British Muslims Monthly Survey for March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3 |
British Muslims Monthly Survey for March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3 |
Features |
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Muslim and Jewish students from Manchester University, and other universities across the country, were to gather at Manchester University on 27 February for a demonstration. More than a thousand students were expected to "cram" into the university's student union to vote on a motion proposed by the union's anti-racism officer, Omayma Al-Khaffaf, and supported by the Islamic Society. The motion was to call for a boycott campaign against "Israel's apartheid regime" and to condemn the human rights record of the government of Israel (The Independent, 27.02.02). However, the motion was not supported by the National Union of Students and Jewish students claimed that if the motion was passed it would lead to the banning of their social and cultural societies from campuses. The supporters of the motion clarified that they were criticising the current government of Israel and not Jewish people or the existence of Israel. Daniel Sacker, the chairman of Manchester Jewish Society, which is reported to have around 500 members, believed that the motion would only create tension on campuses, which in his view are already at "boiling point". He said: "If Israel becomes a dirty word and is associated as a racist and apartheid state, the Jewish Society that supports and promotes Israel would become a racist society. The union policy against racism means there is a good chance the Jewish Society would be banned…The Jewish community in Greater Manchester is concerned about this because there is worry that it will spread out to the population of Manchester" (The Independent, 27.02.02). Jewish students from Birmingham, Leeds and London were said to have been coming to demonstrate against the motion.
Ms Al-Khaffaf, a third year Middle Eastern studies student and former member of the Islamic Society, is reported to have insisted that the motion was not an attack on Jewish students. The motion reportedly states that '"anti-Zionism or criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism" and asks the union to "promote the boycott of companies whose profits are being used to prop up the Israeli apartheid regime"' (The Independent, 27.02.02). However, the Union of Jewish Students appears not to be convinced. Mr Sacker said that Manchester was seen as a "flagship Jewish society" and once this one was targeted the same would be likely to happen elsewhere. Ms Al-Khaffaf said that she took the Jewish students' concerns seriously. She said: "I understand they are concerned, but when it comes to human rights we can't stay silent because we are afraid we are going to be called racist. We are not attacking Jewish people, Jewish students or the existence of the state of Israel. The motion is solely to do with human rights violations the Palestinian people face every day" (The Independent, 27.02.02).
However, it was reported in the Methodist Recorder (07.03.02) that the motion was defeated on a technicality. The London Jewish News (22.03.02) claimed that "Anti-Israel activists" had stepped up their campaign across London, including a demonstration by members of Al-Muhajiroun outside the Israeli Embassy, calling on Muslims to fight the "evil pact" between Ariel Sharon and George Bush. At the same time demonstrations were taking place outside the American Embassy where a vigil was staged. This demonstration was carried out by what London Jewish News (22.03.02) called, "two other controversial groups", the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and the Association of Palestinian Communities. Also, the weekend prior to these demonstrations "a collection of Israel's detractors" demonstrated outside Downing Street and a letter of protest was also presented at Number 10. Leaflets distributed by organisers of the protest outside the Israeli Embassy, reported London Jewish News, were also examined by the police who did not consider them to be racist. These demonstrations are said to come two weeks after the chief rabbi had warned politicians about Jewish life in Britain being increasingly threatened. The Board of Deputies spokeswoman, Fiona Macaulay, said: "We are extremely concerned about the rising levels of unacceptable anti-Semitic vocabulary both within and outside Britain. Only by educating parliamentarians and the public about the serious nature of anti-Semitism today can we hope to fight it" (London Jewish News, 22.03.02), (The Independent, 27.02.02, Methodist Recorder, 07.03.02, London Jewish News, 22.03.02).
09.99, Manchester Evening News, 11.09.99, Western Daily Press, 11.09.99, Q News, No311, 01.09.99).
After the hearing, Mr Qadri also launched an attack on Muslim organisations and politicians, accusing them of kow-towing rather than standing up to government injustice. He said: "While my client received profound support from the Muslim community who had no doubt about the honesty and credentials of my client, he was sadly abandoned by those appointed or recognised as "the representatives of Muslims in Britain." They are only interested in getting into Parliament and receiving the patronage of the government. There was a -deliberate attempt to sabotage my client by so-called respectable Muslim organisations." The Muslim Council of Britain, which seemed to be the main target of Mr Qadri’s attack, took up his challenge to ask the Home Secretary for a full explanation. They said: "The MCB has demanded Home Secretary Jack Straw give a categorical assurance that the security services will not use any member of the community to spy on another. The case has damaged pastoral work in areas where such setbacks can least be afforded" (Q News, No311, 01.09.99).
The Home Secretary has been refused permission to appeal against the ruling. The Home Office said it will now approach the Court of Appeals directly. A spokeswoman for the Home Office said: "Today’s hearing was to seek leave to appeal against the commission’s original decision. That leave was refused. We are now considering whether we will take that appeal to the court of appeal." Speaking after this hearing, Mr Rehman’s lawyer, Sibghat Qadri QC, said: "The tribunal has decided that its original decision was hard and fast and yet the home office is still considering whether to appeal. They should accept the decision" (The Guardian, 21.09.99, Manchester Evening News, 20.09.99, Asian Times, 21.09.99, Morning Star, 21.09.99, Manchester Evening News, 21.09.99, Oldham Evening Chronicle, 21.09.99, Muslim News, 24.09.99, Oldham Evening Chronicle, 30.09.99, Birmingham Post, 01.10.99).
The Guardian (01.10.99) has written a profile about the case, in which for the first time officers from MI5 and MI6 testified in open court. The article says that this case raises unpleasant
questions about the attitude of the British establishment towards the country’s Muslim community. It also points out that the secret services had all the arsenal of tapping, eavesdropping, snooping and international trawling available to them in order to prove their case. They simply had to show the special appeals commission that Mr Rehman was so dangerous that he had to be deported. But the commission threw the case out saying there was no evidence to prove Mr Rehman was a recruiter, fundraiser or a threat to the UK. Added to this is the allegation that Mr
Rehman, despite being a supposed threat to Britain, was ready to be recruited as an MI5 agent. Ahmed
Versi, editor of Muslim News, said: "This has really upset the Muslim community. On the one hand you have the prime minister saying we’re
considered part and parcel of society and on the other the security service is trying to recruit a person who Muslims come to with their concerns in private. It’s not like priests and confession, but if you have personal problems, you go to discuss it with the imam. And why do they consider that people supporting or sending money to groups fighting for their independence overseas are
committing a crime? We were very surprised."
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 1]
The Times: The Register (02.03.02) carried an article on a discussion document that has been published called Religious Tolerance and Respect on Campus. The document is part of a project called Faiths Together on Campus whose aim is "to promote co-operation, understanding and respect between faith communities on campus". It wants to set up interfaith consultative groups, which would have representation from different student religious societies, university chaplains and advisors from faith communities. The document was written by the chairman of the Council of University Sheikhs, Muhammed Yusuf, in conjunction with the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, the Catholic Student Council, the Student Christian Movement and the Union of Jewish Students. The hope is that the document will become one of the National Union of Students' official documents.
The problem of fundamentalism is both caused and experienced by students of all faiths, says Mr Yusuf, who believes that to counteract the impression given by extremists, the mainstream Muslim community must become a "visible presence". The document explains the shortfalls of the fundamentalist philosophy preached by extremists in all the faiths. It also states that students are drawn in by the "zeal" of the extremists and by the sense of belonging and community that is provided by the "endless religious meetings and activities". However, Mr Yusuf, who is also a chaplain at Oxford University, together with Muslim, Christian and Jewish chaplains and students, was to organise a series of talks and discussions to promote religious tolerance and respect on campus, while students at Oxford University are said to be in the first stages of establishing a Faiths Together on Campus group.
Mr Yusuf was reported to be concerned about universities in the north of England, where, for example, the Islamic Society of the University of Bradford is said to have been taken over by a fundamentalist group even though he stressed that the university itself had "gone out of its way to promote diversity". He believes that to prevent problems from developing, it is important that secular universities take ownership of students' religious identity as being crucial and integral to the institution. The opening paragraph of the document states that universities are not only dedicated to the advancement of learning, but also to "the deepening of mutual understanding and respect between all peoples, faiths and traditions". This, however, will not be a solution in its entirety as many of the extremist groups are based outside the campuses and there is said to have been a "a notable increase in the efforts of Christian fundamentalist groups to target Muslims" since 11 September. Their aim is said to be to portray Islam in a negative light and to offer an alternative message. However, there are even more problems as the document states: "More serious difficulties include disruptive and threatening behaviour towards other religious communities, or distribution of offensive material, with groups like Al-Muhajiroun being prohibited from many campuses."
