commitment of the majority of children. The bulk of the staff have a Christian commitment. The implications of this religious "tightrope" were traced through such elements as religious education, school assemblies, religious festivals and relations with the supporting churches. By contrast, the Brentwood school saw itself as imposing definite religious affiliation clauses in its admission policy which resulted in an almost exclusively Christian school roll. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 18/19]
South Birmingham College rents rooms to accommodate courses from the Mu'ath Welfare Trust at their Bordesley Centre complex. Concerns were expressed about female students on these courses wearing short skirts and thus causing offense to Muslim sensitivities regarding modesty of dress. Although Mu'ath Trust representatives claim not to have directly complained about short skirts in particular, they confirmed that modest standards of dress were expected from people who used their centre. This led to South Birmingham College managers re-arranging courses so that those held at the Bordesley Centre mainly attracted members of the minority communities who would respect the dress code, whilst other courses were staged at other locations. The Principal said that the arrangement was amicable, "It's their site and we don't want to offend religious beliefs" (Birmingham Post 02.11.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 19]
As a sign of its establishment and expansion, the Hijaz College, Nuneaton has advertised for qualified teachers to teach to GCSE level in Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, History and Geography (Q News 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 19]
Call for opt-out, Bethnal Green Daneford Green Boys' School became co-educational in September 1995 against the wishes of a number of Muslim parents. Parents with children at the school, re-named Bethnal Green High, have called for a ballot on whether the school should opt-out of LEA control and become "grant maintained, Muslim and boys only" (East London Advertiser 05.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 19]
Governors at Feversham College, Bradford have confirmed that they are in close consultation with the education authority to improve their application for state funding with a view to a re-submission of their application for VA status. The school has been encouraged by a visit from the Bishop of Leeds (Yorkshire Post 17.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 19]
Promoting teaching as a career Bradford and Ilkley Community College will stage a day conference on 9th November with a view to encouraging students from the minority communities to consider entering the teaching profession. The college is already involved in other projects to disseminate the experiences of minority students in education. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 19/20]
Mosques Muslims in Camberley and Frimley have been searching for a suitable site for a mosque for some time and have been in discussion with local council officials (see BMMS for June 1995). It appears that a possible solution might be at hand when St Gregory's School in Camberley vacates its present buildings in favour of a new site next year. Both the Islamic Welfare Association and the Bengali Welfare Association have expressed an interest in exploring the possibilities of acquiring the site when it becomes available (Sandhurst & Crowthorne Mail 20.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 20]
After many attempts to secure planning permission to convert the former brush factory in Chesham into a mosque or to find an alternative site for a purpose-built mosque (see BMMS for June 1993; November and December 1994; May and June 1995), members of the Muslim community have now reconciled themselves to adapting the terraced house in which they currently worship to provide more extensive accommodation. An application has been lodged to add a two-storey extension to the present house (Bucks Examiner 20.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 20]
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Leamington Spa has applied to the local council for help to find them a suitable place to pray after the forced closure of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission House in Regent Grove which is due for demolition. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 20]
Controversial plans to build a Dawoodi Bohra Jamaat mosque and two temples on the same plot of land in Leicester, which led to some heated exchanges in 1994 (see BMMS for January and March 1994), have been shelved. A Church of England minister in Leicester objected to a leaflet campaign organised by some city councillors opposed to the buildings. She objected to a demonstrably untrue argument that there are no Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus resident in the area and accused the campaigners of being inspired by pernicious and discriminatory political propaganda (Leicester Mail 05.10.95). Conservative councillors, who forced and won by-elections over the plans in March 1994, have claimed that the decision is based on sustained local opposition (Leicester Mercury 31.10.95). The Labour chairman of the planning committee refused to agree to the plans being totally abandoned but accepted that they were shelved indefinitely. Local people claimed that the religious communities did not live in that part of the city and wanted the land to be used for other community-based projects. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 20]
