Vol.X No.IV April 2002

The events in the Middle East relating to the ever-growing and persistent conflict between Palestine and Israel have led thousands of British people including thousands of British Muslims to come forward and speak up. In the past few weeks the country has witnessed demonstrations and protests, mainly in support of the Palestinians. Several newspapers have carried reports on some of these demonstrations, a few of them quite prominent in terms of numbers and locations.

The Israeli Embassy, in London, has become a significant focus for protests. Al-Muhajiroun protested outside the Israeli Embassy on a Friday; approximately 200 people took part and chanted anti-Israel slogans. The report carried in South Bucks, Burnham & Iver Observer (28.03.02) stated that the anger of the protestors related back to the creation of Israel when Palestinians were forced into an exodus in 1948 and to the later invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which came in retaliation for the attempted assassination of the Israeli ambassador to London and led to the evacuation of Palestinian and Syrian “guerrillas” from Beirut. It was also related to the infamous actions in Sabra and Chatila, where Palestinians were massacred. Tauqeer Hussan, 44, a protestor from Slough, said: “The land is not theirs [the Israelis’] and the property is not theirs. And they have to vacate it in whatever way. They do not want to leave. How can it be a peaceful solution if they do not want to leave? Everyday they are building more and more settlements, every day they are taking more land, every day they are getting worse and worse” (South Bucks, Burnham & Iver Observer, 28.03.02). Another demonstration outside the Israeli Embassy was reported two weeks later: more than a thousand people were reported to have taken part and passing drivers were said to have sounded their horns in support of the demonstration. It was reported that the Palestine Solidarity Campaign had called for a national march to take place in London on Saturday 18 May.

A mass demonstration took place in London on 13 April, which began at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park at 1pm and was to go on to Trafalgar Square. This demonstration was organised by the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), one of whose members, Anas Altikriti, said that it would be a peaceful demonstration. He said that the event was in support of the plight of the Palestinian people and to show that a vast number of British people were against the “passive stance of the international community and our Government in particular against what is happening”. He said that they felt that “…US credibility has been hugely eroded due to its partiality with the Israeli government. However, we have hope. We still seek peace, but a just peace, not at all costs, that will return to the Palestinians their rights given to them by UN resolutions over the past three to four decades” (Worcester Evening News, 13.04.02). The MAB estimated that 15-20,000 people would be participating and speakers for the event included Labour backbench MP Jeremy Corbyn as well as representatives from the Islamic Human Rights Commission and the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. Many different organisations, including Muslims and non-Muslims alike, supported and joined in this demonstration. One delegation was reported to have come from Grimsby, where 40 people departed from the Grimsby Mosque in Stanley Street to join the other protestors in London. Dr Hussein Nagi from Egypt, who is the chairman of the Islamic Association of South Humberside and works as an anaesthetist at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby, said: “Innocent blood continues to be spilt in the Holy Land of Palestine, and women and children continue to fall victims of heavy shelling. The international silence towards these humanitarian crimes is absolutely bewildering…It causes Muslims in Britain great dismay to see how one form of terrorism is dealt with swiftly, sharply and ferociously, while terrorism committed by Israel, remains without appropriate counter-measure” (Grimsby Telegraph, 13.04.02).

The Muslim Association of Britain is reported to have demanded that the British government, “live up to its ethical foreign policy, and condemn the atrocities committed by the Israeli government” (Grimsby Telegraph, 13.04.02). In a press release, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Yousaf Bhailok, was reported to have called for sanctions against Israel’s “rogue government” (Jewish Chronicle, 12.04.02). According to the Jewish Chronicle (12.04.02), Mr Bhailok, “avoiding” any reference to the Palestinian suicide bombers, said that the “Israel war machine” was “killing Palestinians seemingly at will” and in an earlier statement he is reported to have asked British Jewish leaders “‘to speak out’ against Israeli ‘crimes’” (Jewish Chronicle, 12.04.02). In a later issue, the Jewish Chronicle (26.04.02) reported that leaders of the MCB signed an open letter to the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, in which they “urged” the British government to “act against Israel”. According to the report, the letter stated: “‘it would be “totally ineffective” to call on the Palestinians to renounce violence … while ‘still suffering the indignities of an illegal military occupation’” (Jewish Chronicle, 26.04.02).

The Belfast Islamic Centre works to protect the interests of Northern Ireland’s 4,000 Muslims. Its president, Jamal Iweida, was reported to have sent a “strong message” to both Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush. He said that both the UK and the US had a “moral responsibility to the Palestinians” (North West Belfast Telegraph, 06.04.02).

The Yorkshire Evening Post (13.04.02) reported that “following reports of hundreds of deaths and human rights abuses in the Jenin refugee camp”, the Israeli ambassador to London, Zvi Shtauber, had been “summoned” to the Foreign Office to explain Israel’s actions in the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, was reported to be “disturbed” by reports of the Israel Defence Force’s actions in the camp. The Lancashire Evening Telegraph (16.04.02) reported that Mr Straw received a petition which both urged him to address the “Palestine situation” and warned against any military involvement in Iraq. The petition was presented to Mr Straw, who is also Blackburn’s MP, by members of the Lancashire Council of Mosques at the Bangor Street Community Centre, where Lord Patel of Blackburn was also present. It was handed over by the chairman, Ibrahim Master. A few days later the Lancashire Evening Telegraph 22.04.02) carried a report on a demonstration in which more than 500 protestors marched from the Bangor Street Community Centre to Blackburn Town Hall. They are said to have protested against the oppression of Muslims around the world and especially against “state terrorism directed at Muslims in Israeli occupied territories” (Lancashire Evening Telegraph, 22.04.02).

About 600 were reported to have attended an anti-war demonstration in the streets of Aberdeen with people from Edinburgh and Dundee also taking part. The event was organised by the Aberdeen Coalition for Justice Not War, a coalition of religious and non-religious people, including members of political groups and trade unions and individuals who had been against the bombing in Afghanistan. Demonstrators at this march included members of pressure groups such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Church of Scotland, representatives from Aberdeen Mosque and student groups. The demonstrators sent a message to Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George Bush that the idea of bombing Iraq was wrong. The demonstration was also felt to be predominantly about Palestine.

Newspapers also reported that various MPs had been adding their voices to those of the protestors. Following a visit by 30 Muslims to Westminster to meet Gloucester MP Parmjit Dhanda and Lord Nazir Ahmed, Mr Dhanda together with other MPs in Gloucestershire are demanding sanctions on arms sales to Israel and a complete ban by the European Union (EU) however he did not call for economic sanctions which have been rejected by the EU. Mr Dhanda said: “I think the Government needs to be much more firm and quite unequivocal towards Israel. I support a Government policy of sanctions on arms to Israel. I believe it is time for them to be firm with the Israelis because the kind of atrocities which took place in Jenin we have no idea about. It is not for Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, to say which UN investigators can and cannot go into Jenin to find out what happened there” (Newent Citizen, 25.04.02), (South Bucks, Burnham & Iver Observer, 28.03.02, North West Belfast Telegraph, 06.04.02, Morning Star, 08.04.02, Jewish Chronicle, 12.04.02, 26.04.02, Yorkshire Evening Post, 13.04.02, Grimsby Telegraph, 13.04.02, Worcester Evening News, 13.04.02, Ipswich Evening Star, 13.04.02, Lancashire Evening Telegraph, 16.04.02, 22.04.02, Aberdeen Press & Journal, 22.04.02, The Guardian, 23.04.02, Newent Citizen, 25.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 1]

The National Council for the Welfare of Muslim Prisoners (NCWMP) is said to have written to the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, regarding the men detained at high security prisons under the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 (See British Muslims Monthly Survey for February 2002). The council is made up of organisations such as the Muslim College, the Union of Muslim Organisations and the Muslim Council of Britain, who are said to have raised their concerns before regarding the conditions in which these men have been held in the high security wing of Belmarsh prison in south-east London. The Guardian article (15.04.02) states that it understands that the council is to raise its concern regarding a Palestinian man, Mahmoud Abu Rideh, who in protest against his detention, is on a hunger strike saying that he is “innocent of any involvement in terrorism”. Mr Rideh was refused bail last week by a special immigration appeals commission in London. His supporters are reported to be arguing that prison cannot provide the care that he needs because he is suffering “serious psychological damage” after being tortured in Israel. The council, as well as the government appointed Muslim adviser, had visited him the previous week and the adviser is said to have persuaded him to drink some water. He said that he would continue to take fluids.

Nine men are reported to have been detained under the immigration act and two have exercised their right to go home. One man is reported to have been deported to France and the other, Kamel Ajouao, a translator who had worked for the solicitor Gareth Pierce, has returned to Morocco. The rest are said to have refused to return because they say their lives would be in danger if they did so. A spokesperson for the council said: “We wish to meet with the home secretary to discuss the conditions under which the men are being held. We have visited these men on several occasions as we were able to resolve many of the issues with the prison but there are still outstanding matters we wish to discuss with Mr Blunkett”.

Although the men have not been charged with any offence, they are being held under the new act which permits the detention of persons deemed to be a risk to national security. Three of the detainees are said to have been moved from cells described by one lawyer as “concrete coffins” to the main wing. The council issued a statement that: “The NCWMP is of the opinion that the detention of these individuals in conditions, which entail prolonged periods of solitary confinement, poses a serious moral dilemma and ethical challenge to the civilised values of our society.” However, the day before the article was published a spokesperson from the council said that conditions had improved.