Mr Yusuf is also said to be concerned by the suggestion that "the
multi-cultural experiment is dead", and is nevertheless said to be
"strongly committed to protecting a multi-faith society". When there
is strong interfaith dialogue on campus, and an "efficient line of
communication" between the chaplains and students, and when university
student societies are run by students, he will believe he has succeeded. But
when asked how long this could take, he replied: "We can only hope and
pray" (The Times: The Register, 02.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 1]
Indian Muslims, as well as members of other communities, are alarmed at the events taking place in the Indian state of Gujarat, where 550 people were reported to have been killed, at the time of the articles, in clashes between Muslims and Hindus (See British Muslims Monthly Survey for January 2002). Reports have also stated that the majority of the people who have died are Muslims. Several newspapers have carried reports about groups of Indian Muslims and their organisations in the UK taking action to try to maintain harmonious relationships in this country as well as asking for the government's help and support for the Muslims in India.
The Indian Muslim Welfare Society (IMWS) organised a meeting for 9 March, due to be held at the Al-Hikmah Centre in Dewsbury. An appeal has also been set up for the families of the victims and donations can be made to account number:1333783, sort code: 30-90-57; the number of the registered charity IMWS is 1067746 (Dewsbury Reporter, 08.03.02).
Leicester sent a delegation of ten Muslims to hold talks with the Indian High Commission in London. Secretary general of Leicester's Indian Muslims' Association, Abdul Karim Gheewala was among the delegates. He expressed thanks for the support they had received from non-Muslims in Leicester and said that what they had witnessed in the last few days in India and the accounts of people being burned had moved them all. He said: "Indian Muslims in Leicester are very proud of our harmonious relations with all faith groups and in particular with the Hindu community. We applaud their support. All of us have close links with India and we all have stakes in India…" (Leicester Mercury, 09.03.02). A spokesperson for the Indian High Commission said that the High Commissioner, Nareshwar Dayal, reassured leaders of the Muslim community that he would be conveying their concerns immediately to the Indian government. A multi-faith group was also reported to have been convened by the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Tim Stevens, to discuss both the violence and its effect on their communities (Leicester Mercury, 09.03.02).
In a later issue of the Leicester Mercury (12.03.02), the Indian Muslim Association were reported to have been calling to cut ties with Leicester's twin town in India. This is because they are reported to have accused the Indian authorities of not controlling the rise of violence in India and, according to the president of the association, Mohammed Sabat, due to the rising violence, they need to send a strong message to the Indian authorities. Also the associate imam at Masjid Umar Mosque said that if cutting their links would send an "extremely strong message", this should be discussed. However, other community leaders are said to have rejected the idea because Leicester's twin town in India is Rajkot, with which it has been twinned for six years. Rajkot is seen as a harmonious city and is said to have escaped the worst of the violence. The chairman of Leicester City Council's Overseas Links Working Party, Cllr Ramnik Kavia, is said to have spoken to community leaders in Rajkot as the violence started. He said that as soon as trouble started, the authorities took precautions and as the links had benefited both cities, nothing was to be gained by cutting them (Leicester Mercury, 12.03.02).
A delegation of Gujarati Muslims, called the Gujarati Muslims Peace Delegation, from east Lancashire, also visited the High Commissioner of India, with a "blueprint for the future" on what they called the "Blackburn Peace Mission". The delegation included East Lancashire's first Asian peer, Lord Adam Patel, and members of the Lancashire Council of Mosques (Blackburn Citizen, 14.03.02).
Finally, after the Blackburn Peace Mission's visit to the High Commission,
they were reported to have visited the High Commissioner again, this time with
other groups from the north-west. They also met Jack Straw, who is both Foreign
Secretary and MP for Blackburn. They asked him to "intervene directly to
minimise the human and financial casualties". A member of the mission,
Ismail Lorgat, said: "We are a bit disappointed by some of the Indian and
British political and diplomatic figures in Britain….We feel that so far we
have received a bureaucratic response. We do not need an artificial response.
People are dying everyday and nobody is doing anything" (Lancashire
Evening Telegraph, 23.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 2]
Channel 4’s Islam season
The airing of Channel 4's Muslim and British season in March resulted in it
being reported extensively by both magazines and newspapers. The programmes
featured in the season were selected by newspapers and magazines alike for
comment and special viewing in their TV Choice sections. Several newspapers also
carried their own features on related issues during the same period as the
programmes were advertised and aired. The first programme in the season to be
shown on Channel 4 was The Hidden Jihad, in which Imran Khan, a DJ and
writer, went to London and to Peterborough, where he grew up, to interview young
men he used to know. He returned after ten years and discovered that the young
men he used to go out with, drinking, clubbing and meeting women, had changed
completely and were now following Islam and had left the old life behind. In an
article in The Times:T2 (08.03.02) Mr Khan describes the change that has
taken place in one of these men and the reasons behind that change. At the age
of 26, his friend Asif was sporting a "razor sharp beard, clothes on his
back costing close to a thousand quid, keys to the Merc and an attitude".
He goes on to describe his entrance into a nightclub where Asif "breezes
through", shaking hands with the owner, settling at a table, ordering a
drink and being draped by two blonde women like a "fur coat": life for
him is good. A year later, however, the scenario that is described is a complete
contrast. The beard is shaggy, the clothes are "simple Pakistani
daywear" and the attitude is said to be a humble one. He is now leaving the
mosque after evening prayers to meet his friends in a "run down"
Islamic bookshop, but life now is "truly good" says Asif. Mr Khan went
on to say that when asked by Channel 4 what he would like to make a programme
on, he said the answer was obvious and that it was the rise of Islam amongst his
peers. He acknowledged that British Pakistanis had had a "rough ride"
and that Peterborough was not an exception to this. In fact, he stated that
statistically they had "the worst housing, the lowest rates at school and
are least likely to succeed in employment" (The Time:T2, 08.03.02).
As children, while they were being abused in the streets, he says they witnessed
their parents working "themselves to ill-health for a pathetic
salary". However, the early nineties saw a change, which he describes as
"boom time for the dapper Asian entrepreneur". He goes on to describe
the growing confidence as being similar to that of the Teddy boys of the
fifties, the Mods of the Sixties and now the "working class Asians were
making their mark and having a lot of fun doing it" (The Times:T2,
08.03.02). But something happened in the mid-nineties that changed many, including Asif.
He describes the night when the moment of change came in his life: "The
club was packed. The Charlie [cocaine] was racked out in long, flowing lines in
front of me and the blonde was in the doorway looking hot. I did the coke in one
quick go. Suddenly I felt alive and unstoppable. I danced all night and in the
morning when I was at home I flicked on the news and in a drugged-out haze I
watched a report about Chechnyan Muslims being murdered. The faces of those
Muslims burnt into my mind…" (The Times:T2, 08.03.02). As time
went by he said that he realised that he felt "trapped by the constant
hustling for money, buying yet more stuff that I didn't need" and realised
that he needed to do something and so he prayed. He said that he did not
remember how and as he stood in a darkened room he did not know which direction
Makkah was in, but, he said, he "mumbled a quick prayer" and though he
did not feel saved, nevertheless it did help. After this he spoke with his
friends and they started to read the Qur'an in English. They went on a visit to
Birmingham and Manchester, where they met other Muslim men and women and he said
"I just fell in love with my religion" (The Times:T2,
08.03.02). Mr Khan went on to explain that Asif's experience was a common one, which he
had also heard from other young men. In another newspaper, Peterborough's Evening
Telegraph (08.03.02), Mr Khan explains that this shift in attitude has
brought about a "radical spiritual awakening in the Muslim community".
The co-ordinator of Peterborough Partnership Against Racial Harassment said that
since he had arrived in the city in the 1980s and particularly since the events
of 11 September, Muslims, in his view had become more "isolated". He
said: "They are seeking comfort and refuge in their communities, and by
doing so are unwittingly building thick walls around themselves" (Peterborough
Evening Telegraph, 08.03.02). However, Central ward councillor, Nazim Khan,
although he agreed that there was an increase in people wearing traditional
clothes, said he believed that this was because Islam was now more acceptable.
