One Community Many Voices

A Week of Immersion in Multicultural London

2012-02-24T04:36:00.009-08:00

This month we were lucky enough to host two postgraduate students visiting from India. The students, Tahla and Saleel, had entered into an essay writing competition. Their insightful essays entitled:

What are the ties that bind in a multicultural society?

were chosen as the best of the bunch by an eminent panel of judges; and so they embarked on a trip to London to learn even more about multiculturalism – in one of the most multicultural cities in the world.

We very much enjoyed helping Tahla and Saleel to learn about multiculturalism and to experience it in action every day as we toured them around London and Oxford. Their trip involved a visit to the Houses of Parliament and a special guided tour of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (where they were delighted to discover what an important role India has played in the history of the UK; and how it is still respected and honoured today with a myriad of statues, plaques and even a whole quarter especially dedicated to India making up the final wing of the FCO building). We were all honoured to make a visit to Downing Street to meet the Rt. Hon Baroness Warsi who welcomed the students to London outside the famous doors of Number 10; and very much enjoyed a fascinating discussion on faith communities in the UK hosted by DCLG.

London has such an amazing diversity of religions; and visits were made to meet with Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders. The meetings were both fascinating and inspiring. Over cups of tea Tahla and Saleel were intrigued to learn more about Christianity, to learn about Judaism in London and enjoyed interesting debates on some of the experiences of Muslims and imams in Britain today. Tahla and Saleel were also hosted by the Al-Khoei Foundation, where they gained a deep insight into what it is really like to be a Muslim living in our multicultural society.

The diversity of students and academics in London – where over 300 languages are spoken by its student population - is testament to the strong ties binding London’s multiculturalism together. Tahla and Saleel were introduced to student representatives from FOSIS (the Federation of Student Islamic Societies) as well as the NUS and King’s College London’s Islamic Society. They also met with Dr. Sara Silvestri, one of London’s experts on Islam in Europe. Together they enjoyed discussing intra-faith tensions; multiculturalism; the positive experiences of first and second generation British Muslims; the strongly present British Muslim identity and how it is possible to balance student life in London with Islamic values.

We all felt that it was impossible to visit the United Kingdom without making a trip to the beautiful historic Oxford, so Tahla and Saleel were able to enjoy meeting with the Oxford University Students’ Union, as well as the Oxford Union. These incredibly interesting visits allowed the students to learn about the unique challenges and pressures facing students in Oxford, and gave them the opportunity to see that a strong and supportive multicultural society also exists beyond the M25. Indeed, it was upon seeing chicken korma and poppadums on the menu at the quintessentially English Oxford University – something they never believed they would see – that they remarked that now they understand just how multicultural the UK really is!

Baroness Warsi is Right!

2012-02-15T18:25:00.006-08:00

Faith Matters welcomes the speech made by Baroness Warsi at the Holy See where she stated that there is a rising militant secularism that is threatening faith identity and where faith should have a ‘seat at the table in public life.’ She also talked about the attacks made against faith identity in the public sphere in the UK by such groups.

The speech has brought to the forefront the reality of an aggressive and organised campaign to depict those who believe in faith as somehow being irrational or unhinged and unworthy of even discussing issues of faith in the public sphere. Militant secularists have blamed geo-political issues on faith whilst simply focussing on a narrow anti-faith translation of social issues and not taking into account the myriad of other issues in countries and regions.

Commenting on the speech, the Director of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal OBE, said:

“Our work is coming across an aggressive, well focussed and organised campaign by militant secularists who think that people of faith are somehow irrational or mal-adjusted and this is deeply problematic. The actions of such groups are increasingly pervasive and even militant given that they are not willing to listen or engage in debate on occasions where faith is discussed. They simply dismiss counter-views supporting faith in the public sphere by disengagement or worse still obfuscation.”