Mr Blunkett is reported to have met the detainees on 24 January and is said to have inspected the cells as well as the visiting areas and exercise facilities. A spokesperson from the Home Office said that the letter had been received and a response would be given in due course (The Guardian, 15.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 1]

Channel 4 ran a series of programmes as part of their Islam series (See BMMS for March 2002). The first was entitled The Hidden Jihad, in which DJ Imran Khan went back to Peterborough, where he grew up, to interview some of the Muslim men he knew ten years ago to see what difference Islam had made to their lives. However, since the programme was broadcast, Q News (No 341-342, 01.04.02) has reported in their T.V review section, that it had “upset many in the Muslim community most of all those who agreed to take part in it”. One of them was Mush Khan, a musician in the rap group Fun-da-mental, who, since the programme, has decided not to be interviewed any further by Mr Khan or any other non-Muslim journalists, although he agreed to an interview with Q News to speak of his experience of being interviewed for the programme and what he thought, as a consequence, of the final outcome. He said that Mr Khan and producer Ninder Biling had wanted to film him walking past what looked like a bar, but he refused and when being interviewed by Mr Khan, Ms Biling was said to have been passing notes to Mr Khan and the questions that followed became increasingly “controversial”, such as “what is jihad?” and “Do Christians go to heaven?” Mush Khan said that the programme that was broadcast and the brief that followed in it, did not relate to the brief he was given before he agreed to take part. He said that the editing was “manipulative” and gave examples of this. He said one of the Muslim interviewees spoke of “filth in society around us” and a scene containing white people walking down a street was inserted at that moment. Mush Khan said that this implied that the interviewee hated white people, yet he was married to a white, English Muslim. When he was asked by Mr Khan what he thought of those Britons who had gone to fight in Afghanistan, his reply was that he empathised with their reasons and much later he said that they were heroes, but in the editing the two points followed one another and everything that was said in between was edited out. He said that even the Muslim man from Hizb-ut-Tahrir said that he wanted to establish an Islamic government in a Muslim country and not in the UK but Mr Khan did not make this clear in his summing up.

Mush Khan was reported to have said that the programme “gave the impression that Muslims are like a virus creeping up on British society”. He went on to say that an Asian journalist, who used to work with Mr Khan, told Mush Khan that people at Channel 4 had been discussing “how they have given Muslims enough rope to hang themselves”. He said that even if they were to apologise, it was too late, as the “hatred has been planted”. He said that they were trying to plant divisions between secular and moderate Muslims and “deeply religious” Muslims. He said that people such as “Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Inayat Bunglawala, Shazia Mirza and Imran Khan claim to speak for Muslims, but what do they know? They’re cashing in on their nominal Muslim background.” The review on this aspect of the programme ended with Mush Khan’s words: “…If he’s [Imran Khan] sincere about representing Islam he should apologise for it. There are many who are seriously angry.”

The review then continued with an interview with Imran Khan, where questions were asked related to the programme, his intentions and some of the questions raised by Mush Khan. Asked what he felt about his programme, Mr Khan said: “If I had to make it again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I stand by my intention and the end result.” To another question, he said that his intention was to look at the “prompts and journey to orthodox Islam” and though, at the beginning, he had a lot of prejudices and was harsh about people’s beliefs, by the end he said he understood why people returned to their faith and why it protects them from a world which these people view as “unjust”. He said that he empathised with them as British society “has a whole heap of moral problems”. He said that his friends had moved forward and Islam had solved a lot of their “major issues”, especially Mush Khan. He said that the programme would have been different if he had had an hour but in half an hour they “wanted to get the salient points out there”.

When asked whether he was aware that the brief for the show had misled the participants, he said that he did not know of this brief and did not agree that they had been misled. He said he had told them what the programme was about and that he did not lie to anyone and he did not think that he had done anything wrong. He defended Ninder Biling and said that she was a professional director and a friend and that he relied on Ms Biling to bring him back to the point as he had a tendency to “go off on tangents”. He said that he told the participants that if they wanted to refuse to answer a question, they could do so and that he could be challenged and questioned if they did not like his questions. He was asked if it was irresponsible to ask questions in a half an hour documentary, knowing that he would not get very far. He replied: “I think we got very far, we’re told we’ve opened the issues out, featuring real people and their opinions. I’m also told that as a non-practising Muslim I had no right to make this programme, that I’m a puppet of the west, an evil person. Everybody will take something away from that programme - anger or knowledge. I’m told I’ve made one of the most revealing programmes on Islam in the last fifteen years”.

In response to reported allegations that he was “cashing in” on his “new-found notoriety, Salman Rushdie style”, He replied: “I would have done it with Despatches and I would have been a lot harsher. This was so personal to me that I can’t call myself a reporter on this story. If I ever asked Channel Four for a job on Despatches, they’ll ask me what I’ve done. They’d say, ‘This is just about you and your mates!’ So I’ve gone two steps back on my career so that’s a very unfair criticism.”

The interview continued with questions relating to whether he felt he was part of a bigger agenda and what his thoughts and feelings were about the Islamic faith practised by others and himself (Q News, 341-342, 01.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 2]

The Muslim community of Ballymena presented a gift, a brass replica featuring designs from the door of the Ka’bah, the Holy Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, to SDLP’s councillor Declan O’Loan at the Popular Belief Exhibition, which took place at the Ballymena Museum in March 2002. However, when Cllr O’Loan went on to present the gift at an Environmental Services Committee meeting it was rejected by three Democratic Ulster Party (DUP) councillors, Robin Stirling, Sam Gaston and James Alexander. They said that the presentation of the gift should be delayed to the monthly council meeting the following week. Muslims and their representatives on the Council for Ethnic Minority were reported to have been offended by this delay but Mr Alexander defended his decision in the following words: “I do not believe in the Islamic faith or their tradition and I am suspicious because of the attacks on New York and Washington, over six months ago. A lot of people in the United States and elsewhere have been slaughtered by them. Also, non-Muslims are not allowed to practise their own faith in those countries. I have no problem with them holding an exhibition of their beliefs in Ballymena Museum, but there is only one faith, as far as I’ve been taught. There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism by the holy spirit, as written in the holy scriptures. That is what I base my faith on…I treat everyone equally and I allow everyone to have their own beliefs, but do not like anyone who tries to impose their beliefs on me, or influence my beliefs. The presentation had a number of Islamic emblems on it, but there was no-one present who could translate them. The council can accept it if it wants, but I want nothing to do with it” (News Letter, 28.03.02). Mr Stirling, who is said to have studied Islam, called for the acceptance of the gift to be delayed and defended the right of the spiritual wing of the DUP to express its opinion. He said that the party just wanted a translation of the engravings on the gift.

Certain members of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) have come under scrutiny for, allegedly distributing literature on behalf of Osama bin Laden and making anti-semitic remarks. The first accusation is levied at Inayat Bunglawala, MCB’s media director, who circulated material written by Osama bin Laden to hundreds of Muslims in the UK last year, before the events of 11 September, but after the bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. This information is said to have been a cause of embarrassment for Prime Minister, Tony Blair, because he had announced that the MCB was the face of mainstream Islam in the UK. Mr Bunglawala explained that he had distributed the information five months before the events of 11 September when he, like many others, had regarded Osama bin Laden as a freedom fighter against the Russians. He said that even the Americans favoured Osama bin Laden and had once armed him. Mr Bunglawala said that he did not support what had happened to the World Trade Centre. The deputy secretary general of the MCB, Mahmud Al-Rashid, said that their organisation did not support extreme activity and that he would investigate this matter (The Sunday Telegraph, 10.03.02).

Channel 4 was to broadcast a documentary entitled Who Speaks for Muslims, in which it was to claim that both Mr Rashid and Mr Bunglawala had made anti-Semitic remarks in the Trends magazine in the early 90s. They both deny the claims and are said to be considering legal action. The producer of the programme, David Herman, is reported to have said that his programme was based on thorough research. Mr Bunglawala said that he was very angry and that he was not anti-Semitic. He said that he was an executive member of the East London Three Faiths Forum and had worked with local rabbis to combat both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. He is also reported to have said that Mr Herman had a pro-Israeli agenda and that he was attacking the MCB because they were critical of Israel’s actions in the Middle East. Both Mr Bunglawala and Mr Rashid said they could not remember writing the pieces in question and that the programme makers had confused their anti-Israeli sentiments with anti-Semitism. Mr Herman denied these claims and said that the aim of the programme was to establish whether the Muslim community in the UK was being represented adequately. A spokesperson at Channel 4 is also reported to have dismissed the idea that Mr Herman’s Jewish origin would interfere with the programme’s objectivity because a lot of people were involved in the making of the programme and the ethnic origin of the programme maker was not relevant since Channel 4 had editorial control (The Guardian, 15.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 4]

A Muslim group was reported to have been negotiating to buy a site in Birmingham for several years. They were acquiring the site at a discount of 75 per cent which has caused a lot of controversy because not only are city tax-payers set to lose £68,000 on the deal but also the decision has gone against the council’s policy set four years ago of not giving discounts to religious organisations. Five council committees are said to have approved the disposal of land in Aston Church Road to the Muslim Cultural Society at the full market price, but the organisation had continued to haggle over the price during the past two years. This resulted in Hodge Hill MP, Terry Davis, making representations on their behalf and the deal being reviewed by Birmingham’s ruling Cabinet regeneration chief, Andrew Coulson. He agreed to sell the land for a quarter of its value despite the council’s new market value policy. This decision consequently led to many objections from the both Tory and Liberal Democrat councillors but Cllr Coulson maintains that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with his decision because discussions relating to this site had been initiated as far back as 1995 and it had taken a long time to complete the negotiations. He said that he had used his judgement as a Cabinet member, which is what he was paid to do.