He said that when he was growing up he was quite reserved about traditional
clothes as he did not know how people would react, but now, he says, it is not
that they are moving away from western ways but that they have become more
confident with the change. Other programmes in the season also provoked discussion in the papers. One
was called "Mum, I'm A Muslim". This looked at conversions to
Islam, which are reported to have increased since 11 September. Although there
are no official statistics, Islam is reported to be the fastest growing religion
in the UK, and has around 2 million followers. However, the programme only
looked at women because, though Islam is viewed by many as a religion that does
not give women equal rights with men, ironically the majority of converts to
Islam are women. The programme considered the conversion of four women from
Sheffield, which is where the rate of conversion is said to be highest. Caroline
is a nurse, who was to risk looking "strange or foreign" by wearing
the hijab (headscarf); Jan, is a former Greenham Common protestor who has
been attracted to Islam through the Sufi path; Amy, a student, is plucking up
the courage to inform her parents of her conversion; and Ameena, who is married
to a Yemeni man, became a Muslim at the age of 13 and now, at 28, is preparing
to emigrate to Yemen with her two children. This is because she said: "I
love England but I don't feel safe going to town on a Saturday afternoon with my
kids anymore in case someone attacks me or my children" (Sheffield Star,
09.03.02). Another programme which provoked not only discussion but also controversy was
Dispatches: Trouble at the Mosque. The programme revealed that because
there is no official body that controls or regulates mosques and no hierarchy,
financial, physical and sexual abuse is taking place. The programme, which took
more than a year to make, revealed how an extreme group could take control of a
community and how an imam could exploit worshippers' generosity. It showed how
one leader had advocated violence against non-Muslims and was accused of
destroying British Muslims' reputation and, when he took control of a north
London mosque, his fellow worshippers were said to have become his first
"victims" so that committee members were too scared to return. The
programme also looked into three cases of child abuse and in one case the
convicted adult has continued to be allowed to attend a mosque where children
are present (Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 08.03.02, The Times: T2,
08.03.02, Glasgow Herald, 08.03.02, Sheffield Star, 09.03.02, The
Sunday Times, 10.03.02, Daily Mail, 11.03.02, Lancashire Evening
Telegraph, 14.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 3]
Reports
Community
British arrests abroad continue
At an event at the Law Society's London headquarters, the father of Ruhal Ahmed, Riasoth Ahmed and the mother of Feroz Abbasi, Zumrati Juma, both spoke about their fears regarding the arrests of their sons (See BMMS for January 2002). The Law Society, and the Bar Human Rights Committee have both called for the US to respect the human rights of prisoners held at Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Both parents denied that their sons had any involvement in terrorism or had expressed any extremist Islamic views and they were very concerned about their sons' treatment and feared that they were being deprived of basic human rights. They have not been told what they are charged with and they have not been allowed any legal representation. Ms Juma called on the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to persuade the US government to hand over her 22-year old son to the British authorities. She said: "…I'm frightened he is being treated badly, and being kept in a cage without any exercise. I don't believe Feroz is being given freedom to talk about the conditions he is being kept in or his health – the physical conditions or even the psychological. To obtain legal rights for him I want him to be brought back to the UK" (Metro Manchester, 26.02.02). Mr Abbasi's lawyer, Louise Christian, is reported to have said that she is ready to take the government to court under the Human Rights Act. She said: "His treatment includes being denied access to a lawyer and not being told what he is charged with. I believe the UK Government is complicit with the US" (Metro Manchester, 26.02.02).
Meanwhile, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, 28, from Wanstead in east London, who had
dropped out of the London School of Economics, is being held for the abduction
and murder of Daniel Pearl, a reporter from the US. Mr Sheikh was described as a
"nasty character" by US Ambassador, Wendy Chamberlain, in Islamabad.
He is also alleged to have been involved for several years in other crimes and
kidnappings involving US citizens and Ms Chamberlain stated that the US had
wanted to extradite him at least two months prior to the murder of Mr Pearl (Devon
Western Morning News, 26.02.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 4]
Moinul Abedin, 27, from Sparkbrook in
Birmingham, has been found guilty of possession of high explosives and planning
to detonate a "terrorist" bomb (Daily Telegraph, 28.02.02). He
was sentenced to 20 years in prison at Birmingham Crown Court, whilst Dr Faisal
Mostafa, 38, from Stockport, was cleared by the jury (See BMMS for
January 2002). Both men had pleaded not guilty to the charges of carrying out an
act with intent to cause an explosion. Mr Abedin is reported to have claimed
that they intended to start a firework business. Mr Abedin, is said to have
stockpiled large quantities of homemade explosives and detonators and had used a
"terrorist handbook" on the techniques of how to make bombs (Metro
Manchester, 28.02.02). Mr Justice Hughes is reported to have told Mr Abedin
that had it not been for the MI5 team, he would have injured or killed a lot of
people. However, no evidence was given to the jury of Mr Abedin's motive or
intended target (Daily Telegraph, 28.02.02, West Midlands Metro,
28.02.02, Metro Manchester, 28.02.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 4]
Wimbledon News (22.02.02) carried an
article on Muslim Television Ahmadiyya (MTA), which is broadcast from a building
adjacent to the London Mosque on Gressenhall Road. The mosque was constructed
between 1924 and 1926 and is said to be the oldest mosque in the UK. The deputy
head of transmission at MTA, Saeed Ahmad Jones, explained that MTA is broadcast
through seven satellites and it is used to spread their founder's message to the
"four corners of the world". The channel, which is run by a number of
volunteers, shows a variety of programmes, including documentaries, religious
shows, sport shows, news broadcasts and question and answer sessions with the khalifa
- leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslims. Nearly all programmes are produced by the
station and they have translations of the programmes into various languages,
which is said partly to explain why there has been such a growth in the numbers
of people converting to this Muslim sect. More than 40 million people are
reported to have joined in the year 2000 (Wimbledon News, 22.02.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]
Dudley Muslim Association and Dudley Racial Equality Council (REC) have been running a campaign to raise funds for a £15 million multi-cultural community centre in Dudley, intended to become a model for the rest of the country. The new centre has the aim of tackling deprivation and racial tension. Prominent people attended the launch of the campaign, including International Development Secretary, Clare Short, the High Commissioner of Pakistan, Abdul Kader, and MPs, councillors and the mayor of Dudley. The new centre, according to Khurshid Ahmed, chairman of the REC, is to include a community and sports hall, a crèche, a computer centre and day care for the elderly. It will also have a new mosque, which will accommodate 1,000 people and will replace the Central Mosque in Birmingham Street.
Mr Ahmed saw the new centre as bringing together the communities of Dudley;
it would no different from any other centre, except that it would be run by
Muslims. He said: "It is our gift to the people of Dudley" (Dudley
Express & Star, 04.03.02). He went on to say that the Muslim community
was often thought of as "inward looking", but these facilities would
be for the use of black, white and other Asian communities. He said that the
centre would also work to help prevent disaffected Muslim youth being led astray
by extremists. Land has been acquired for the centre and already a number of
charities are said to be interested in giving their support (Dudley Express
& Star, 25.02.02, 04.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]
The Bank of England has been reported to be
considering a change in mortgage rules in response to the requests of three
leading high street banks. The change would make buying a home acceptable to
British Muslims. At present, though many British Muslims are in a position to
purchase their own homes, they do not do so because of interest charges, as it
is against Islamic law to take or accept interest. For this reason many Muslims
in the UK have been prevented from buying houses. If the Bank of England were to
change the rules, it is reported that this would lead to the creation of special
mortgages for Muslims on which no interest would be paid (Burton Trader,
27.02.02, Eastern Eye, 01.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]
A multi-million pound campaign has been
launched in parts of Yorkshire. More than £5.4 million has been allocated for a
range of projects for the county in a series of grants from the New
Opportunities Fund. Healthy Living Centres are to be set up which will
co-ordinate health education on issues such as childhood illness, drug awareness
and nutrition and these centres are to be set up in Halifax, Scunthorpe and
three areas of Leeds. The project is reported to be supported by leaders of the
Muslim community and the scheme is to work closely with the Asian Anti Drugs
initiative, which raises awareness as well as providing support for those who
have drugs problems. A halal non-interest borrowing scheme is also planned to
provide members of the Muslim community with a means to address stress and
anxiety caused by poor housing, financial worries, social isolation and low
self-esteem (North Yorkshire Post, 27.02.02, Halifax Evening Courier,
28.02.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]
Several newspapers carried reports of an
investigation being carried out by police in Bradford after a man complained of
being harassed by what he called "radical Muslims" for flying the
Union Jack at his home. Mohammed Usman has complained of being harassed since
2000 after his children put up a Union flag poster in the window of their home
in support of England for football's European championship. Mr Usman said that
his home had been stoned and that he had been accused of betraying his faith and
so for safety he has covered his windows with netting. He told Radio 4's Today
programme: "I am not flying the flag to please somebody. It is deep down in
my heart" (Wolverhampton Express & Star, 28.02.02). He was also
reported in another newspaper as saying that he and his children were British
and when one lived in Rome one should live as Romans. Bradford councillor,
Mohammed Riaz, who is also ethnic minority adviser to the Tory leader Iain
Duncan-Smith, said that the stone throwers were "thugs". Meanwhile,
the police are said to be investigating the complaints (Sunderland Echo,
28.02.02, Wolverhampton Express & Star, 28.02.02, Kent Today,
28.02.02, Somerset Western Daily Press, 01.03.02, The Weekly Telegraph,
06.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]
The Union of Muslim Organisations (UMO) agreed last November to build two schools in the Surkhab camp, situated on the road between Quetta in Pakistan and the Pakistan-Afghan border post of Chaman. Volunteers from the Walsall aid group decided to do this in their three-week aid distribution mission, but as a result of relief groups in Birmingham and Leeds building on the foundations laid by UMO, the two two-classroom primary schools have become two five-classroom middle schools. However, the schools, which were to be run by the Pakistani education charity, the Hira Foundation, are said to have run into problems. The UMO general secretary, Mohammed Arif, said they had received a fax from the Afghan Refugee Organisation (ARO), a Pakistani government body in Quetta, which had ordered the closure of the schools. Mr Arif said it was not clear what the problem was but the UMO members would be visiting the region at the end of the month and would also write to the International Development Secretary, Clare Short, to ask for help. Donations to the UMO can be made at the HSBC Bank, account number 21128655, sort-code: 40-45-19 (Walsall Express & Star, 01.03.02, Kidderminster Express & Star, 02.03.02).