Plans have been unveiled for a £2.9m mosque and Islamic centre in Beckton, London (City of London Recorder 13.10.95). The plans have been submitted by the United Muslim Association and call for a 100 ft minaret and a prayer hall to accommodate 400 worshippers, as well as community facilities for education and social meetings. A feasibility study has been conducted, funded by the London Docklands Development Corporation, and negotiations have begun with the local council which currently owns the land. If permission is granted, there are plans to erect a temporary mosque on the site to demonstrate the need for such facilities in the area. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 20]
Controversy surrounded a meeting of the Bethnal Green planning committee when it met to consider an application to convert a dry cleaners premises into a mosque and community centre. Members of the public were limited to 15 places at what should have been an open public meeting. It was claimed that this had been done to limit the amount of heckling (East London Advertiser 19.10.95). Planning permission was given by the meeting but it later transpired that the current owners had given a supermarket first refusal on the purchase of the property. A spokesman for the current owners explained that nothing had been heard from the mosque trust since October 1994 and letters had been received from residents and "right-wing extremists" threatening to burn down the property if it was taken over by the Muslim trust. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 21]
A mosque in Stuart Street, Oldham, which was granted temporary planning permission one year ago, has been granted permanent planning permission by Oldham Development Committee after councillors heard that no objections had been made against the mosque in the year since it opened. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 21]
Plans to sell the Castlemere Community Centre in Tweedale Street, Rochdale to a housing association for £5,000, so that they could demolish the present building and erect houses to rent, have been scrapped. There was considerable local opposition to the scheme, especially as the Idara Taleem ul-Islam Mosque had offered to purchase the present building for £150,000 and adapt it for community use (Rochdale Observer 14.10.95). Rochdale Council has referred the matter back to its Resources Subcommittee for further consideration. [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 21]
Plans to build a Shi'ite mosque in Morley Street in the Hamer district of Rochdale led to a violent street battle between Shi'ites and local Sunni Muslims who objected to the plan. Estimates of the number of people involved in the dispute vary from 50 to 300 but five people were arrested and charged with assault and violent disorder offences. Five people were also taken to hospital with various fractures after hockey sticks and baseball bats had been used in the fracas (Rochdale Observer 18.10.95). Three men and two youths involved in the dispute have been placed on police bail for two weeks whilst police enquiries take place (Rochdale Observer 25.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 21]
Rumours are rife in the Cradley Heath district of Sandwell over the controversial plans to build a mosque in Plant Street (see BMMS for June, July, August and September 1995). Planning permission was given for the mosque in the face of considerable local opposition but it later transpired that the education department had been considering purchasing the land, which is adjacent to a primary school, to build a nursery school. Local people have now called for a public meeting to explore the whole situation (Halesowen News & County Express 12.10.95). A Conservative councillor has claimed that the education department is conducting a site survey to see if the ground is suitable for a nursery school building and that a formal offer from the department is imminent (Black Country Evening Mail 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 21]
The Sheffield Islamic Centre bought the former Abbeydale Cinema in Abbeydale Road, Sheffield with a view to converting it into a mosque. The building is listed grade II. The plans to convert it into a mosque would require that the interior of the building be completely refurbished to allow it to be orientated correctly for worship but this would contravene the listed buildings regulations. There are also concerns over increased traffic congestion in the area which might result if the building became a mosque. The planning committee is to meet to consider the application but members have expressed themselves bound by listed buildings requirements which demand that internal architectural features are preserved (Yorkshire Post 27.10.95). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 21/22]
Six brick columns, built at a cost of £27,000, have been unveiled on the site of the proposed mosque in St Mary's Road, Southampton. They were paid for by a grant from the urban regeneration fund. The local Muslim community has been raising money for the proposed mosque for some time (see BMMS for March, June and July 1993; September 1994; April and July 1995). [BMMS October 1995 Vol. III, No. 10, p. 22]
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