A team of councillors were reported to have challenged the cabinet but their request to reconsider was refused by the city leader Sir Albert Bore. He said it was clear that the negotiations were being carried out prior to the change in discount policy and therefore there was a moral obligation to go through with it. It is also reported that councillor Tony Kennedy is now campaigning for another Muslim group to be given a similar discount. The Albert Road Mosque is said to have been negotiating to buy a site for 15 years. Cllr Kennedy said there should be fair and equal treatment for all mosques and that they will be looking for a substantial discount (Evening Mail, 14.03.02, 19.03.02, 29.03.02, Birmingham Post, 30.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 4]

At a special meeting of West Watford Community Forum, it was agreed “in principle” that the Peace Community Centre will be built on a plot of derelict land in Tolpits Lane. The project manager, Tom Meldrum, said the centre would be built to support the needs of the Muslim community in West Watford. It would provide community and conference facilities as well as badminton courts for both Muslims and non-Muslims. Vicarage Ward councillor, Rashid Choudhary, welcomed the fact that the centre finally seemed to be going ahead after waiting for ten years. He praised West Watford’s Muslim community for raising £120,000, which is more than half the funding required to build the centre. He said that 40 per cent of West Watford’s community was Muslim and that despite living in the community for 30 to 40 years, they were one of the most disadvantaged groups in town. He said that it was vital that the council provide money from the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) because the purpose of the centre was to help the disadvantaged sections of the communities as well as the ethnic minorities and it was to provide facilities that other centres could not, such as non-alcohol serving venue for the Muslim community. Other councillors such as Sikh councillor Jagtar Dhindsa and Cllr Brian Graham pledged their support for the project.

Objections were raised by some residents concerning money, traffic and noise problems and it was said that the council should also think about other ethnic minorities, such as the Greeks and Italians who were said to be overlooked.

In a later edition of The Watford Observer (05.04.02) it was reported that the issue of managing the centre had caused an argument. It was reported that the panel of the SRB fell into arguments over this issue and there was debate as to whether the Muslims, who had funded 50 per cent of the project, or an independent group from outside should manage. Cllr Dhindsa and Cllr Rashid Choudhery argued that the Muslims should be allowed to choose their own management team because organisers of other projects had been able to choose their own managers and if they wanted an independent management system, that should be their own choice. However, Three Rivers Ashridge ward councillor Nena Spellen stated that the Muslims did not have the right to choose even though they had contributed 50 per cent of the funding, because it was an SRB project and if the project failed it would be the SRB’s responsibility. Watford Council Leader, Vince Muspratt, said that the project had now been forwarded to the East of England Development Agency and if it gave its approval work was to start straight away (The Watford Observer, 22.03.02, 05.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]

Rana Tufail has lived in England for 38 years. He was a law lecturer at what is now known as Stoke-on-Trent College in the 1970s. His hard work across the years was honoured at a reception in the Lord Mayor’s parlour by the presentation of a civic plate “in recognition of his efforts in social and religious affairs and creating harmony between different groups within the community” (Stoke Sentinel, 28.03.02). Soon after Mr Tufail arrived in the UK he is reported to have helped set up the Islamic Centre in Shelton and the Stoke on Trent Muslim Welfare and Community Association. He became a trustee of both these bodies when they became registered charities. He has worked with the Council for Racial Equality and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau as well as establishing Asian programmes on Radio Stoke. A lot of his life has been dedicated to education, and although he has retired as a law lecturer, he spends a lot of his time talking to pupils about Islam at other schools and colleges. A future project Mr Tufail is involved in is to see a “state of the art” mosque and multi-cultural community centre built on the former Regent Road city works storage base in Hanley.

Mr Tufail said that he was “pleasantly surprised” by the recognition. He said he could not remember all he had done over the past years but his main work had been in the community informing people about Islam and how Muslims could “fit in”. Shelton councillor Karamat Ali, who has known Mr Tufail for more than 25 years, was pleased that Mr Tufail’s work was being honoured. He said: “I think he does excellent work, not only in recent years but since the Seventies. He works very hard in the community. Whenever there is a problem he is a there, wherever he is needed” (Stoke Sentinel, 28.03.02, 10.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]

A Muslim conference was to take place at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre on 31 March 2002, called the Quran Expo Conference. Around 3,000 people were expected to attend and the organisers of the event were reported to have vowed to dispel misconceptions related to Islam. All faiths were invited to the conference, which was organised by the Islamic Society and its youth arm Young Muslims UK. It featured prominent Muslim speakers from the US as well as Dr Munir Ahmed, president of the Islamic Society of Great Britain. One of the organisers, Mohammed Hanif, said: “This will not be an extremist event and I imagine the issue of Afghanistan will come up during the question and answer sessions…The conference was being planned before September 11 but now we hope people of all faiths will come along and learn more about our religion” (Black Country Evening Mail, 30.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]

At the same conference Yaseen Akhtar spoke and addressed the issue of what is known as Islamic fundamentalism. He said that improving the understanding of Islamic belief was “vital”. He said that there was a big problem of impressionable youth being recruited by “political and fundamentalist organisations” in Birmingham and that it was the biggest problem outside London. He hoped that the conference would give a positive image of Islam which had been the centre of attention for the wrong reasons and he hoped the conference would show the “true Islamic perspective of Muslims in Britain”. He said: “We need to be pro-active and enrich society here, to help the situation which has evolved both in Birmingham and all over the world regarding Islam, post-September 11…Community relations and education are very important to make Muslims and non-Muslim people understand what the faith is all about…We want to redress the misconception and tackle the grey areas of the Koran that people do not fully understand” (Birmingham Post, 01.04.02). Nevertheless, anti-Muslim feeling has in turn led to Muslims questioning their faith more as well as making them aware of their identity. He went on to say, “…The issue of citizenship is very important for Birmingham to re-establish inter-faith relations and this is the message we are trying to put across. People who do not want to integrate, and isolate themselves, will find themselves in a very daunting position and very alone” (Birmingham Post, 01.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]

The Bradford Sunni Muslim Khalifa Society has been granted £15,000 from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund for a centre for the elderly to be built on wasteland behind the society’s existing site on Upper Seymour Street off Leeds Road in Barkerend. There are to be meals, health monitoring information, day trips and leisure facilities; although they will be available for all elderly people, these facilities will be specifically geared towards the Asian community. Maksud Ahmed Khalifa, chairman of the society, said that they had been looking forward to this funding for a long time and that there had been no facilities for the Gujerati community, a situation they now hoped to rectify. The money is to be used for a feasibility study land and then an application would be made for Single Regeneration Budget six for money for the building (Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 02.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]

Following the death of the Queen Mother, messages of condolence have been sent to the Royal family by various Muslim communities across the UK. Muslims in Leicestershire were said to be mourning the loss of the Queen Mother. Manzoor Mughal, chairman of the Federation of Muslim Organisations, said: “The Muslim community is deeply saddened and mourns the passing away of the Queen Mother. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Royal Family for whom this is a great personal loss and especially Her Majesty the Queen for whom this follows so soon after the death of Princess Margaret. The Queen Mother led an outstanding, distinguished and exemplary life with great charm, dignity and honour…Her extraordinary contribution to the nation will be remembered with great fondness and gratitude” (Leicester Mercury, 03.04.02).

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Association also offered their condolences. A letter was published by Mujeeb Rahman of the association as well as another longer statement on behalf of the association. He gave an example of the respectful conduct of the Prophet Mohammed at the death of a Jewish person, stating that Muslims must show respect “to all honourable and respected people of all nations” (Keighley News, 05.04.02). He said that the Queen Mother was described as “the very essence of royalty” and that the members of the association were saddened by her death. He went on to relate to the pain and bereavement of the Royal family at this time and spoke of lessons to be learnt for those left behind. He said: “Our sense of time’s irreversibility is heightened by death…Given that death is inevitable for all of us, it is perhaps appropriate to reflect what meaning it may hold for us. In Islam death is a time to remember life…While we have a choice we may want to try and enrich our lives with noble and virtuous actions” (Keighley News, 05.04.02), (Leicester Mercury, 03.04.02, Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 03.04.02, Keighley News, 05.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 5]

Reports of unfair and paranoid behaviour and treatment related to religious discrimination continue to appear in the press. Although the number of incidents appears to have fallen in comparison with the period following 11 September, nevertheless, they have not come to an end. A Q News (No 341-342, 01.04.02) article entitled Authorities bully innocents reported on incidents in the UK and the US. It reported that in March of this year Natwest Bank had withdrawn their banking services from the Islamic Party of Britain. The bank informed them that it would no longer provide banking facilities to them and that it was not willing to enter into any discussion because this was a “confidential order that will not be reviewed or reversed”. However, a week later the bank issued a formal apology because they had closed the account as the result of a customer complaint, which the bank is reported to have said was “ill-researched”. It regretted its “poor service” and failure to follow what the bank is reported to have called “normal robust internal procedures regarding customer complaints”. It donated £500 to the party and said that because of this incident they had altered their “Managing Customers’ Concerns” procedure throughout the bank.