Mr Arif is also reported to be standing as a councillor for the Palfrey ward
in the May local elections. Mr Arif, a father of four, is a self-employed
software consultant and has been working for the community for 15 years. He was
a non-executive director at Walsall Hospital NHS Trust from 1994 to May 1995,
has been co-ordinating Palfrey Caldmore and Pleck Action Group to reduce drugs
and prostitution, and has been a governor at Delves Junior School and Caldmore
Primary School. The Mayor of Walsall, Cllr Colin Beilby, is to retire from
politics in May and Mr Arif said that it would be "an honour and a
privilege" to fight for the Palfrey ward and to retain Cllr Beilby's seat
for the Conservatives (Walsall Chronicle, 28.02.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]
British Muslims have been reported to have been caught up in the latest clashes that have taken place in the Indian state of Gujarat. Eighteen-year old Imran Dawood, from Batley in West Yorkshire, was kicked and beaten when the minibus he was travelling in with three holiday companions was attacked. Mr Dawood had never been to India before and was with two relatives and a close family friend, Mohammed Aswat Nallabhai, a father of five, who was beaten to death. Mr Dawood needed hospital treatment after which he had the responsibility of identifying the body of Mr Nallabhai.
The other two, also from Batley, have been missing in India since the ambush,
which is reported to have been carried out by approximately 30 people. The two
men are Saeed Dawood, 41, and his cousin Shakil Dawood, 37, and their family in
the UK are waiting to hear any news. Imran Dawood is being looked after by
family in India and is hoping and praying that his brother and cousin are safe.
The whole family are said to be in a state of shock and are in close contact
with both the Foreign Office and consular officials in India. Mr Dawood said:
"We don't want to partake in anything that would cause a divide. It's
important for things to be peaceful and people to see common sense" (North
Yorkshire Post, 04.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 6]
The Islami family from Kosovo are a family of eight who were flown to Britain from a Macedonian refugee camp and settled in Calderdale in June 1999. The family includes an 80-year-old grandmother, mother, father and their children. Two-year-old Alban Islami was born in Halifax and his three brothers and a sister have all been going to school in the town. However, they have been told that they are to be deported. They do not want to return to Fush-Kosovo, where their home is said to lie in ruins. Mr Islami said he would rather die then go back. The family are said to have won the support of the Muslim community and Conservative councillor Mohammed Saghir is said to have gathered local support. He was to write to the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, because he felt it was against their human rights to divide the family and send them back after they had settled into a life in this country. He said that he had the backing of his community and had asked for the support of his party and he would write to Mr Blunkett asking him to let them remain on compassionate grounds.
They had been given an extension until 25 March as Mrs Islami was waiting for
an operation and the grandmother, who is said to be frail, was unwell, and their
friends and supporters were to use this time to build a case against their
deportation. In the meantime the family are said to be dependent on hand-outs
from friends as their allowances were stopped in October and they are only in
receipt of child benefit (Halifax Evening Courier, 12.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 6]
Abdullah, 22, a former Manchester student, who had fought against the allies in Afghanistan as part of the Al-Qaeda network, is now reported to be back in the UK (See BMMS for January 2002). Last July he left university in order to train at a camp in Lahore in Pakistan and it was during his intensive training that he came into contact with Al-Qaeda, who are said to have been impressed by his "coolness under pressure". An interview was reported to have been carried out in the centre of Manchester with Abdullah only allowing himself to be photographed in heavy disguise. He was also reported to have said in an interview, published in a Sunday newspaper, that he first came into contact with "Muslim fundamentalist teachings" through his friend Hasan Butt, who has previously been accused of recruiting fighters for the Taliban. Abdullah said that at the age of 18 he had an identity crisis, which is said to have led to a "sinister double life". He is also said to have trained for the hardship of mountain combat by taking part in endurance exercises in the Lake District, Scotland and the Brecon Beacons.
Abdullah, who is married, said that he had returned before the events of 11 September, and that his wife knew nothing of his activities. However, when he returned to Pakistan at the time of the bombing campaign, she is said to have told him that she was happy to see him go and die as a Muslim. He also said that a lot of Muslims in the UK supported his activities. He said that he spent nine weeks at war against the allies and during the American bombing is said to have stood guard duty for up to 20 hours a day patrolling the roads north of Kabul. He also claims to have been involved in a gunfight with American troops and caused damage to three American helicopters.
He claims to be committed to the cause and is currently said to be part of a
ten man Al-Qaeda cell in the UK. He said that, if ordered, he would not hesitate
to "destroy non-civilian" targets in this country (Manchester
Evening News, 11.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 6]
On 15 March, Muslims across the UK marked the beginning of the Islamic New Year in many different ways. Some newspapers carried articles about these occasions. The Islamic year is based on a lunar calendar and so begins on a different date each year and historically it also coincides with the very significant event of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussain's martyrdom. The year therefore also begins with commemoration of this event. Different groups of Muslims commemorate this in different ways. For example Shi'a Muslims mark these days as days of mourning, as was done by the Burton Street Mosque in Peterborough, which was draped in black cloth to indicate mourning. This was explained by Nazir Virji, the president of the Husaini Islamic Centre in Peterborough, to Peterborough's Evening Telegraph (16.03.02).
In Cardiff, the Discover Islam Centre organised a conference which was
attended by members of the National Assembly of Wales as well as mosque and
church attenders. Some papers, such as Southampton's Southern Daily Echo
(15.03.02) and the Ealing & Acton Gazette (15.03.02), carried
personal views, comments and an explanation of the significance of the day by
Muslim writers. Celebrations at the Shahjalal Mosque and Bangladeshi Islamic
Community Centre in Newtownards in Northern Ireland were to coincide with their
participation in the fourth annual interfaith event of the One World Festival (Newtownards
Chronicle, 07.03.02, Ealing & Acton Gazette, 15.03.02, Southampton
Southern Daily Echo, 15.03.02, Cardiff South Wales Echo, 16.03.02, Peterborough
Evening Telegraph, 16.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]
Mohammed Adris, 30, was to stand trial at
Preston Crown Court on 14 March. He is the owner of Umrah Visa Agency in
Accrington and is accused of stealing more than £148,000 between 31 October and
2 February 2002. Hajj pilgrims were due to fly on 11 February and it is
reported that 220 people were unable to do so. The police are said to have
responded after a number of complaints and Mr Adris was arrested at a hotel in
Prestwich, Manchester. He was remanded in custody and his legal defence, Graham
Parkinson, is reported to have indicated that his client would not be pleading
guilty. Meanwhile, the police are still trying to identify people who paid money
to Mr Adris for the pilgrimage, which acting-Detective Inspector Paul Dalton
said was difficult because there were so many people involved. Chairman of the
Nottingham Islamic Centre, Raja Mohammed Azam, said this had significantly upset
the local Muslim community (Bury Times, 22.02.02, Nottingham Evening
Post, 26.02.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]
Warrington Islamic Association organised a
luncheon to raise money for the Mayor's charity. The event was hosted at the
Islamic Community Centre in Bewsey and was attended by 130 people who paid £10
a head for the meal. Chief guests included the mayor and mayoress of Warrington,
Jeff and Julie Richards, and deputy leader of the council, Mike Hughes. The
event raised £600 for the charity, which had three recipients: the children's
ward at Warrington Hospital, Warrington Deaf Society and Warrington Multiple
Sclerosis Society. The chairman of Warrington Islamic Association, Mushtaq
Ahmed, said: "It gives me great pleasure to see the many different races
and nationalities present today enjoying a meal together. It is my hope that
this harmony will grow and bring with it a bright future for Warrington" (Warrington
Guardian, 07.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]
The Brent Muslim Residents' Association has
presented a petition by 90 members to name a future housing or educational
building project after the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah who was the
first Governor-General of Pakistan and is highly regarded by his commemorators.