“Faith Matters continues to counter extremism in communities and this includes militant secularism which can be and is taken to extremes. All communities in the UK have a social responsibility to listen to the views of others, even though they may be diametrically opposed to them and this does not mean that we cannot have a rational debate on issues of faith. Secular militancy is as much a threat to our communities as is ignorance and fear since it causes division. That cannot be accepted.”

Faith Matters Commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day 27/01/2012

2012-01-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

Today marks Holocaust Memorial Day, when people across the globe gather together to remember those who lost their lives under Nazi persecution in WWII, and in genocides that have subsequently taken place in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.This year’s Memorial Day will focus on children and the holocaust and will remember the 1.5 million European Jewish children who died in the Holocaust, alongside the 4.5 million Jewish men and women. (Radio Liberty)

There will be many events taking place across London that we urge people to visit. For example, The Jewish Museum will be hosting a talk by Diane Samuels, who was saved as a child from Nazi Europe. The British Library will be hosting a talk that discusses the “marginalization of faith” and at 6:30pm this evening, the Westminster Synagogue will be hosting a Holocaust Memorial Day Reflective Service.

“The chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore, said in a statement that ‘The unique horrors of the Holocaust can never be forgotten. We can only truly honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust by continuing to fight against... discrimination... as well as other forms of hate and intolerance present in our societies today,’” reported Radio Liberty.

Holocaust Memorial Day (http://hmd.org.uk/about) are also asking people to sign their petition to end discrimination, which we encourage all to do in the hope of remembering those who tragically lost their lives in the Holocaust and working towards a future without racial or religious hatred.

Faith Matters has done extensive research on the Holocaust; for more information and to read our work, please visit our website at http://www.faith-matters.org/.

The Sunday Times continues investigation into the EDL

2012-01-11T07:21:00.000-08:00

The Sunday Times have been conducting an in depth investigation into the English Defence League and its affiliated networks.

Their detailed work and discovery have resulted in the well-known EDL activist, Chris Knowles, being suspended from his council job due to his links with the same network of far-right organisations & individuals that were connected with Anders Breivik. Whilst the EDL would deny all connections with these organisations, recent investigations have shown that links between the two seem more than likely, with strong evidence showing that Anders Breivik had attended EDL marches and had over 600 EDL supporter friends. With connections such as these, it seems absurd that the EDL would brand themselves as a ‘peaceful’ organisation.

Another interesting occurrence is that the EDL posted an article on their main website by the "British Freedom Party" leader and newfound EDL ally, Paul Weston. This article appeared shortly after Anders Breivik's attack and Jeremy Paxman's subsequent Newsnight interview with EDL leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka "Tommy Robinson"). In this article, Weston publicly blamed Jeremy Paxman, the BBC and "the entire political/liberal left" for Breivik's mass-murdering actions and any similar Far-Right atrocities that occur in future.

What is apparent is that despite countless evidence showing the EDL to be a violent movement, they continue to insist that they wish to express their views in a peaceful manner. Jason Parkinson, a reporter who has followed EDL movements closely explained: “If the UAF (Unite against Fascism) is there, they go for the UAF. If the UAF is not there, they try to break through police lines and head towards a Muslim area. And if they cannot do that, they attack whatever is in front of them, which includes the press” (Copsey).

The reality is that the EDL remain a violent and disruptive movement, who are committed to destroying positive aspects of interfaith that exist with the UK.

Faith Matters' Founder and Director, Fiyaz Mughal, Featured on CNN Blogs

2011-12-05T03:25:00.000-08:00

To read the full article, please click on this piece, where the link will be provided. Let us know your thoughts on the topics discussed.

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/03/conflict-theology-and-history-make-muslims-more-religious-than-others-experts-say/

Faith Matters 'SHARING STORIES' event

2011-12-02T06:23:00.000-08:00

Last week, in collaboration with Westminster University, Faith Matters held an event entitled; Sharing Stories in celebration of International Interfaith Week 2011.
The event, which discussed the importance of religious articles, brought together speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds who explained what role objects and symbols played in their various faiths.