Al-Noor Islamic bookshop, which is situated near the Central Mosque in Regents’ Park in London is reported to have been subjected to two search warrants. The owner, Athar Shah, said: “I told them they could search whenever they wanted, they’re not going to find anything. How paranoid this society has become!” The article went on to state: “Ordinary individuals and families have also been targets of racial and religious profiling.” Faheem Khan of north west London found out that a roll of film he had given for processing to his local photo print store had been handed over to the police. He said: “The roll had photos of my children playing a fool with Palestinian scarves around their necks and faces. The store manager assumed they were terrorists undergoing training!” His film was eventually returned to him (Q News, No 341-342, 01.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 6]

Q News (341-342, 01.04.02) carried an article in their section called Focus in which they discussed their opinion of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and gave their evaluation of the organisation, its leadership and what the organisation should be four and a half years after its formation. The review starts with an introduction in which it states that the MCB is an “oddity” and is an organisation that seems “out of sorts” because it is caught between the expectations of the government and the demands of Muslims. It states that the events after 11 September have proved to be “too complex and too demanding for an organisation inspired by noble ideas but always at the mercy of mediocre shadowy leadership”. The MCB was launched in November 1997 after, it is said, the then Home Secretary, Michael Howard, was so “concerned and depressed” because of the in-fighting between the various Muslim leaders who used to come to visit him, that he said he would not take them or their issues seriously until they set up a “representative body”. It is said that after a dozen “consultations”, a group of Muslims, who were an “essentially unrepresentative and pedestrian group of Muslims - most of the time out of their depth when dealing with professional civil servants and politicians”, went about “implementing” Michael Howard’s will. This leads on from the statement that part of the problem with the MCB is its “image” and the review states that, for those who are familiar with colonial history, “there is a limit to which one can trust an organisation that traces back its inception to a fatwa by a Home Secretary”. Another problem with this process was that those who took up the task were those who had come to the public arena because of their “botched up anti-Rushdie campaign” rather than their work at the grassroots level. Therefore, the “total effect of this has been an organisation strong in political hustling but short in both grassroots credibility and spirituality leadership” and because of this they are said to be “alien” to the experiences of the vast majority of British Muslims, among whom they count specifically women, the young, poor, refugees and any one not from the sub-continent. The review it goes on to explain this point further, asserting that part of the attraction of the MCB was that it was close to the government, which impressed the older generation of British Muslims, who see contact with the authorities as “powerful”, though this is not the case for young second and third generation Muslims who are said to have a better understanding of the system. The review maintains, however, that the “allure of the MCB officials rubbing shoulders with ministers and government officials seems to have worn off” and in the shadow of “events of 11 September, the war in Afghanistan and the ongoing holocaust in Palestine”.

The review claims that a lot of the problem arises from the MCB’s constitution, which it says is a “cut and paste job of both the Jewish Board of Deputies (which many of the MCB founders aspire to) and the Church of England Synod standing orders. Hence the Secretary General of the MCB has the power of the Pope, the confused role of the Chief Rabbi and resources of a local Anglican vicar.” The review has taken place, it seems, because the MCBs annual general meeting was expected to take place on 28 April. The review does not expect this to be an “exciting affair”. It states that there is a “major problem” facing the delegates is the decision concerning who should be appointed the new secretary general - not because there is any shortage of “sincere, competent and willing people” but because the constitution makes it “impossible” for anyone who is not rich to take on the role. This is because it is a virtually full-time position with no provision for pay or expenses. Young professionals are therefore excluded and it is said that it is no co-incidence that so far the post has been held by two relatively wealthy businessmen. To survive, the review states, “The MCB needs more than fundamental changes to its irrelevant constitution.” It says that its most “striking success” in the last two years has been the way that it has alienated “potential partners” who had been working for the community. “Its totalitarian, exclusive and secretive approach has resulted in an army of politicians, activists and imams being openly hostile” to the organisation and there is also said to be “ample evidence that not only does MCB leadership claim sole representation of British Muslims, but actually gets engaged in processes of discriminating and excluding other legitimate opinions from the community to be given an opportunity”. The review claims that comments made by MCB leaders to undermine and discredit others have actually alienated many people and “exposed the organisation’s unprofessionalism and immaturity to different authorities” and their “bullying tactics” to pressurise opposition have in turn backfired.

Kilburn Times (03.04.02) carried a report about the conviction of Muslim men who used their local mosque as part of their plan to launder drugs money. The court heard the cases of five men involved but half way through the trial two of the five were “formally cleared of three counts of conspiring to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking between January and June 2001”. Hasnain Suchedina, 37, was convicted by the jury on one count of money laundering and Mohsin Mukhi admitted to one count of money laundering and also gave evidence against Mr Suchedina which is said to have “sealed” Mr Suchedina’s fate. However, the latter did not perjure himself by giving evidence, and this worked in his favour. The fifth man Hussain Hafedh, 45, had been charged with the offences but he has since gone missing.

Andrew Munday, prosecuting QC, said: “Hafedh will be shown to have been a collector of funds, almost certainly from major drug deals.” The jury were told that the collections took place late at night in car parks and then Mr Hafedh would take the money to the mosque where he met Mr Suchedina. He gave the money to him in Sainsbury’s carrier bags, which Mr Suchedina would take to his bureau de change business, the Multicurrency Foreign Exchange in Harley Street. There the notes were mixed up with “apparently legitimate” foreign exchange, which was then driven in armoured vans to the Royal Bank of Scotland. The court heard that £7.7 million was sent by Multicurrency to Mr Suchedina’s account but only £3.5 million appeared to have been from an illegal source. It was also reported that one of Mr Hafedh’s sources of money was a Wembley drug-dealer who had been caught with 3.9 kilos of heroin. Both Mr Mukhi and Mr Suchedina were said to be of previous good character. Mr Mukhi was only to serve half of his two-year sentence and since he had already been in custody for ten months he was to be freed after serving another two months.

Mr Mukhi and Mr Suchedina had met while working at a bank in Dubai in the mid 90s and on his arrival in the UK Mr Mukhi was employed by Mr Suchedina. Mr Mukhi has a Pakistani wife and four children who are now living in Karachi, Pakistan and Mr Suchedina, an Indian, has three young children, 12, nine and a baby under one. The court was told that he was “a deeply religious man”. He had worked in India, Dubai and Hong Kong and detectives are to focus their investigations there to see if there are any more funds held there (Kilburn Times, 03.04.02, Redbridge Yellow Advertiser, 04.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 6]

Amir Choudhry, 29, of Spanish and Pakistani decent, was reportedmissing by his family on 12 March 2002. He had been missing from his home since 9 March and Kingston’s Muslim community had joined the search party to look for Mr Choudhry. Several witnesses had seen a man leaping from the parapet from Kingston Bridge on 9 March at 8.30pm, and police believed him to be the same man. He was seen “thrashing” and “struggling” before floating 100 metres down stream. Despite a search of the river for two hours by the Metropolitan Police Marine Unit and Teddington’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), no body was found. However, a member of the public was said to have spotted his body floating in the Thames past Teddington Lock on 30 March. The RNLI were called and they picked the body out of the water. After a post mortem examination on 31 March, immersion in water was found to be the cause of death and an inquest is to open in due course. Mr Choudhry had founded a forum called Positive Consensus where people from different religious and ethnic groups discuss multiculturalism (Richmond Borough Guardian, 04.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]

Hyndburn Council’s Development Committee has given permission to change the use of a house on Park Road in Accrington into an Islamic education centre that will cater for 20 children between the ages of five and eighteen. There were objections to this proposal by residents and councillors who had concerns about traffic. In a report to the committee, it was revealed that a resident said it was bad enough to have a primary school at one end of the road but to open another near the junction with Blackburn Road was “ludicrous and dangerous”. However, councillor Jim Dickinson said that most of the children would be walking to the school rather than coming by car and that the application was providing for these people’s need (Accrington Observer, 05.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]

Muslims in Preston have set up the Stealth Station Appeal to raise £20,000 towards the Royal Preston Hospital’s appeal which is to raise £400,000 to provide the latest neuro-navigation equipment. This is to provide safe and accurate brain surgery facilities for hundreds of patients every year across Lancashire. The Muslim appeal has been organised by members of Al-Ansaar Welfare and Education in Hardcastle Road in Preston. So far they have donated £9,000 through various mosques. All Muslims are being asked to donate to the appeal. The imam of the Fulwood’s Salaam Mosque, Mohammed Farook Kazi, said: “As Muslims living in Britain, it is imperative we show our Islamic values to non-Muslims…At a time when racial tension is high and Islam and Muslims are under the spotlight internationally this would create much needed respect for our community…Every single mosque is involved and we want people from neighbouring towns to take part because everyone will benefit” (Preston Citizen, 11.04.02).

The Muslim community in Preston are also reported to have raised more than £17,000 for people affected by the violence in India. Ten thousand pounds has already been sent and provisions have also been made for Muslims living as minorities who have been displaced as a result of the riots.

Postal donations by cheque payable to Al-Ansaar Stealth Station Appeal can be sent to Al-Ansaar Welfare and Education, 14 Hardcastle Rd, Preston, PR2 3DL. Alternatively, donations can be made directly to Al-Ansaar Stealth Station Appeal bank account at HSBC bank Fishergate, Preston. Sort code: 40-37-25, Account No: 02590115 (Preston Citizen, 11.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]

Home Office Minister, John Denham was reported to have unveiled a scheme at the Tooting Islamic Centre which was the idea of Wandsworth’s “top special” police officer, Fred Ahmed MBE. The new initiative is to place officers in a Tooting mosque in the hope that their presence will lead to the willingness of people to report more crimes, particularly those of a racial nature. This, it is hoped, will lead to “greater trust” between the police and Asian community. The scheme will be staffed by volunteers from the Metropolitan Police Special Constabulary.