The association has asked Brent councillors, three MPs from Brent and the mayor
of London, Ken Livingstone to support the petition. A spokesperson said this
would help the Pakistani community of Brent feel they had a link with their
social and cultural background. Labour councillor for Gladstone ward, Abdul
Sattar-Butt, said: "We are in a multi-cultural society and the buildings
within our community should reflect this. It is important for our local
community to reflect the diverse cultural identity we have. We would also feel
very proud to have the name of Mohammed Ali Jinnah linked with our area" (Wembley
Observer, 07.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]
On 11 June there is to be a public inquiry
as to why Plymouth City Council turned down plans to turn a hotel on North Road
East into an Islamic centre. Trustees of the Plymouth and Cornwall Islamic
Centre lodged an appeal with the Secretary of State for the Environment after
their application was turned down. Reasons for this included loss of amenities,
impact on traffic and safety concerns (Evening Herald, 09.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]
Shoyab Umarji, 20, has escaped a jail
sentence and was sentenced to 180 hours of community service after admitting the
charge of actual bodily harm to Nazir Wala on 18 October 2001. Leicester Crown
Court heard that after the events of 11 September, Mr Wala was distributing
leaflets near a mosque in Wood Hill, which according to the prosecuting lawyer
Michael Auty, expressed disgust at the events and distanced Islam from the Al-Qaeda
network. Mr Umarji approached Mr Wala and on confirmation that Mr Wala was
distributing the leaflets, he is said to have shouted his own support for the
Taliban and head butted Mr Wala on the nose without any warning. The attack left
Mr Wala's nose bleeding, necessitating hospital treatment. The court was also
told that three months after the attack Mr Wala had continued to suffer a degree
of persecution from Mr Umarji's supporters. Defending, Felicity Gerry said that
the attack was not motivated by support of the Taliban but arose from tension
within the community because Mr Wala was said to belong to "an alternative
faction" of Islam and was seen to have "intruded" in the area.
Judge Ian Collis also ordered Mr Umarji to pay £100 court costs and £400 to
his victim (Leicester Mercury, 09.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]
The author Salman Rushdie, who was given a
death sentence by the late Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989, is reported to have been
banned from all flights with Air Canada. This is because the airline believes
that he is still a "target for Muslim extremists" and any flight that
was to carry him would have to go through very stringent security checks, which
could delay the flight by up to three hours. The decision was therefore taken to
ban Mr Rushdie all together (Scotland on Sunday, 17.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 8]
The South Tyneside Bangladeshi Muslim
Cultural Association has been providing the Bangladeshi community with help on
issues such as housing, welfare rights and translation services. However, the
community has grown and the demand for advice from the advice workers is pushing
them to look for new premises. An initial investigation is said to have been
launched to look for new premises in the area of South Shields. In the meantime,
association secretary, Abdur Choudhury, and chairperson, Said Hussein, have
asked the community to continue to use the services provided, particularly the
advice and information drop-in forum held on Fridays from 12.00pm to 3.00pm. Mr
Hussein said: "…Among the services we offer is advice on immigration,
race discrimination, bereavement counselling and financial support for those who
find themselves in difficulties. If members of our community get in trouble with
the police we can also provide advice and interpreters at short notice. We also
have an Imam…in our mosque...We are at the centre of the community and we are
there to help on a 24-hour basis" (South Shields Gazette, 19.03.02
).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 8]
Professor Ahmed Hussain Shah spoke at the
Zahra Educational and Cultural Centre in Halifax, condemning the grenade attack
on the Protestant church in Islamabad. The attack, in which five people died and
45 were injured, is said to have been carried out by militants who had fled from
Afghanistan. Professor Shah, who came to Halifax to be the imam at the Madni
Mosque in Gibbet Street, is a scholar of the early history of Islam. He also
asked the Pakistani government to give extra protection to Christian
worshippers. He said: "We strongly condemn the killing of innocent people
irrespective of their nationality, ethnicity, colour, race or religious and
political background. This brutal attack was terrorism and was aimed at defaming
Pakistan and its people. I call on the Pakistani authority to hand out exemplary
punishment to those responsible" (Halifax Evening Courier, 20.03.02)
Halifax Evening Courier, 20.03.02.
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 8]
Nurul Jamil, 23, who is said to speak little
English, is a volunteer at a mosque and teaches the Qur'an to children between
the ages of five and 16. He has been charged with indecently assaulting a
nine-year old, who cannot be named for legal reasons. This is alleged to have
happened on 16 September 2001, and Mr Jamil is currently standing trial at
Basildon Crown Court, where the jury were told by the prosecution that after the
boy had cut Mr Jamil's grass and washed his car, he had asked if there were any
other jobs to do around the house, Mr Jamil indecently assaulted the boy. He is
said to have shown the boy pornographic magazines and asked him "Do you
think I am sexy?" Mr Jamil, on the other hand, says that he did not touch
the boy and that he did not know what the word "sexy" meant. He said
that as soon as he had asked the question, he realised that he made a mistake.
The trial is continuing (Southend Evening Echo, 27.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 8]
Education
Former pupils of the Craigholme School in Pollokshields for girls, have asked the school to look at its policy of not allowing hijab (headscarf) to be worn by its Muslim pupils. Noreen Iqbal, 21, a law student and former pupil, is pressurising the governors not only to allow the girls to wear hijab but also to allow tracksuit bottoms to be worn in games lessons instead of the shorts they are told to wear. She had a meeting with the school deputy headmistress, which led to a discussion with parents. Fellow campaigner, Halima Islam, 21, had applied for a place at the school in 1992 but was told that she could not wear hijab and that if she did not agree with the school uniform she should not attend the school. Shaaista Yousaf's 13-year-old daughter attends the school and she called the headteacher, Gillian Burk, to say that her daughter would have to wear hijab but Ms Burk said that she was the first to ask and that it would be "impossible". Ms Yousaf said that the school wanted everyone to be the same but they were not the same. She said the girls were made to feel like "aliens".
The school declined to comment but is reported to have said that it "fears" that the hijab could be a health and safety hazard. Spokesman for the Glasgow ethnic minority community, Cllr Hanzala Malik, said: "I hope the governors realise that they have an opportunity to redress an old custom and they will recognise we live in a multi-cultural society. It is a requirement of the girls' faith that they should be able to wear a hijab or long clothing and I think it needs to be recognised".
Subsequently, the chairman of the board of governors of the school met with
Abdul Ahmad, the imam of the Central Mosque in Glasgow. The chairman made the
decision to lift the ban on hijab (headscarf) for Muslim pupils and the
change is to be written into the school's rules at the next board meeting before
letters are sent to parents informing them of the new policy. The chairman
agreed that the school had both a legal and a moral obligation to lift the ban
and Mr Ahmad said that despite Ms Iqbal's campaign, the school would have
resolved the issue of hijab in time. He described the change as
"very positive" (Glasgow Herald, 23.03.02). He also clarified
that though the mosque does not want to impose anything on either the parents or
the school, they recommended that because Islam teaches modesty, those who
wished to cover themselves should be allowed to do so. He also said that as we
live in a multi-cultural society, compromises sometimes had to be made. Ms Iqbal
said that the news was "wonderful" and Ms Yousaf, was also said to be
delighted and hoped that issues of wearing track suit bottoms instead of shorts
for games lessons would also be resolved (Glasgow Herald, 23.03.02), (Evening
Times Glasgow, 25.02.02, Glasgow Herald, 23.03.02, Glasgow Sunday
Mail, 24.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 8]
Al-Hira School in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, was
caught up in the deportation of six American Muslim students who had flown into
Birmingham from New Jersey to study Islam at the school. After landing they were
refused entry by immigration officers who were said to be suspicious and they
were put on the next flight home. However, the pilot of the Continental Airlines
return flight refused to take off with the six on board. They were then arrested
by police and taken to police stations at Solihull and Manchester where they
were locked up only to be deported later on separate flights. A sSpokesman from
Al-Hira School, Kamran Fazil, said that Islam was a "very peaceful
religion" and this was emphasised through Islamic and academic education.
He said: "We feel they (the American students) have been targeted only
because they are Muslims and because it has now become a stereotype to link all
Muslims with terrorism, which is very unfair" (Evening Mail,
27.02.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 9]
The Times Educational Supplement (TES),
01.03.02 carried a report on a Muslim father, identified only as Mr K, who had
won a High Court ruling in his favour. He wanted to send his daughter to one of
the single sex girls' schools in the borough of Newham but was offered a place
at a mixed school. He took the authority to court and Mr Justice Collins ruled
in his favour because, by not taking Mr K's beliefs into account, Newham had
breached the Human Rights Act. This case is said to represent the first
successful challenge to schools' admission policies under the Human Rights Act,
which "gives a right to respect for religious and philosophical
convictions". The legal consultant to the Secondary Heads Association,
Chris Lowe, said: "Unless this is overturned on appeal, a large number of
Muslim and other parents may well insist on a single-sex education for their
children. That would result in some schools being 1,000 per cent
over-subscribed, while others are vastly undersubscribed." A spokesperson
from Newham is said to have refused to comment but said that the council would
be taking legal advice and once the full judgement is published they would
consider their options. The report ended with the comment that there was likely
to be an appeal (TES Times Educational Supplement, 01.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 9]
The Education Bill with its proposals for more
faith schools had its second reading in the House of Lords. The Church of
England is said to want to open another 100 secondary schools, and other faith
groups also wish to open schools. Parallel to this a meeting at the House of
Lords was taking place between representatives of the Muslim, Hindu and
Christian faiths, which published details of a proposal for a new multi-faith
school, also said to be supported by leading Sikhs. Talks are said to be going
on between the charitable trust set up to pursue the idea and an unidentified
borough in London where the school or a city academy, where girls and boys would
be taught separately, could be located and an outline of the proposal is said to
have been given to the School Standards Minister, Stephen Timms. The idea is
reported to have come from two rabbis, Jonathan Wittenberg and Julia Neuberger.