Professor Harbhajan Singh opened the evening with an engaging and exciting talk on the various articles that exist in the Sikh faith. He explained the history of the turban and Chooda and why these play such a vital role in the Sikh community.

Following on from this, Barend Velleman, Finance Director of UJS Hillel (a support network of Jewish students) spoke about the history and significance of the Kippah and Menorah and the role that they play in the Jewish faith.

Kamalaksha Das spoke about the various objects and practises that exist within the Hindu faith. He taught us about the significance of tikka and why this is vital in Hindu prayer rituals.

Reverend Rana Khan, gave an insightful talk on the significance of the cross, its history and why it is a symbol of victory and strength for much of the Christian community today.

And finally, Mohammed Uz-Zuman, from the Muslim College, spoke about the Hijab and what role this has played for Muslim women in history and today.

The event was incredibly interesting and allowed for much debate and discussion. It also allowed for a meeting of a diverse range of faiths who were able to compare and contrast their various traditions and practises. Faith Matters wants to thank everyone who attended in celebration of Interfaith Week 2011 and for your support.

Physical appearances of Sikhs and Muslims

2011-11-11T04:43:00.000-08:00

By Hari Malhi

How can people tell the difference between a Sikh and Muslim male? A devout Sikh man keeps unshorn hair, including an uncut beard, and wears a turban on his head. In contrast, a religious Muslim man wears a topee or turban on his head, and, according to the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, he views growing his beard as Sunnah and trimming the moustache as one of the Fitra. Below is an example of the types of Sikhs and Muslims I’ve just described.

When the people in the pictures look so similar, why then do the small ignorant minorities of Sikhs and Muslims continue to ridicule and mock each other about appearance? When Sikhism and Islam teaches tolerance towards other religions, this question is all the more difficult to answer. Most people are educated and knowledgeable enough to figure out how they want to be perceived in the eyes of God. They learn through practising a spiritual lifestyle and arriving at their own conclusions about which physical image they want to adhere to. This build up of knowledge and cycle of life experiences is disturbed when, for example, the small minorities of radical Muslims and Sikhs are obsessed with humiliating each other.

In my personal view, the whole purpose of freedom of religion is for individuals to explore every belief system until they strongly feel they are living a lifestyle which brings them spiritual contentment and liberates them both mentally and socially. If a Sikh man believes his physical appearance is the one God wants him to follow, then that is his private belief. He is allowed to preach his views, but he must never force them on someone else because this, according to the Sikh doctrines, will only paint him as an egotistical and narrow-minded individual. Similarly a Muslim is encouraged to share his religious beliefs and ways of dressing with others in a rational, level-headed manner.

The other reason why I stress the appearance of the Sikh and Muslim male is because they both cover their heads for pretty much the same reason. When a Sikh or Muslim man wears a turban, the turban is no longer just a piece of meaningless cloth; it carries a pious and secular importance. It is a symbol of autonomy, commitment and self-respect. Although Muslims across different parts of the Middle East wear different types of turbans for cultural reasons, the purpose of wearing a turban has the same religious connotations. They want to emulate the lifestyle of Mohammed (PBUH), who is stated to have said: “At the light of judgement, a man shall receive a light for each turn of turban around his head.” All of the founding Imams of the four school of Ahl al-Sunnah wal- Jama’ah also wore a turban. In his biography, Imam Abu Hanifah said that he owned seven turbans (maybe, this was one for each day of the week.)

The turban tradition is not only found in Sikhism and Islam, but in many other religions and cultures too. Starting with the ancient Babylonians to western religions such as Christianity and Judiasm, the turban is highly regarded. There are several verses in the Old Testament which testify to this: “He put the turban on his head, setting the gold rosette as a symbol of holy dedication on the front of the turban as the Lord has commanded him. (Leviticus 8.9). Another of the many examples include: “Once they enter the gates of God’s court, they are to wear linen vestments. They shall wear linen turban.”