Since the events of 11 September specials from Wandsworth are said to have been in close contact with the centre as it was felt that there would be more terrorist activities as well as reprisals against Muslims. It is reported to have proved to be a “well-founded” anxiety because shortly after 11 September an armed gang suspected of plotting an attack on Muslims were arrested in Tooting Bec Lido car park. Close co-operation between Muslims and the police has led to many joining the Tooting Crime Prevention Panel as well as other community groups. Mr Ahmed said: “…By working together in this way we can only produce a better understanding and confidence in the policing and the services we can provide to everyone in our community” (Putney & Wandsworth Borough News, 11.04.02). Spokesman for Balham and Tooting Mosque and for the Muslim Council of Britain, Iqbal Sacranie, said: “We must work for the community and in partnership with the borough of Wandsworth and [we] are now in the final stages of establishing a unique link between our community and the police in Wandsworth”

This office is the first of its kind, and according to the report, boroughs across London and other police forces are expected to monitor it closely. It has a large plasma television screen, which displays information about crime prevention in Tooting, news of local events and how to report crime in English, Urdu, Arabic, Gujerati, Punjabi, Bengali and Hindi and it can be read from the streets. Initially the office was to open the following day and then every Saturday thereafter from 10am to 11.30am and it would enable the public to speak to officers and report any crimes. If more volunteers were to become available, the opening times could be extended (Putney & Wandsworth Borough News, 11.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]

Mosque volunteer, Nurul Jamil, 23, was reported to have hung his head as a jury delivered a verdict of guilty of indecent assault after a two-and-a-half-day trial at Basildon Crown Court (See BMMS for March 2002). Mr Jamil had a Bengali interpreter during the proceedings and he was told by the judge that he was granting him conditional bail. This was not to be understood as meaning he would not be going to prison, but was granted to give Mr Jamil an opportunity to set his affairs in order. Mr Jamil, who teaches the Qur’an to children at the local mosque, had been looking after a house whilst his uncle and family were away. The nine-year-old boy in question visited the house on 16 September to cut the grass and clean the car and he asked if he could do anymore, after which the indecent assault took place. The case was adjourned until the 26 April for pre-sentence reports (Southend Evening Echo, 28.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]

Yasser Al-Sirri, an Egyptian asylum seeker, who has been living in the UK for several years, is reported to have run the Islamic Observation Centre until his arrest in October. He was arrested on charges of terrorism and was one of four people accused of assisting Sheikh Abdel-Rahman, the blind Egyptian who is serving a life sentence in the US for the bombing of the World Trade Centre in 1993, amongst other things. Mr Al-Sirri has been charged in New York for helping Sheikh Abdel-Rahman to communicate with his followers in Egypt. He is “charged with facilitating communications among Islamic Group members and providing financing for their activities” (The Times, 10.04.02). Mr Al-Sirri is currently in custody in the UK and he has also appeared in court here, charged with plotting to kill the former leader of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, General Ahmed Shah Masood, as well as being accused of a number of illegal activities related to racial hatred and terrorism (The Times, 10.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]

Daryoush Danesh, 34, was fined £400 by Norwich magistrates for not complying with an enforcement notice issued by Broadland District Council (See BMMS for December 2001). Mr Danesh had put up a 1.94 metre fence around his house because his wife had to cover herself with full dress and scarf whilst using her own living room. She felt herself to be the focus of attention because passers-by could look into the room, thus invading her privacy.

Mr Danesh’s solution to erect a fence put him in contravention of the planning laws which only allowed a fence no higher than a metre. In January of last year Broadland District Council received a complaint and although Mr Danesh explained his reasons he was ordered to reduce the height of the fence. Eventually Mr Danesh had reduced the fence to less than a metre, but the council had already started legal proceedings against Mr Danesh, which they continued to pursue resulting in Mr Danesh being fined £400 and ordered to pay costs of £350. Mr Danesh appealed and the case went to the Norwich Crown Court. However, Judge Simon Barham dismissed the appeal and said that the magistrates were right to impose the fine and he ordered Mr Danesh to pay £100 towards the cost of the appeal. According to Charles Kellett acting for Mr Danesh, his client had spent £1800 erecting the fence and then having to reduce the fence had resulted in a “considerable” financial loss.

Despite Mr Danesh’s work being in the city, he is said to have decided to sell his house and move out of the city because he feels so strongly about the issue of privacy. Mr Danesh is reported to have declined to comment after the hearing (West Norfolk & Fens Eastern Daily Press, 11.04.02, Birmingham Post, 11.04.02, Norwich Evening News, 11.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]

Five British Muslims are reported to be held at Camp X Ray at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. According to a report in The Sunday Times (14.04.02), one of them, Feroz Abbasi, 22, has made a confession to British and American investigators, and is said to be the first to do so (See BMMS for January 2002). He is reported to have said that members of the Finsbury Park Mosque helped to organise terrorist training and air tickets to Afghanistan for him. After abandoning a college computer course, Mr Abbasi is said to have left his local mosque in Croydon in 1999 in search of a more radical one. His mother, Zumrati Juma, last saw him in December 2000 when he returned home to pick up a pair of army boots, allegedly saying that he wanted to go to Afghanistan. He is said to have studied under Abu Hamza at Finsbury Park Mosque.

During interrogation and questioning by MI5 officers, he is reported to have said that before crossing the border to Afghanistan, he had flown to Pakistan. He trained at Khaldan “terrorist camp” where he is said to have met Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber” and David Hicks, also at Camp X Ray. At least one of the 11 September hi-jackers is said to have trained at the same camp. Mr Abbasi is also reported to have said that Mr Hamza was his spiritual mentor. It is said that other suspects who are known to have prayed at Finsbury Park Mosque are Zacarias Moussaoui, now in custody in the US and said to have been the so-called “20th hijacker” of 11 September; and Djamel Beghal, a French-Algerian, who has been accused of planning a plot to blow up the US Embassy in Paris.

Mr Hamza, however, is reported to have denied recruiting Mr Abbasi. He said that many people came to the mosque and that he did not have a special relationship with any of them, but just delivers his sermon and leaves. He said, “It is not safe to accept the word of somebody who has probably suffered mental or physical torture…The Americans should let the man come home, where he can speak freely. If and when that happens, we will see what he has to say and respond to it.” He is said to have claimed that what Mr Abbasi is reported to have said was “complete lies” and to have admitted that maybe his supporters had helped Mr Abbasi travel to Afghanistan but before the war (Metro London, 15.04.02).

According to the article in The Sunday Times (14.04.02) these recent claims made by Mr Abbasi are likely to cause the Home Office some embarrassment, because since Mr Hamza arrived from Egypt in the late 70s, he has been given a British passport and thousands of pounds in welfare benefits, including disability benefit because he lost his hand apparently while fighting with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Soviets. He has also been linked to the blowing up of Western targets in Yemen for which five British Muslims were jailed, one of them his son, Mustapha Kamel. Labour MP for Hendon, Andrew Dismore, who has been reported to be investigating both Mr Hamza and other “fundamentalists” in the UK for the past two years, was to write to the Home Secretary as “a matter of urgency”. He said: “I think that Abu Hamza is a very dangerous individual at the centre of a spider’s web of evil. I hope we now have the evidence that will enable the authorities to take action” (The Sunday Times, 14.04.02). Mr Hamza continues to deny any involvement in terrorism and is said to have been careful to stay within the law, but the report in The Sunday Times stated that he continued his “diatribes”. He is also said to have admitted that due to the inflammatory nature of his sermons, the Charity Commission had withdrawn support from his mosque (The Sunday Times, 14.04.02, Metro London, 15.04.02, Metro Manchester, 15.04.02, Metro West Midlands, 15.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]

It is reported in the Pink Paper (19.04.02) that since 11 September, liberal and gay Muslims are becoming more accepted in the mainstream community (See BMMS for December 2001). Spokesman for Al-Fatiha, the LGBT Muslim group, Adnan Ali, said that since 11 September the media debate surrounding Islam has meant that liberal Muslims have had the opportunity to have a say and be heard. According to Mr Ali “conservative Muslims were also becoming more aware of diversity within their community” (Pink Paper, 19.04.02). He went on to say that groups supported by “Islamic fundamentalist” countries were also being more careful about what they said to others. He said that they wanted to be accepted “gradually” within the Muslim community and he thought this would happen in a couple of years. According to Mr Ali, eight out of ten Muslims are liberal and only two are radical, but it is these two that gain all the publicity. He also said that Islamophobia had existed within the gay community prior to 11 September due to a lack of understanding of how people could be gay and Muslim.
Al-Fatiha is now to distribute information in gay venues in order to raise awareness of their organisation (Pink Paper, 19.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 7]

Woking Council has decided to allow the Muslim education group Lakeview Community Social and Education Group to continue. The group had re-applied for £800 funding to continue Urdu and Arabic classes, when Labour group leader John Pattison, who is also a governor of the Barnsbury School, raised various issues and told executive committee members that the teachers should be educated to at least NVQ standard and that to become self-financing, the group should raise its fees. Executive director, Ray Morgan, said: “They are a second generation ethnic group trying to supplement state education with their own culture and language. We need to take a gentle hand concerning bureaucracy. It is fairly informal” (Woking News & Mail, 21.03.02). Between 20 and 25 pupils, aged of five to sixteen, attend two-hour classes held four times a week, paying a fee of £2 a week. They have been awarded a grant of £600 on condition that the four paid teachers are subject to a police check (Woking News & Mail, 21.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 8]

Blackburn’s borough social services are reported to have backed plans for a new state-run school for Muslims in Blackburn with Darwen. However, at present consultations about the proposals are on-going (Lancashire Evening Telegraph, 26.03.02).