Dr Zaki Badawi, principal of the Muslim College of London and chairman of the
Imams and Mosques Council, and the Right Rev Richard Harries, are also involved
(The Times, 12.03.02, Wolverhampton Express & Star, 12.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 9]
East End Life (11.03.02) briefly reported
on a project, that the East London Mosque and Tower Hamlets Education Authority
have come together to form a project called Improving School Attendance in
Partnership (ISAP). The project, in which seven schools are participating, is to
involve Muslim communities with the aim of improving school attendance and
punctuality and to raise achievement (East End Life, 11.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 9]
Politics
Home Secretary David Blunkett's appeal against a High Court ruling is now being heard in the Appeal Court (See BMMS for October 2001). The ruling ordered Mr Blunkett to reconsider the decision to ban Louis Farrakhan, the Black Muslim leader of the Nation of Islam, from entry to Britain. The ban was first imposed by Douglas Hurd, then Tory Home Secretary, in 1986, after Mr Farrakhan was accused of "stirring up hatred against Jews" (Daily Telegraph, 13.03.02). Last October in the High Court Mr Justice Turner stated that Mr Blunkett had failed to demonstrate there was "more than a nominal risk" attached to a visit by Mr Farrakhan, but the High Court ruling has been suspended pending the appeal.
Monica Carss-Frisk QC, for Mr Blunkett, said that Mr Justice Turner was wrong
to interfere in Mr Blunkett's judgement and that the European Convention of
Human Rights which gave the right to freedom of expression applied only to
nationals and could not be cited with regard to allowing a non-national into the
UK. She argued that Mr Blunkett's decision was correct in the light Mr
Farrakhan's known anti-Semitic views and particularly in view of the current
situation in the Middle East. She said: "To allow him into the country
would pose a significant threat to community relations and public order and was
therefore contrary to public good" (Daily Telegraph, 13.03.02).
Nicholas Blake QC, representing Mr Farrakhan, said on the other hand that Mr
Blunkett's decision was made on the basis of Mr Farrakhan's past comments. He
was reported to have said that Mr Farrakhan was neither a Holocaust denier nor a
fascist sympathiser, and he was not a supremacist seeking to
"liquidate" other races or religions. He had in fact travelled all
over the world, including Israel, with his message, and the only country that
would not allow him entry was the UK. Mr Blake said: "Is this
over-protective, or restrictive, a nanny-state approach to discourse?" (Daily
Telegraph, 13.03.02). The hearing is to continue (Daily Telegraph,
13.03.02, West Midlands Metro, 13.03.02, Metro London, 13.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 9]
Visits to various mosques by notable people have been reported. Lord Adam Patel of Blackburn was to have accompanied Preston MP Mark Hendrick to visit the Preston Muslim Forum and local mosques in Lancashire. Lord Patel was to have given a welcome address at the forum and then the two were to tour the Quwatul-Islam on Peel Hall Street, Raza on St Paul's Road and Masjid-e-Falah on Kent Street.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who is a joint-patron of the Inter-Faith Foundation,
visited the Al-Khoei Mosque in north London and the adjoining schools, Al-Zahra
School for girls and Al-Sadiq School for boys. His mission was said to be to
promote more understanding between Britain's religious faiths and another
newspaper reported that he made the visit because of his interest in the welfare
of young people. At a reception in the honour of the duke, Yusuf Islam was also
present as a guest (Lancashire Evening Post, 09.03.02, Gloucester
Citizen City, 12.03.02, Dundee Courier and Advertiser, 13.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 10]
Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, David Tredinnick, is reported to have been on a "fact-finding mission" to the Islamic Foundation in Markfield. He said that he wanted to know what the foundation was teaching people about "Islamic Britain" and how they were dealing with problems between different groups.
The foundation was established in 1973 and offers facilities for Islamic
education, research and training. It also produces over a 180 publications which
are distributed around the world. As well as meeting other members of staff, Mr
Tredinnick met the director, Dr M Manazir Ahsan. He was given a tour of the
facilities and he said that he wanted to visit again to speak to the students.
Regarding his visit, he said: "…I felt it was important I should go there
at a time when there are heightened problems in Palestine and in Arabia. It is
impressive that the centre held its open day on September 12 last year as
planned – that was a very brave decision" (Ashby Times, 08.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 10]
Liberal Democrat Euro MP, Liz Lynne, spoke to 60
West Midland councillors and Kashmiri community leaders at the Golden Valley
Restaurant about an attempt to put a stop to the conflict between India and
Pakistan over the issue of Kashmir. There are estimated to be 10,000 Kashmiris
in Walsall and 500,000 in the UK. The Liberal Democrats held their spring
conference in Manchester, where they are said to have come out in support of a
new initiative similar to Senator Mitchell's mission in Northern Ireland. Miss
Lynne, who is also chair of the All-Party Kashmir Inter-group of MEPs, said:
"It is not just a question for the EU. Whether it is the Commonwealth, the
United Nations or through the Americans, all of us must recognise that there is
a moral duty to work to facilitate a peaceful solution" (Stafford
Express & Star, 15.03.02). She clarified that the idea was not to tell
the two countries what to do but rather that a special envoy would work behind
the scenes looking at every possible approach with the agreement of the Kashmiri
people (Stafford Express & Star, 15.03.02, Walsall Express &
Star, 15.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 10]
Birmingham's Sunday Mercury (24.03.02)
carried a report on a meeting that was to take place on 10 April in Portcullis
House in Birmingham. The aim of the meeting was to set up the All Party
Parliamentary Friends of Islam Group, designed to encourage dialogue between
Parliamentarians and Muslim communities in order to promote better relations
with British Muslims. Calder Valley Labour MP Christine McCafferty said:
"An obvious benefit of the Group will be to provide a wider access for
Members to the views of the Muslim community, rather than the narrow exposure
currently provided to the few…This should help ease the frustration of some of
the moderate members of the Muslim community who feel excluded from having an
input into issues like education, health and employment" (Birmingham
Sunday Mercury, 24.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 10]
Racism
Shaikh Abdullah Ibrahim el-Faisal, 38, made his
first appearance at the Old Bailey (See BMMS for February 2002). He has
been charged under Section Four of the Offences Against The Persons Act 1861
with "encouraging others to murder persons unknown" (London Jewish
News, 08.03.02). He appeared before Judge Peter Beaumont QC, who informed
him that he was to be remanded in custody until a plea and direction hearing on
11 May.
Supporters of the shaikh were said to be both inside and outside the court. He
is said to have acknowledged his supporters in the public gallery on entering,
with the Muslim greeting to which they replied. Outside approximately 30
supporters demonstrated with banners bearing such slogans as: "The Quran
and Muslims are on trial" and "Say no to Islamophobia" (London
Jewish News, 08.03.02). No bail application was made for him (Bristol
Evening Post, 21.03.02, Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 28.02.02, Shrewsbury
Shropshire Star, 28.02.02, The Times, 01.0 3.02, Walsall Express
& Star, 01.03.02, London Jewish News, 08.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 10]
Women
In recognition of International Women's Day newspapers have carried various reports. Among them have been features on Muslim women, particularly women converting to Islam, as well as activities organised by Muslim women in celebration of the day. Articles featuring converts to Islam report that, despite the negative attitudes and perception of the position of women in Islam, the number of people converting to Islam is said to be rising and women converts are said to outnumber men by two to one. However, the Islamic Human Rights Commission believes that community relations have been set back by ten years since 11 September. There have been around 300 attacks on Muslims in the UK since that event and most of the victims are reported to have been women. One twenty-year-old convert spoke of being spat at, sounds of guns being made as she walked by and being called the wife of Osama bin Laden. Nevertheless, she spoke of the harmony and peace that Islam has brought to her life and said Islam could actually be used to further women's rights since rights were given to Muslim women 1,300 years before they were given to women in Europe or America.