Already we can see that the covering of a person’s head in Sikhism and Islam has a shared common purpose. Just as Sikhs are not permitted to enter the Gurudwara bare headed, the same principle goes for Muslims. Baring the head in the Mosque is considered to be the sign of a man in low condition and demonstrates a complete lack of self respect in the eyes of God.

For Sikhs, the turban serves as a sign of unwavering commitment to the Sikh Gurus, so they wear it with pride. It carries a great deal of responsibility. By wearing one, their actions represent the Guru and reputation of Sikhism worldwide. The turban leads Sikhs to becoming a more ethically and morally guided set of believers. Hence, a turban is not only a signifier or something to identify a Sikh by. In one of the Hadiths, Mohammed (PBUH) has also stated that the turban is a frontier between faith and unbelief. This saying fittingly describes the importance of the turban for a Sikh too. As the famous Arab saying goes: “Turbans are the crowns of Arabs.” Hence, they are considered by many to be a true mark of inner sovereignty for both Sikhs and Muslims.

Such is the high nobleness of the turban, that Muslims are told that even the angels wore it. Of the Koranic verse. “Your Lord shall help you with five thousand angels bearing marks” (Surat Ali Imran, verse 125), Ibn Abbas – the greatest of the early exegetes - said: “The signs are that they wore turbans.” It has been written in a Hadith passage that according to the Mohammed (PBUH), “Two rakats of prayer with a turban on head is more beneficial than seventy rakats of prayer without one.” According to these narrations, Mohammed (PBUH) gave great importance to donning a turban; he sometimes wore a kalyptra (this includes a cap, with or without a turban wrapped around it). Bearing all of this in mind, those Sikhs and Muslims who curse each other about appearance or deride one another’s head covering should start learning more about religion rather than being lazy and letting themselves get influenced by radical extremist views.

Unfortunately, the numbers of people wearing turbans has significantly decreased over the last few decades. It has got to a point where wearing one is now commonly associated only with militant terrorists i.e the fanatical Taliban groups in Afghanistan. For this reason, the only religious group in North America to keep the turban tradition alive is the Sikhs. Even though Sikhs in North America have been more commonly mistaken for terrorists since September 2001, they view removing their turbans as humiliating. Muslims who wear the turban feel exactly the same way. Therefore when news spread that Airport Security would soon enact a law to have all turbans removed and searched at Airport security, nothing could be more insulting to Sikhs and Muslims worldwide. At such times of persecution, all Sikhs and Muslims should stand together - this can only be achieved if those small groups of fanatical Sikhs and Muslims stop waiting for reasons to demean each other on appearance or other issues relating to religion.

Faith Matters celebrated at CVS Make a Difference Day

2011-11-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

Next Friday, the Mayor of Ealing, Councilor John Gallagher, will be attending the Interfaith
Workers 35th Anniversary of Ealing Community Volunteer Service (CVS) and the CVS Make a Difference Day, the biggest nationwide celebration of the contribution volunteers make to the local community. Mr. Gallagher will present the winners with their awards and celebrate those volunteers who have worked throughout Ealing to promote inter-faith dialogue.

Faith Matters have received significant praise for their work in Ealing, with three of their volunteers being awarded at the ceremony. Faith Matters project entitled, The Sikh Muslim Media Monitoring and Response Group (MMM), aims to tackle divisions between the Sikh and Muslim communities in West London and uses media as a way of communicating positive relations and rebutting negative news stories/blogs/articles that incite religious hatred. We have developed a forum–like group, representing both communities, who meet up every few months to discuss the media monitoring report and find ways to promote positive messages and carry out activities which will highlight positive relations between the two communities. The MMM project has helped Sikh and Muslim communities in Ealing and has predominantly worked with students, parents, religious and organisational leaders and individuals involved in the political life of this country.

Faith Matters Founder and Director, Fiyaz Mughal OBE, said: “We are absolutely delighted that three of our volunteers are being awarded by CVS. It is through their hard work and enduring efforts that community relations between Sikhs and Muslims in West London continue to grow and develop. I want to send my congratulations to all the volunteers who are being awarded at the event and who work every day to promote community relations in the UK.”