The Schools Organisation Committee (SOC) are also working towards establishing two faith schools in Slough for Muslims and Sikhs. Slough Borough Councillor, Sumander Khan, who sits on the committee, said: “The majority of the committee approves, as long as the schools work together with Slough Council, with our policies, and also the national curriculum. Then the Schools Organisation Committee has no problems whatsoever” (South Bucks, Burnham & Iver Observer, 22.03.02). Approximately, £8 million of government funding, is already reported to have been approved. Prior to the two schools being selected, the supporters of the project are to ask individual schools whether they are willing to become single faith establishments, after which staff, parents and pupils will be consulted. The view of the Local Education Authority, Slough Borough Council, will also be heard after which the final decision will be made by the committee (South Bucks, Burnham & Iver Observer, 22.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 9]

Bradford University has appointed its first Muslim chaplain to look after Muslim students as it is reported that there are an increasing number of Muslim students at the university. Sufyan Gent, who will be the part-time Muslin chaplain, converted to Islam in 1977 when he met his wife who is from Iraq. He is to act as a spiritual adviser and counsellor and be a “bridgehead” between Muslim students and the university. Mr Gent’s wife, Bahiya Gent, teaches Arabic at Bradford College, and she is to share the chaplaincy role. She is to act as an adviser to female students. Both Mr and Mrs Gent are to offer one-to-one counselling from premises on Claremont, shared with the charity, Human Relief Foundation.

Dean of students, Adrian Pearce, said that the university had an “excellent” reputation for the support it provided for its students and that they had several religious advisers working alongside experts in counselling, finance and other general advice. He said that Mr and Mrs Gent would “prove to be valuable new members of the team” (Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 28.03.02). Mr Gent said: “I am looking forward to working with young people as I have an 18-year-old son. We will do the same role as the Anglican chaplain, the only difference is that we are not full-time and we are not getting paid - it’s purely voluntary.” So far Muslim students have only been able to go for advice to the equal opportunities officer, who is also a Muslim (Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 28.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 9]

Halifax’s Evening Courier (04.04.02) carried an article about Professor Syed Ahmed Shah, an honorary Professor at the Allama Iqbal University in Islamabad, Pakistan, who has been settled in the UK since 1991. He comes from a family whose inheritance is described as “religious vocation”, because his father was a revered religious man and his father-in-law is on the Islamic Ideology Council, which advises Pakistan’s Parliament on Islamic Shariah Law. He was the chief imam at the Madni Mosque in Gibbet Street but now his ambition is to turn Heath Royd, a semi-detached 33 room Victorian mansion, into an Islamic school and cultural centre for Calderdale’s young Muslims. The mansion, which once contained 16 flats is now in need of repair. It has crumbling plaster and smoke damaged attic rooms and is generally run down. Professor Shah bought the mansion after selling his own home and borrowing money from well-wishers. He now lives with his family at one end of the mansion whilst the rest is said to be a building site, where work is taking place. Explaining his hopes and aims, he said: “This won’t be a full-time school, a so-called ‘faith school’. That isn’t possible in this place. It will be for part-time study, to bring small children off the streets and keep them engaged” (Halifax Evening Courier, 04.04.02). The school, which is named Al-Zahra School, will be not only a place where the Qur’an and history and practice of Islam will be taught, but also a place where the teaching of computer studies, languages and other practical skills will be subjects just as important. He also said he wanted to create a “safe haven” where women from the Asian community could come to learn English.

He is aware that he has opponents as some people are said to view his new school as a threat to other mosques in Halifax. He said: “I simply try to be liberal and moderate, to try to follow the middle way. The Holy Koran talks of making Muslims ‘the middle nation’. That means you follow the middle way and avoid extremism…One of the most important objectives…is to create harmony with other communities. My aim is to serve the community and its children. I don’t care what my opponents say…” (Halifax Evening Courier, 04.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 9]

At the UK’s biggest Education Show, held at the NEC in Birmingham 7-9 March, the humanitarian aid organisation, Islamic Relief, was the only Muslim organisation that participated and was available for questioning. The show is reported to attract 18,000 visitors from the UK and overseas and is described by Q News (No 341-342, 01.04.02): “As the country’s most comprehensive showcase of educational resources, the Education Show is a forum like no other.” As well as leading publishers with their latest products, experts like Professor David Hopkins and others were involved in a series of seminars. It is reported that a great need was highlighted for more good quality resources on Islam, and multi-cultural and multi-faith issues were said to be “high on the agenda”. There is a lack of multi-faith resources in schools, which in turn is causing problems for the teachers, and Jane Baker, a religious education teacher from Stoke-on-Trent, said that some pupils think that Islam is a country. A secondary education advisor from London’s Newham Council said that better dialogue was needed with the Muslim community as well as in the production of course material and the training of teachers.

Uzma Mukhtar, a representative from Islamic Relief, spoke of the response Islamic Relief had at the show. She said: “We’ve had a phenomenal response. Literally thousands visited our exhibition stand, delighted at the sight of something ‘different’. I can’t recall ever witnessing such a demand for our products.” Islamic Relief had also published a document entitled Reacting to Poverty, targeted at 4,000 schools in England and Wales, which Mr Madden, the head of Islamic Relief’s Development Awareness Committee, said was a response to the “countless requests from teachers countrywide for an Islamic perspective on charity”. The booklet raises awareness around issues of world poverty, citizenship, spirituality and social justice. Mr Madden believes it is the duty of Muslims to ensure that teachers have good quality resources. Islamic Relief have also produced a series of videos from their work around the world, ranging from Palestine to India, which are suitable for school classes in subjects such as religious education, geography and citizenship studies. Currently, one of the projects the charity is working on a programme through which schools in the UK will be able to develop links with schools in Kandahar in Afghanistan, allowing pupils here to see what it is like for children studying in countries which are poor and drought-stricken.

Islamic Relief’s work is also reported to be a source of inspiration for British Muslims. In the words of Rashida Patel, a participant at the show: “I’m so happy to see a Muslim organisation here…it’s great to know you’re producing such wonderful materials that give a positive image of us…it certainly makes me feel proud” (Q News, 341-342, 01.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 9]

Minhaj-ul-Quran Islamic Cultural Centre have spent £500,000 buying and renovating the former Manningham Middle School. It is hoped that a primary school for 500 pupils will be opened, but a series of arson attacks and vandalism is reported to be posing a threat to this project. The latest attack was carried out when youngsters are said to have scaled a large gate and set fire to cars parked on the site. A portable toilet was also damaged by the fire. This incident follows a series of other fires being set in the grounds and copper piping valued at £20,000 being stripped from inside the building. The group’s treasurer, Seerat Ali Khan, said that the cost of the damage could threaten the whole project as their resources were “finite”. He said that some of them were awake 24 hours watching the site. They were fearful that serious damage might be done to the building. Members of the group have discovered a den on wasteland nearby made with items stolen from the school. In order to start the project, the group is reported to be working with the education authority to secure grants.

At present the group runs after-school classes for 300 pupils at its base, which is adjacent to the former school and run by Afzal Saeedi. He said: “These people are out of control. They cannot be allowed to jeopardise this project. This could be of so much benefit to the education of the area. Something must be done to stop them” (Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 23.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 8]

The institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Al-Maktoum Institute, was to open officially on 6 May (See BMMS for February 2002). Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who is the deputy ruler of Dubai and the Minister of Finance and Industry for the United Arab Emirates, established and endowed the institute in 2000 and a year later it was assimilated into the University of Abertay. It has now been formally constituted as a division of the School of Social and Health Sciences. The aim of the institute is to promote greater understanding of both Islamic and Arabic issues and it is also hoped that the centre will help to build business links between Dundee and the Middle East (Dundee Courier and Advertiser, 19.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 8]

Muslim students from Bristol University are reported not to have a proper place to pray (See BMMS for January 2002). A few Sociology students and colleagues have been given a room said to be no bigger than a cupboard. They are expected to pray in a space one metre wide in a small room in the basement of the department, that is crammed with books, computers, desks and chairs and for ablutions they have to use a sink used for food preparation. More than 200 of the 13,000 students at the university are Muslims. Muslim men are given use of a room in the Students’ Union for one hour on Friday but they have no other space for the rest of the week and there are still no provisions for the female Muslim students for Friday prayer. There are chaplaincy facilities for the Christian and Jewish students but the university spokesman, Barry Taylor, said the chaplaincy staff were not paid by the university and that the university respected all established religions and its charter was non-denominational. Sociology student, Serena Hussein, said: “It is outrageous to think that the university is unwilling to provide us with the facilities. Manchester University even has a mosque on campus. Why should Bristol be any different?” (Bristol Evening News, 14.03.02). Chaplain Helena McKinnon of the University Joint Chaplaincy said that if someone from the Muslim community would inform them of what they wanted, the chaplaincy would try to help them (Bristol Evening Post, 14.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 8]

Birmingham Post (03.04.02) carried an exclusive article about the experience and research of retired West Midlands Chief Superintendent Douglas Sharp. He said that Muslim police officers were being forced out of the police force as a result of racism and ignorance on the part of their colleagues. This had been leading them to leave the force while others, because of the “bad experience” of their family members or friends, are said to be discouraged from joining the force. He said: “A Muslim who makes a decision to join the police will have to deal with the knowledge that they will become a member of an organisation which is largely uneducated about the basic tenets of Islam. There is still an element of racism among police officers, but that is more suppressed after MacPherson,” (the report by High Court Judge Sir William MacPherson into the death of black teenager Stephen Lawrence)”. He went on to say that it was not just one major problem, but an accumulation of small ones, which either led the officers to leave early or discouraged others from joining in the first place.