To mark the day, the Muslim community of Woking invited everyone for a talk
on Muslim women at the Shah Jehan Mosque on 8 March and in Preston women were
invited to the Unity Drop-In Advice and Community Centre. The day was organised
for women only, though children were also welcome, and there was to be henna
painting, arts, dance, refreshments and stalls set up by the Preston Muslim
Forum, the Women's Refuge and the Racial Equality Council (Manchester Evening
News, 01.03.02, Woking Review, 02.03.02, Lancashire Evening Post,
06.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 10]
The Asian Women's Project joined forces with a
Muslim educational and youth organisation, the Karimia Institute, to create a
new radio station called Radio Fiza. Both groups had previously broadcasted for
limited periods but now the new station will use a high power transmitter on
Mapperley Top, Nottingham, which will allow it to broadcast further a field with
good sound quality. Radio Fiza, which broadcasts on 97.1 FM, has been granted a
licence to broadcast for a year in the Nottingham area and it will feature
music, educational programmes, discussions and documentaries and if it proves to
be a success, it may be given a permanent licence by the Radio Authority. It has
been granted this licence under the Access Radio scheme, which was set up by the
government in 2000 to offer "a new tier of radio services" (Nottingham
Evening Post, 25.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 11]
Youth
In a feature entitled Life
After September 11 in the South Bucks, Burnham & Iver Observer
(15.03.02) a variety of issues were dealt with including Muslim youths' fears.
The paper interviewed Shaukat Warraich, the headteacher of Slough's Muslim
Community School, which is based at the Stoke Poges Lane Mosque. He is reported
to have said that in the six months following the events of 11 September, young
Muslims are having to define both themselves and their place in the society they
live in. He said: "In terms of the school kids they are feeling this kind
of pressure about justifying themselves and justifying their presence
here." In one respect he views this as a positive outcome because people
are having to look for their identity but the negative aspect is that people are
also being forced to make a choice and that extremists on both sides have
exploited the event and are forcing people to question their existence here. He
is reported to have said that even in the mosque on Stoke Poges Lane, the
presence of an "extreme element" existed and that it was
"essential that children are taught moderate views". He went on to
speak of the importance of these children. He said: "This new generation of
kids are crucial to us now. If we want a harmonious future for Slough we have to
invest in them. We are trying our best to make sure the kids that come out of
our school are going to be the catalysts, the pebbles in the pond making ripples
in Slough of moderation and modernisation". Mr Warraich concluded by
saying: "Kids feel and look a lot more frightened. They are very conscious
of the fact that they are Muslims" (South Bucks, Burnham & Iver
Observer, 15.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 12]
Interfaith
St Osmund's RC Church, in Gainford, was to hold
a series of three lectures for Lent organised by Churches Together in Gainford.
The third lecture was to include an introduction to Islam to be given by
freelance journalist, Farah Khan on 19 March. Ms Khan is said to have the aim of
promoting understanding of Islam in light of the recent conflicts (Darlington
& Stockton Times County Durham, 01.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 12]
The Bradford Afghan Appeal was launched at Centenary Square in order to raise funds for Afghanistan. The idea came from a meeting between the Council for Mosques and the Bishop of Bradford, David Smith, after the attack on Rev Tony Tooby by a group of Asian youths. The aim was to bring Muslims and Christians of Bradford together and Rev Tooby said that it was important for different faiths to work together so that the city would have some good news to tell for a change.
The donated money is to be used for a school and an irrigation project and
the money will be directed through three charities: Islamic Relief, the Catholic
charity CAFOD and Christian Aid. Donations can be sent to 47-51 Carlisle Road,
Bradford. BD8 8BE and any cheques should be made payable to "Bradford
Afghan Appeal" (West Riding Yorkshire Post, 01.03.02, Leeds
Yorkshire Evening Post, 02.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 12]
The fourth annual four-day One World Festival
was to take place in March in Newtownards. The theme for this year's festival
was to be Faith, Feasts, and Fasts and was said to "provide a chance for
everyone to gain first-hand experience of religious beliefs and practices"
(Belfast Telegraph, 12.03.02). Islamic, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu
communities were to take part in exhibitions, discussions and cultural events
and inter-church music was planned for the festival, which was organised by the
Ards Borough Council. Part of the focus of the event was to be the Islamic New
Year, which was starting on 15 March, and St Patrick's Day on 17 March (Belfast
Telegraph, 12.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 12]
Faith Together in Leeds 11 is a charity which is
reported to bring together different faiths. It is a Beeston based group and is
a multi-faith partnership between local Muslim organisations, Christian churches
and community groups. It was set up with the aim of working for urban
regeneration and is reported to have raised considerable amounts of money to aid
support groups. Members of this group were said to be celebrating as they had
been awarded £292,000 from the Community Fund to finance a Parents' Resource
Centre (Leeds Yorkshire Evening Post, 15.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
The Hackney Christian People's Alliance, a
church-based campaign, has been launched in Hackney with the aim of fighting the
easing of cannabis laws. They are said to be hoping for the support of the
borough's Muslim and Jewish communities but some are said to have declined.
However, director of the North London Muslim Community Centre in Stoke
Newington, Ismail Amaan, said: "The Koran tells Muslims they must refrain
from taking anything which will cause them to lose their spiritual association
when called to prayer five time a day…but as a minority community we are
respectful of the larger community who have a free choice on whether cannabis
should be legalised" (Hackney Gazette & North London Advertiser,
21.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
Halal
Service
for schools and elderly
A halal meals pilot project is being carried out by
the Pakistani Welfare Association. The project is being operated in five schools
in Slough, where Muslims parents are being encouraged to ask their children to
use the service. The association is also running a luncheon club for senior male
Pakistani citizens at the Rotunda Stadium on Wednesdays at 1.30pm (Ascot
Express, 07.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
Health
Financial Times (05.03.02) carried a report on an "unusual collaboration" between the Central Jamia Mosque, Ghamkol Sharif and Birmingham City Council. The mosque can accommodate 5,000 worshippers, has a 32m minaret and is said to be the city's largest mosque. It is situated in the inner city area of Small Heath, which is a ward in the top 2 per cent for deprivation in Britain. Male unemployment is 16 per cent but it is even higher in older men and higher still in Asian older men. They had come from Pakistan and Bangladesh to the engineering businesses of the area in the 60s and 70s but suffered greatly, together with their white contemporaries, with the decline of manufacturing in the 1980s. The extra burden of "alienation from mainstream British society" and poor English language skills added to the distress of unemployment. In many this resulted in breakdown and to some "traditionally minded victims" this is seen as being possessed by demons. The outcome of this has been that these men seek help and advice from their imam, who in turn has been referring them to the Golden Hillock Community Centre. According to the manager of the centre, Zahida Evans: "These men had pride in their skills as machine operators and their status as bread winners but now they are stuck at home with nothing to do." This has also led to generational conflict as well as marital break up. She is "proud" of what they do as it helps the men to acknowledge their problems.
Mahboob Hussain, an older Asian man, was reported as an example of this. Since his redundancy he has suffered a series of nervous breakdowns and seen the failure of his marriage in the 1990s. He now visits the Golden Hillock Community Centre, where at the time of his interview he was making chapattis in the centre's kitchen. He said: "I feel calm when I am here. The people are like my family." He is an example of the three way programme that Muslim sufferers embark on; "medication from the health service, prayers at the mosque and counselling and sympathy at Golden Hillock". The care centre is said to have a "warm and comforting" feeling to it with its low lighting and red carpets. Men in skull caps and long shirts play pool, whilst others cut paper flowers and there is a TV in the corner with an Asian satellite channel on offer. The premises are said to be in the mosque which also houses a Muslim undertaker and a printing shop. The trustees sit on the centre's management committee and the council "stumps up the annual budget of £125,000".
Responding to questions about alleged extremists in some UK mosques, the
Chairman of the mosque's management committee, Mohammad Saleem Akhtar, said:
"There is great suspicion of mosques in Britain today. Mosques and the
institutions they support do a lot of good work but no wants to know about
that" (Financial Times, 05.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
The Bordesley Centre in Sparkbrook in Birmingham
held a Health awareness day which encouraged Muslim women, in line with the
teaching of the Qur'an, to breast feed their babies. This is because the area of
Sparkbrook is reported to have the highest rate of deaths among babies under
seven days old in the UK. A leaflet in Urdu, Arabic and English was also being
launched at the centre (Evening Mail, 06.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
An initiative taken by the Birmingham Health Authority is reported to be proving successful (See BMMS for July 2001). What is being described as a "bold initiative" was taken by the health authority in collaboration with Birmingham's Asian community and community worker, Karamgeek Ballgan. The problem of infant mortality was reported to be serious in Birmingham, where in some cases the risk of death has been one in four, particularly in the area of Sparkbrook, which it is still said to have the worst rate with 14.3 babies dying in every 1,000 births. This is believed to be caused by first cousin marriages, which is said to carry a high risk of babies being born with congenital abnormalities. The practice of cousin marriages is very common in the city's Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. However, reports now reveal that since the campaign started, for the first time in five years, there has been a drop in the death rates. According to the latest figures, infant mortality has dropped by 3.5 per cent. This is still higher than the national average, which is 5.7, but those involved have been pleased with the results so far. Ms Ballagam said that it was crucial that they worked in partnership with the community. Director for Public Health for the Birmingham Health Authority, Dr Jacky Chambers, said: "…We took the view – and it was quite a brave view as no one else had embraced this sensitive issue of cultural practice – that we had a duty to give people an informed choice about the increased risks…We are now seeing a statistically significant downward trend. There are many different factors driving that, for example the redistribution of wealth towards the lowest ten per cent, regeneration and technical advances. At last we can say quite confidently that the city has begun to turn around the perinatal death rates" (Birmingham Post, 15.03.02).