INTERFAITH PHOTOGRAPHY

2011-10-25T02:51:00.001-07:00

This picture was taken by Faith Matters' Press Officer, Jessica Sarhan, on her trip to Damascus.

Protests in Egypt continue as demonstrators demand power be handed back to the public

2011-10-19T05:51:00.000-07:00

On the 2nd October 2011, the world watched as deadly clashes were carried out on the streets of Cairo between protestors and military personnel. The demonstration, which was organised by Cairo’s Coptic Christian community, was a means of protesting against the burning of a church near Aswan.

Since then, debates have ensued regarding the brutal and unjust actions of the Egyptian Army. However, Egypt’s ruling Military Council has denied that brute force was carried out against protestors and has assured that the army did not open fire onto the wave of Christian protestors. The statements made by the council have been strongly contested by eyewitnesses and protestors who said that Egyptian military vehicles drove over protestors and targeted them directly without hesitation. "These were horrible, bloody clashes, the worst we've seen since the '70s," says a Coptic journalist, Ishaq Ibrahim in a report to the BBC.

The clashes in Cairo have developed from growing tensions between some Muslim and Christian groups within the city. However, many Muslims have been standing up to protect the rights of Christians living in Egypt and demanding that they receive proper protection and support. Ishaq Ibrahim went onto say in his comments to the BBC that “we had Muslim groups participating with us in the rally. It was meant to be peaceful." The New York Times reported that as soon as clashes began many Muslims ran to the streets in order to aid Christian protestors.

“Muslims get what is happening,” said Nada El-Shazly to the New York Times. The military was “trying to start a civil war.”

Al- Azhar mosque in Cairo has made significant movements in trying to quell tensions between faith communities and said recently that they hope to promote “openness” between themselves and eastern churches.

Protests have continued in Cairo, in particular in Cairo’s Tahrir Square where people have gathered nightly to demand that Egypt’s ruling military council give power to a civilian government as soon as possible. Egypt continues to stand in limbo; torn between the promise of democracy and the sentiments of old authorities who refuse to relinquish control.

“It is now more important than ever that we promote interfaith relationships in Pakistan,” says Dr.Bhatti, Advisor of Minority Affairs to Pakistani PM

2011-10-18T01:48:00.000-07:00

Faith Matters Press Officer, Jessica Sarhan, chats to Dr. Paul Bhatti about our ONE PAKISTAN program.

“My continuing struggle is for the protection of minorities in Pakistan,” said Dr. Paul Bhatti today in a discussion organized by Christian Solidarity Worldwide. It was only five months ago that Bhatti left his job as a surgeon and took up the post of Advisor of Minority Affairs to the Pakistani Prime Minister.

Since working in the Pakistani government, Bhatti has travelled the world in order to promote interfaith harmony and today’s discussion saw him express, what he felt, were the biggest issues facing religious minority groups in Pakistan. “There remains a situation of intolerance in Pakistan” said Bhatti, “and the result is that minorities continue to be victimized.”

Throughout the discussion, Bhatti remained hopeful that things could change for religious minorities in Pakistan. However, he was keen to promote the complexities of inter-faith tensions “In Pakistan, intolerance is reactionary, it is because some people have manipulated the right way of thinking and some people are provoking these tensions.”

On asked what he feels the biggest reasons for the mistreatment of
religious minorities in Pakistan are, Bhatti said that it is undoubtedly lack
of proper education. He explained that with illiteracy rates at almost 60%,
that children could be manipulated to think certain things from a very young
age. He also stated that in many Pakistani schools, religious divides are
actually heightened, as many teachers will preach messages of discrimination
towards minority communities. Moreover, Bhatti said that “It is not just
teachers, in many cases Imams who preach in village mosques have not have the correct training and do not hold the correct qualifications to be an Imam, many
of them have only had primary education. As a result, they do not teach the
right and peaceful messages of Islam but instead communicate their own
interpretations of the faith.”