Mr Sharp is now a course director at the Centre for Criminal Justice Policy and Research at the University of Central England in Birmingham. He has carried out research into this issue, which is being published in a book Islam, Crime and Criminal Justice, edited by Basir Spalek, to be published in June by Willan. The book deals with experiences of Muslims in the criminal justice system. He said that of the officers involved in this, none had raised any “deep-seated dissatisfaction or disillusionment”, but these were people who had remained in the system. Perhaps others would have had a different story to tell. Although there was improvement, racism still existed, according to the interviewees. Mr Sharp said: “It is particularly depressing to note that racially insensitive and offensive remarks are still a feature of canteen life.”

Amongst other problems, there were issues of combining work and the importance of religion, for example praying. There is an absence of prayer rooms at most police stations. There are also problems related to socialising, which Mr Sharp states that has an important role, as in any stressful job, in building “group trust and cohesion”. Most socialising occurs in pubs and restaurants where alcohol, which is forbidden to Muslims, plays a big part. Interviewees also revealed problems with halal food which was often not available at police stations. This problem became worse then the officers worked away from the stations.

However, at the end of the article, a spokesperson for the West Midlands Police is reported as saying that they were pleased with both their recruitment and retention of ethnic minorities, which has increased to five per cent, said to be the highest rate in England. The spokesperson said: “…Policing diverse communities is an area in which West Midlands Police has achieved considerable success and this has helped mould the way in which we treat our officers and support staff. But we are always willing to learn, however, and any member of our staff who feels their particular needs are not being addressed is encouraged to make this known (Birmingham Post, 03.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 10]

Palestinian students at University of Birmingham have been refused permission by the Guild of Students to form their own society and now more than 20 Palestinian students are reported to want to take legal action as they feel they are victims of racism. The Guild of Students, which houses the Students’ Union, represents more than 22,000 students at the university and runs more than 150 societies and clubs. It runs all the entertainment as well as education and welfare services and also houses numerous shops and facilities. It made the decision six months ago to refuse Al-Muhajiroun permission to form a society or recruit members at the freshers’ fair because the guild believed that Al-Muhajiroun were trying to recruit students to fight in Afghanistan. The guild’s president, Catherine Little said: “All societies have to submit their aims and objectives and they said they wanted a forum to debate the situation in Palestine…If their aims were to look after the interests of Palestinian students, such as arranging cultural events for them, then we wouldn’t have a problem. But we are not convinced of that” (Birmingham Post, 20.04.02). She said that the guild was not racist and that they were also worried that the group would incite racial hatred on the Selly Oak campus. She said that in the past Jewish students had been verbally threatened about the situation in Palestine. She said: “They claim the Jewish society on campus is pro-Israeli, but it isn’t. The guild does not take a stance on the Palestine-Israel situation.”

A spokesperson for the Palestinian students said that a number of guild members were Jewish and that the decision was racially motivated. The spokesperson is reported to have said that they wanted to promote better understanding and their aim was to introduce Palestinian culture to the other students and provide a “forum for ‘open-minded’ discussion”. He said: “All we wanted to do was to organise an official society and we have been prevented from doing so…We are not racist, but simply want a society to promote Palestinian culture and the guild don’t want us to do that.” He went on to say that they were considering legal action and to show that they were not anti-Semitic they would appoint a Jewish lawyer ( Birmingham Post, 20.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 10]

Nadeem Ahmed, 31, a Muslim student of Pakistani/Indian origin, has been studying for a Masters Degree in Mediaeval Arabic Philosophy at Oxford University but he is now suing the university for racial discrimination. He was failed in his examination in Arabic, even though according to Mr Ahmed’s barrister, Karen Monaghan, he is said to be “an experienced Arabic language student” whilst a white female student, who is said to have no experience of the language, had passed. It is alleged that the course tutor, Dr Friedrich Zimmerman, called Mr Ahmed “dyslexic” and questioned his “use of basic English” (Q News, No 341-342, 01.04.02). When Mr Ahmed was informed that he had failed the exam, he is said to have complained “about the results and lack of proper supervision and marking” and, according to Ms Monaghan, after his complaints, Mr Zimmerman “increasingly victimised” Mr Ahmed. Ms Monaghan told Reading County Court that the examination had broken university rules because no invigilation took place, proper marking had not taken place, there was no pass mark, no copies were made before returning the papers to the students, and Mr Ahmed was not given a clear reason for his failure while his fellow students, Rahim Pirani and Jane Clark, had passed. Ms Monaghan said: “The faculty of Oriental Studies then effectively closed ranks and far from easing the situation, made it much worse.”

Mr Ahmed’s tutor, Tom Paulin, an Oxford academic, has backed his claim of racial discrimination. The case is continuing (Q News, No 341-342, 01.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 10]

The Islamic Pakistani Community Centre in Northampton is looking for a new executive committee and the trustees are asking more women and young people to get involved. According to the report, Pakistani women are being asked to come forward and get more involved in the community, and elections for the committee were to take place on 28 April. Following a rift between two factions, the centre is reported to have undergone a “big overhaul”. Azher Janjua, from the board of trustees, said: “The trustees have decided that it is of great importance and urgency that a group of individuals are selected to take the organisation forward….We encourage all members to consider if they could play this essential role in our organisation but would particularly encourage women and young people” (Northampton Chronicle and Echo, 15.04.02). However, only members of the organisation could either stand for election or nominate other members and each nominated individual had to submit a statement of 50 words or more. Only members could vote in the election (Northampton Chronicle and Echo, 15.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 10]

Khizra Bano, 22, had, since her childhood in Birmingham, dreamt of being a police officer. She has now become the first Muslim woman police officer in the Foleshill sector team in Coventry. She said that since the age of five or six she had known a couple police officers who she said were “just fantastic people”. She said: “…it was the way people felt about them, the reassurance they provided, and the help they gave to vulnerable people that I remember” (Coventry Evening Telegraph, 22.04.02). She said that her late parents had always supported her in her ambition. PC Bano had completed her law degree prior to completing her initial police training. She said: “I just can’t wait to get out there and get involved in the community - the fact that I am a woman and from a Muslim background does not make any difference” (Coventry Evening Telegraph, 22.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 11]

The Prince’s Trust “Route 14-25” has launched a pilot scheme to help youngsters in Lancashire and it is targeting Blackburn in particular following research that has revealed a need for a support network for young people there. The scheme is said to act as a “one stop shop” for anyone between the ages of 14 and 25, who according to their needs can use the Prince’s Trust programmes, and the scheme will keep track of the youngsters in order to follow up their needs. Some of the programmes will help young Muslims learn more about starting their own business as well encouraging people into its mentoring scheme and building the confidence of Asian Muslim women (Lancashire Evening Telegraph, 16.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 12]

The Young Muslims Organisation invited the IBO world boxing champion from Nottingham, Jawad Khaliq, to help them celebrate their first anniversary. The organisation is aimed at youngsters between the ages of eight and 16. They meet every Thursday at the Pakistani Community Centre and the organisation’s secretary, Gulnaz Nawaz, said: “The group was set up to keep children off the street and away from crime and drugs. The visit was a big success. It was a privilege for the youngsters to meet such an icon” (Derby Telegraph, 16.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 12]

“Faith to Faith”, an event that took place last year at Rotherham Parish Church, where work from local contemporary artist, Zahir Rafiq, was exhibited proved to be so successful that it will be repeated again this year. Mr Rafiq’s work is mostly done on the computer and sometimes features Muslim holy sites, architecture and script and it will be exhibited again in Harthill Church as part of the Quest for the Holy Trail event being held by the Rotherham Churches Tourism Initiative, in partnership with All Hallows Church and the Ethnic Minority Arts Group (Doncaster Star, 14.03.02, Barnsley Star, 14.03.02, Rotherham Advertiser, 15.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 12]

It is reported that after years of “painstaking” negotiations and work by faith leaders of Southampton, the city’s faith communities have an official representative body at civic and statutory level. The inaugural meeting of Southampton’s Council of Faiths took place at St Mary’s Church Hall where the city’s mayor, Cllr Chris Kelly, attended. The chairman of Southampton’s Muslim Council, amongst other religious leaders, spoke of the need for the Council of Faith. The Rev Ian Johnson, rector of Southampton city centre parish, said: “In the pipeline we are looking at the costs of Muslims being buried in Southampton’s cemetery. Southampton is the only city in Hampshire to have a dedicated burial site for Muslims, yet if you live outside the city, you are charged twice as much. We are hoping to persuade other local authorities to help contribute to the costs…We are also looking into the needs of ethnic minorities in matters of worship and prayer in Winchester Prison, and how we can engage with local schools and other groups to raise the profile of interfaith work” (Southampton Southern Daily Echo, 23.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 12]

Friendships between Muslims and Christians are reported to be flourishing in Skipton. Canon Adrian Botwright of the Holy Trinity Church said that it started when a member of the Muslim community attended the service of mourning at Holy Trinity and lit a candle in memory of those who died in the events of 11 September. After this, Canon Botwright and Rev John Gore contacted the imam at Skipton Mosque, Mr Ullah, and were invited to spend an evening there with him and several other members of the mosque. Canon Botwright said that they had the privilege of being present during the evening prayers where around 50 people attended and in conversations afterwards a 12-year-old boy said: “On Friday I came to your church for the schools’ dedication service and tonight you are in my mosque” (Craven Herald & Pioneer, 22.03.02). Since then there is reported to have been regular contact between the two places and on a recent visit the Bishop of Bradford, the Right Rev David Smith, also visited the mosque and the bishop and the imam are said to have got on well and spoken about the friends they have in common in both Bradford and Pakistan. There is discussion of a possible cricket match between the two places later on in the year (Craven Herald & Pioneer, 22.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 12]