All the published reports highlight the case of one man who took the decision
to break from tradition and put a stop to his daughter marrying his sister's
son. He is Mahmood Arshad Lohar, 41, who runs a community charity and helped Ms
Ballagan to inform Muslim families. He said: "I realised that I didn't want
to sacrifice my daughter in order to make my sister happy…I was one of the
first, now many people have changed their minds now that they understand what
the consequences are. Everyone knows families who have suffered, but people
would blame it on God or bad luck. But why blame God? There is nothing in the
Koran to say you should marry your first cousin. It is controversial for some
people – the health authority was brave to take this up. But we were able to
talk to people about it because we are Muslims as well" (Evening Mail,
15.03.02, Birmingham Post, 15.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
Mosques & Burials
A decision was to be made concerning the
conversion of a house to a mosque, for which the planning committee had
recommended a refusal of the application on the grounds of traffic problems,
insufficient parking and "unacceptable disturbances". After the
applicant asked for time to produce more information regarding the proposal,
councillors agreed to defer their decision but they nevertheless allowed TV chef
Michael Bukht, who is the chairman of the Canterbury and District Multicultural
Association, to speak. He said that a site for the proposed centre had been
sought for 15 years. In the meantime the house, which is called Markaz, is being
used as student accommodation for Muslim university students (Kentish Gazette
Canterbury and District, 07.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
A new bid is reported to have been put forward
to Ribble Valley Borough Council for an extension to a mosque for which the town
councillors have given permission. However the final decision, which is to be
taken by the borough council, is not expected to be made for several weeks. The
plans that have been submitted are for a property in Holden Street, and include
building a single-storey extension to the side and rear in order to create space
for a disabled toilet, washing area and a prayer hall. The existing ground floor
will be kept as an Islamic Education Centre, offices and a store and there will
be a library on the first floor. There was hope that the mosque would be given
permission to open on a two-year trial basis but local residents are reported to
have caused a furore because they felt that the mosque would cause traffic and
noise pollution. Strong objections to the plans have been reported in the form
of 165 letters and an 850 name petition objecting to the proposals (Clitheroe
Advertiser & Times, 28.02.02, 14.03.02, Lancashire Evening Telegraph,
05.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
An Islamic School, which is set up in a
converted house next to an empty factory, hopes to gain permission to convert
the factory to a mosque and community centre. Plans have been submitted to
Dudley Council by Dudley-based MSL on behalf of the Islamic school and are
reported to be going to a planning committee sometime in April. Similar plans to
convert the factory to a community hall were submitted in 2000 but these were
rejected (Dudley Express & Star, 01.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
Huntingdon's Muslim community has been given
permission to continue using a house on Coneygear Street as a prayer and
education centre. There were said to be concerns regarding parking and the
volume of traffic in the area. However, Cllr Beryl Robertson told Huntingdon
Town Council that during a trial period, the centre had complied with the
conditions and therefore there was no reason not to approve, though Cllr Ken
Hever-Smith is said to have maintained that a house was inappropriate for this
purpose (Huntingdon & St. Ives Evening News, 11.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
A busy mosque, situated on the first floor of a
building on the junction of Platt Lane and Yew Tree Road in Moss Side, has been
given permission to remain open despite twice being refused planning permission
by the council whose subsequent appeal stating that the building was
"unsuitable for use as a mosque" was turned down by a Home Office
inspector (South Manchester Reporter, 08.03.02). At the council's
planning committee meeting the mosque has been given permission to remain open
for a trial period of 12 months on condition that the leaders of the mosque stop
the "unregulated parking". Objections had also been raised in the form
of an 82 signature petition from the South Rusholme Residents' Association, who
asked for both the residents' and the worshippers' human rights to be
considered. A spokesperson for the residents' Platt Lane Triangle Committee told
the meeting that people were leaving the mosque as late as 12.30am, that rubbish
bags were being dumped in the alley and that emergency vehicles and buses were
prevented from passing by parked cars. A resident, Jane Smith, 73, said that the
council had let them down. She said their objection concerned only the parking
that took place all over the road, which also blocked residents' driveways in
both directions. She said the problem was rooted in the arrogant manner in which
the local people were treated (Manchester Metro News, 01.03.02, South
Manchester Reporter, 08.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]
The mosque on Clydesdale Street has been
operating on a trial basis for 12 months. However, despite 36 letters of
objection as opposed to eight letters of support, and a recommendation from
council officers to refuse permission, the elected councillors gave the mosque
permanent planning permission. A spokeswoman for the residents, Debbie Wilson,
said that there was no need for another mosque as there were two or three
mosques five to ten minutes away and council officer, Phil Sweet, said that the
officers had recommended a refusal because of the problems with traffic and
disturbance to the residents. These were also the objections in the letters
which stated that there was a reduction in the value of neighbouring properties
and that they were disturbed by people talking outside after late prayer
meetings. Despite these objections, councillors argued that the leaders at the
mosque had complied with all the conditions that had been placed on them 12
months ago. They had built a £20,000 car park to deal with off-street car
parking and they had carried out interior and soundproofing work. Cllr Mohammed
Azam said that lorries used to drive down the street, as the premises used to be
a retail manufacturing businesses, which was a hazard to the local children, but
this has now been alleviated. The councillors did however place a condition that
a gate be fitted to the alleyway that adjoins Clydesdale Road. This was because
the residents had complained that people were driving and congregating there
causing a nuisance (Oldham Chronicle, 15.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 14]
Oldham Chronicle (15.03.02) reported the
issue of burials being carried out within 24 hours of death for the Muslim
community. For this to be possible and for weekend burials, it is said that the
community may have to form a self-funding body to liaise with Oldham Council.
Council representative for cemeteries, Eric Bottral, said that members of the
Muslim community have requested that burials be carried out within 24 hours of
the death of the person, but he said that the authority could not afford this
all year and that burials could only take place on a Saturday if notice had been
given at 10am on the Friday before. This was because staff and gravediggers came
voluntarily. Nevertheless, he said that Oldham had contacted both Leicester and
Bradford to look into their strategy. He said: "Members of the community
must formally request the facility and enter into partnership with the council
as an organisation. The organisation must be vetted and self-funding, bringing
no cost to the council. Before a burial takes place it must be legally bound by
the council" (Oldham Chronicle, 15.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 14]
Seven Kings Muslims Educational Trust have been
given permission to build an extension by members of the Chadwell, Goodmayes and
Seven Kings Area. The application was made last August after two inspections and
a three month wait. The permission for the two-storey, windowless extension, has
had both support and opposition. The opposition comes from both residents and
businesses who fear that the already existing traffic and parking problems will
be increased. People attending the mosque are already parking both at the back
and front of the shops and emergency services are said to have found it very
difficult to gain access to the surrounding streets. However, the extension is
said not be intended to increase membership but to improve the existing
facilities for health, safety and freedom of movement. Planning officials said
that though the extension would not mean a loss of existing parking space, the
improved facilities could lead to an increase in the use of the building and
with this in mind they have set certain conditions. These include drawing up a
Green Travel Plan to help alleviate parking problems and arranging for stewards
to direct the traffic to public car parks at times of prayer and festivals. The
council are also reported to have agreed to look at measures such as controlled
parking zones (Barking & Dagenham Recorder, 28.02.02, Redbridge
Yellow Advertiser, 28.02.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 14]
A dispute has been reported over land adjacent to Birchills' CE Primary School which is no longer used by them. It is reported that councillors had given permission to hold talks with Birchills Community Association with a view to them taking over the land. However, Mohammed Aslam, a trustee of the Pakistan Muslim Welfare Association (PMWA), intervened, because they wanted the site to be considered for use by the Blue Lane West Mosque. According to the report, only after his intervention did members of the special education and community services committee agree to ask council officials to carry out negotiations between the Birchills Community Association and the Blue Lane West Mosque. The mosque are hoping to use the land for a playing field as well as for overflow parking. The director of education, Chris Green, said it was important to take all views into account, but Cllr Eileen Pitt said that they are trying to get a "car park on the cheap" and that there could be a conflict of interest between users of the playing field and motorists.
Mr Aslam felt that the PMWA had been ignored in the whole process and spoke
of his "disgust". He said: "We feel aggrieved and disgusted that
the Muslim community in Birchills is being used as a sacrificial lamb and being
ignored…Somewhere along the line the officials have either failed to respond
to the PMWA or have deliberately ignored it" (Walsall Express & Star,
27.02.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 14]