However, despite this Bhatti was hopeful for the future. He
explained that we must “highlight the commonalities between the faiths” and
that, “inter-faith dialogue is essential.” He also explained that many
Pakistani’s think religious freedom will equal instability in the country “but
this is not the case” said Bhatti, “it will only bring us increased stability.”

At the discussion a representative from Amnesty International asked
what he thought about imposing a law that forbids the incitement of religious
or racial hatred, similar to that in the UK, “What needs to change more than
anything is people’s mindset” replied Bhatti, “we can impose all different laws
but if the mindset does not change, then things will not improve.”

Dr. Bhatti was incredibly interested in the work of Faith Matters, especially our ONE PAKISTAN project and looks forward to meeting with more members of our team when we next visit Pakistan. Like him, we at Faith Matters believe that it is through inter-faith dialogue and active discourse between the faiths that things in Pakistan can improve.

The Mughal Empire

2011-10-06T03:59:00.000-07:00

By Hari Malhi

Religious history continues to play an essential role in the relationship between Sikhs and Muslims. When Sikhs are taught about their religion, especially the accounts of the later Gurus, they are consciously reminded about the evil actions of one Mughal Emperor in particular – Aurangzeb the conqueror. Whilst in rule, Aurangzeb, who has been compared to the modern day Osama Bin Laden, was a much disliked figure in the Sikh and Hindu communities. Unlike Akbar, who was a generally well liked former Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb was totally intolerant of all other religions; he spent the majority of his rule making enemies with Sikhs and Hindus. Not only did he remove the tax-free status that Akbar had granted the Hindus, but he crushed their vassal states that had formerly enjoyed semi-independent status, and continued to wipe out their holy shrines.

In short, Aurangzeb had totally fashioned his own extremist interpretation of Islam. He wanted to forcefully convert non-Muslims through any means necessary, including slow torturous killings. He was so much of a power hungry narcissist that he had his own father (emperor Shah Jahan) poisoned, and ordered the beheading of his elder brother (Dara Shikoh) to achieve greater wealth and power. This point, which most people are generally ignorant of, is very important as it shows Aurangzeb’s disturbing psychological temperament. He was no average person who picked up a Koran and went on his voyage of destruction. This was a man who had a bad upbringing, a man who manipulated the teachings of Islam to serve his own power hungry egotistic needs. The unfortunate fact is that when some Sikh and Hindus watch or read about negative stories relating to fanatical Muslims in this day and age, they are quick to point to people like Aurangzeb and shout out that Islam is the virus. These particular Sikhs and Hindus have little understanding of Aurangzeb’s actual biography. They refuse to believe that Aurangzeb himself was a corrupt madman who had an axe to grind. Once Aurangzeb gained excessive royal power, he was always going to cause large scale war and destruction due to his immoral absolutist philosophies.

Due to the atrocities that Aurangzeb committed against Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s family in the name of religion, some Sikhs continue to place majority blame on the teachings of Islam. Aurangzeb was the man who ordered his followers to carry out the torturous death of Guru Teg Bahadhur Ji, the ninth Sikh Guru, because he refused to accept Islam. Originally Aurangzeb wanted to convert a large number of Hindus, but Guru Tegh Bahahudur Ji gave up his life to protect those Hindu pandits, because to the Guru, freedom of religion was very important. Also, Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s four sons were martyred by Aurangzeb’s men; two of Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s younger sons were bricked alive whilst the other two died at a war which Aurangzeb had initiated. Seeing that there are several films, pictures, stories and religious songs about these tragic events, it is not surprising that some Sikhs are quick to jump to the conclusion Islam supports terror and violence against non-Muslims. However, such a rash conclusion is unjust. To link every devout Muslim’s ideology to Aurangzeb’s or to another dishonest Muslim leader is misrepresentative of the facts.