A new Muslim Jewish Forum is reported to have been set up under the chairmanship of Rabbi Gluck in Stoke Newington High Street in Islington. It aims to give the Muslim and Jewish communities access to one another so that they can work together on their common goals and projects (Islington Gazette & Stoke Newington Observer, 28.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]

Supermarket wins appeal

Munir Asif had applied to build a single-storey extension for the purpose of storing and slaughtering live poultry at the back of the premises of Munir Brothers, in Halesowen in Birmingham, but this was turned down by Dudley Council’s Development Control Committee in October. However, the applicant has now won the planning appeal which will allow him to offer halal meat on the premises. A 44-name petition and seven letters had been sent to the council opposing the scheme on the grounds of smell, risk of animal disease, noise and traffic congestion caused by delivery trucks on what is described as a narrow road. However, the council also received a petition of 260 signatures from the Muslim community in favour of the scheme. Local government inspector, James Greenfield, is reported to have visited the premises before arriving at his decision. He ruled that the extension would not intrude on the nearby rear gardens and it would be more than 40 metres away from the nearest home. He also said that the scale of the slaughterhouse “would not impair the character of the area” as it would have an extraction fan and noise equipment and the measures proposed by the applicant would “eliminate smell, noise and waste problems” (Birmingham Express & Star, 02.04.02). He gave permission for 30 chickens to be delivered a day and he imposed the conditions that the chickens slaughtered would only be for the use of the shop and not for wholesale and that a 2.5 metre wall should be erected (Birmingham Express & Star, 02.04.02, Halesowen News County Express, 04.04.02, Halesowen Chronicle, 04.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]

Shopping and praying

Stafford Borough councillors gave planning permission after a site visit, for a prayer room and a halal shop to open at Browning Street. Although some residents and councillors have expressed their concerns relating to noise and parking problems, the Development Committee was told by the officers of the Highway Agency that they were satisfied by the scheme. Councillor Peter Bruce, who was concerned about issues relating to parking and noise, said: “If it is used as a prayer room noise should be kept to a minimum and we should emphasise there should be no loud music during prayers” (Birmingham Express & Star, 16.04.02). Planning permission was granted on condition that the noise limit was adhered to and the shop was to open from 7am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 9am to 4pm on Sundays. The prayer room will have space for 30 worshippers and it is to hold one service every Friday and five services a day on the other six days of the week (Birmingham Express & Star, 16.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]

A conference organised by the London-based women’s group, An-Nisa Society, was held at the Tower Conference Centre in Wembley. The conference was held to present a project aimed at dealing with the problem of mental ill health in the Muslim community with a “holistic Islamic approach” and it is said to have involved “potential stakeholders in the development of a local Muslim Counselling & Advice Service in North West London” (Q News No 341-342, 01.04.02). About one hundred people participated representing various voluntary and statutory organisations. The conference was chaired by the director of Brent Health Action Zone, Patrick Vernon. The new service is aiming to offer Islamic counselling, which will include mediation, marital and family counselling and it will also include specialised counselling in sexual abuse, bereavement and drugs. Alongside other matters, the service also aims to provide complementary therapies, advocacy and advice on housing, immigration and legal and welfare rights.

Presentations were given by the director of the Leicester-based Mohsin Institute, Hakim Salim Khan who, as well as being an Islamic counselling practitioner is also reported to be a renowned Tibb practitioner of Islamic medicine. He was followed by Dr Rashid Skinner, another Islamic counselling practitioner and a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with Bradford Community Health Trust. A therapist at the Marlborough Centre, Dr Rabia Malik, and Asefa Qayum, a counsellor at the Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture also spoke of their experience with Muslim clients suffering from mental illness. The presentations were concluded by the director of An-Nisa Society, Khalida Khan. She spoke of the project, its background and vision. She said: “From our inception in 1985 we wanted to set up a local Muslim Counselling and Advice Service as the need was blatantly obvious from our caseload…” However, she went on to speak of the struggle they had and what needed to take place before they could set up this service. She said that the idea of Islamic counselling was “totally rejected” by the mainstream but they continued to work at getting the first accredited Islamic counselling courses and how, in order to regulate Islamic counselling, they had to facilitate an independent body for this task. She said that the first step was to set up a local Muslim Counselling and Advice Service, which would be relevant to British Muslims and would be based on Islamic traditions and therapies. She said: “We want this Service to be a model that can be emulated across the country. We strongly feel that such services need to be provided in every locality so that they are easily accessible and at little cost to the users.”

At present the society, with the help of a small grant from the Brent Health Action Zone, is reported to be working on a “Needs Analysis” and a “Business Plan”. Ms Khan said that if there were no resources, nothing could take place and on the completion of the “groundwork” they were to organise a fundraiser. At present they are carrying out consultations and conducting research and focus groups and involving potential stakeholders. Anyone who is interested in contributing to the consultation and research is asked to contact the society (Q News, No 341-342, 01.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]

At a meeting organised by the Snowden Street Mosque committee on a Friday more than 100 people are reported to have attended to hear the arrangements made for Muslim burial in Batley Cemetery. Batley councillors and officers of Kirklees Bereavement Services attended the meeting. Mosque vice-chairman, Akooji Badat, said that though the Muslim community had a 99-year lease on a private burial ground at Dewsbury, the community in Batley do not want to be buried in Dewsbury and would like to be buried in the same ground as their relatives. He also said that it was vital that arrangements were made for burials to take place at weekends and in the evenings. The mosque has been working in conjunction with Batley-based Pakistan and Kashmir Welfare Association and the Indian Muslim Welfare Society to bring this about.

Kirklees Council clarified that though they could not offer this service themselves, nevertheless, arrangements would be made to licence out-of-hours burials, said to be similar to arrangements at Almondbury in Huddersfield. The local Arab community were also reported to have requested exclusive use of the Muslim section of Batley Cemetery, but it was said that no individual or organisation was allowed to buy a whole section of the cemetery and so such use would be inappropriate (Batley News, 21.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]

A report by planning officers has shown that the number of people attending prayers in the early hours of the morning and late at night are so “little” that they cause no disturbance and create no noise. Therefore, opening hours suggested at a planning meeting are felt to be “unrealistic”. However, councillors on the Development Committee are to be asked to give a ruling in relation to the opening hours and they are being asked to put restrictions on the hours in relation to the use of the ground floor for religious instruction. The hours being recommended are between 9am and 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am and 1pm on Saturdays, Sundays Bank Holidays and any other holidays (Luton News, 10.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]

Temporary planning permission has been given for a former furniture shop in Garforth Street, Oldham, to be run as a school on a trial basis for 12 months. Oldham Council has refused to give full consent for use of the building as both a mosque and an Islamic centre but the applicant, Mohammed Sufi, has appealed against this decision. The trial period is to run out in September after which a decision will be made, but the residents in the area have raised objections to the council at meetings and inquiries that have taken place in relation to this matter. Residents are said to be urging the independent inspector to reject the proposals as they believe there was “an accident waiting to happen”. One resident said that most of the children attended without parental supervision, with older children looking after the younger ones. She said they came running out of the door and crossed the road without looking. Another resident said that the building had the capacity to hold hundreds of people and that it had no parking facilities at all. There was a lack of off-street parking and this could also cause potential intrusion to residents. Some residents claimed that that it would not be possible to enforce conditions such as walking to the mosque and that the building had already been used outside of the permitted hours.

Work is reported to have started on the mosque at Oakthorpe Road in Palmers Green, as a result of which residents have raised concerns. However, councillors from Enfield Council, who had placed 25 conditions to the building project, reassured the residents that conditions had not been broken by the builders. Nevertheless, it is reported that, despite a shortage of resources, Enfield Council will continue to investigate the planning issues. The applicant, Muslim Community Education Centre, are said to have been warned by the council to keep the project within the conditions outlined at the time when the application was granted. The mosque is to contain a community centre, education centre, library and nursery (Enfield Independent, 20.03.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]

Consultations are reported to be taking place between the Muslim community and North Lincolnshire Council for more burial space. There is a Muslim burial site at Brumby Cemetery but it is said that if the current death rate continues, all the spaces will be used in the next four years. In order to deal with this, cemeteries and crematorium registrar, John Startin, is said to have made an appeal for help at the Multi Faith Partnership. He wanted to discuss the needs of the Muslim community and said that now was the time to start looking for more spaces. He said most of the ethnic minority lived in town but the only space available in Scunthorpe was alongside the crematorium. He said that they wanted to set up a consultation of some sort with the Muslim community in order to get the alignment correct for the graves to be facing Makkah. He said there was no other option and he stressed that the council was “keen to co-operate” with the minority communities wishes. He said that they wanted to contact everyone and be sure that all the different groups were consulted. Mohammed Afzal Khan of the Multi Faith Partnership welcomed Mr Startin’s appeal and said that as soon as one of their leading members, Jawaid Ishaq, had recovered from recent surgery, they would be setting up a meeting (Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph, 12.04.02).
[BMMS March 2002 Vol. X, No. 3, p. 13]

British Muslims Monthly Survey for April 2002 Vol. X, No. IV

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