The reason why I continue to use Aurangzeb as an example is because he represents the fear that some Sikhs have about Islam, which is that Muslims will eventually try to convert all non-Muslims and build another vast empire as long as the Koran remains in existence. As Aurangzeb managed to build up a colossal empire in his time and was the most powerful man on the planet at one stage, those Sikhs erroneously believe that any fanatical attack carried out by Muslims in the 21st century is an example of Muslims wanting to emulate the tactics carried out in the Mughal era. These conclusions are the factor behind people remaining blind to the truth.

Sikhs and Muslims come together during the riots

2011-10-06T03:21:00.000-07:00

Summary: During the August riots across England, Sikhs and Muslims came together to guard Mosques and Gurudwaras from looters. Sangat TV did their part in helping the police and showed some of the close knit bonds between Sikhs and Muslims, both of whom worked together to defend their businesses and towns. Unfortunately, three young Muslim men died during these events. Tariq Jahan, the father of hit and run victim Haroon, emerged as an excellent role model for Muslims. At such a difficult time, he was dignified throughout his speech about the atrocities, a change from the aggressive, radical Muslims we are unfortunately so used to seeing in the media.

All across England, the fuse for the most terrible riots in a generation ignited earlier last month. However, in the middle of all the looting and chaos, some positive intercultural stories also emerged. Whilst the pillaging criminals were running wild in areas including Birmingham, Leeds and Southall, members of the Sikh community were seen protecting the Masjid whilst Muslims were breaking their fasts and praying inside the mosque. The following is a youtube link highlighting one of these scenes:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adrXLP75pcI&feature=relmfu. Similarly, Muslims were protecting Gurudwaras whilst Sikhs were praying. The phrase community policing took on a whole new meaning as Sikhs and Muslims stood side by side to guard their local places of worship and home towns. Following the intensely criminal activity that had taken place in Tottenham, they knew the police riot squads would not be able to contain the high numbers of ruthless gangs. As a result, people felt it was necessary to take policing into their own hands.

Sangat TV did a fantastic job covering the events of this midsummer hell in the midlands area. They patrolled the streets to protect local communities and spent hours driving around in several locations to film the disturbing levels of violence and criminal activity. Over the next few days, they followed this coverage up with interviews and discussions with locals in the area. By questioning individuals from all cultural backgrounds and giving lengthy airtime to people that felt let down by the police, Sangat TV were doing their part to promote equality in these troubled times. They were commended for their efforts by the BBC news team, because it was clear that the police did not have sufficient control over all the rioting thugs.

When all the rioting initially kicked off in Tottenham, many people tried to turn it into a race issue by placing all the blame on non-whites or western European immigrants. However the rioting had nothing to do with colour, caste or creed; the criminals who have raided shops and attacked innocent people were not predominantly non-white as has been viciously rumoured. Opportunists, thieves and mindless criminals from all backgrounds were trying to take advantage of the situation. Most of the Sikhs and Muslims who were out on the streets during the riots were only trying to protect their businesses and places of worship.

Amidst all the destruction of law and order during the riots, the lives of three young, courageous Muslim men were taken in West Brom. Haroon Jahan, 21, Shezad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, all of whom were cherished members of their communities, and had taken to the streets in their area to protect local businesses. Their only intention was to drive away the hostile yobs and looters. Haroon Jahan, who was hit by a car on Dudley Road in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, died in front of his father’s eyes. After this tragic event, Sikhs and Muslims collectively worked to bring an end to this mayhem and came together to pay their respects for Haroon, Shezad and Abdul.

One of the most moving scenes to emerge from these horrific incidents was Tariq Jahan’s speech about his son’s loss. He pleaded for calm over the hit and run deaths. The dignity, poise and strength he showed during his speech was truly inspiring; he gained a great deal of respect for controlling his emotions at such a difficult time and is a great example of how many devout Muslims conduct themselves. If people like Tariq get more airtime as opposed to heretical extremists like Anjem Choudhary, Muslims would not be stereotyped so negatively in the western media. People like Anjem are just angry extremists who openly hate all non-Muslims, despise western democracy and take delight over the events of 9/11. Rather than publicising Anjem’s deplorable ideologies, something which the media in the UK is only too willing to do, the views of more innocent Muslims need to be heard more often.

Interfaith Relations

2011-10-06T03:04:00.000-07:00

by Hari Malhi

Arguably, the biggest barrier to positive multicultural relations between Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus is the wide range of demeaning misconceptions about Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism. In every community there are small, yet powerful and manipulative groups of radicals who are willing to degrade other faiths by misrepresenting history. Their ultimate goal is to paint their own religion in a favourable light and increase the number of converts to that belief-system. For instance, some Sikhs are willing to denounce Islam as immoral after quoting one or two Koran verses out of context, whilst some Muslim radicals argue that the Sikh Gurus were insignificant individuals with little to no knowledge about the ways of God.

Likewise, xenophobic political organisations such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (a fundamentalist Hindu right-wing nationalist party), have always stirred up controversy with their forceful claims that Sikhs are Hindus. Contrary to historical information, the RRS have tried to argue that the Sikh Gurus had no substantial philosophy of their own other than knowledge of Hindu beliefs. Although there are various similarities between Sikhism and Hinduism, the RRS have manipulated this information to press home the point that the Sikh Gurus only came into existence to protect Hindus from oppressive Muslims invaders. However, history tells us that the Sikhism was born to protect the human rights and equality of everyone. As Hindus and Sikhs are no longer living in turbulent war-like times, the RRS wants everyone from the Sikh community to abandon the Sikh way of life and revert back to Hinduism. Without any shame, they have attempted to distort history, disparage Sikh customs and wipe out non Hindu minorities from India. They have also tried to change Muslim history for the same purpose.

The RRS played a significant role in the genocide of innocent Muslims in Gujarat, along with the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodha. Through hiding behind the guise of secularism and multiculturalism, they have committed mass acts of terror against non Hindus in India. Unfortunately, for Muslims, the propaganda against Islam transcends on a larger scale worldwide and has got progressively worse over the last decade. In the UK, The British National Party (BNP) was recently accused of endorsing Islamophobia by capitalising on the existing interfaith tensions with the Sikh and Hindu communities. They did this by spreading false propaganda, claiming that that the majority of race related tensions in the UK are due to disruptive Muslim communities.

As seen throughout history, political propaganda and radical fundamentalists contribute largely to inciting the divide between Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. Trying to make ideological arguments that Sikhs are Hindus, or that Sikhism was totally influenced by Islam only manages to heighten resurgence in Sikh fundamentalism. Constantly debating and arguing over these immaterial matters is precisely what the Sikh Gurus advised against. Everyone from the Asian community has the potential to get along with each other and coexist in harmony, but when politics interferes, religion gets a bad press and people enter into unruly interfaith disputes. Therefore, to preserve the sacredness of religion, it must be freed from the hostile political arena.

To keep religion away from superficiality, externalism, and religious hypocrisy, everybody must unite and share a common ground in their spiritual ways of thinking. This is not to say that Asians worldwide should conform to one belief system, but rather they should see the good and core similarities in every religion rather than leaping at the chance to criticise something they don’t fully understand. The people who spend their time gathering research to attack other religions are usually the ones steeped in ignorance with nothing but biased points of views. For example, some Sikhs and Muslims waste their time forming detailed ideological conclusions about the ills of idol worship and arguing over which meats to consume rather than focusing fully on their own prayers and religious duties. At the end of the day, as long as a person is able to focus their undivided attention on prayer, it should not matter whether they are hanging upside down or facing a certain direction whilst performing that prayer. It is only when people become too far steeped in rituals or get involved in extravagant displays of religious meditation, that they can lose focus in prayer.

As Muhammad (PBUH), Shiva, and the Sikh Gurus have repeatedly reiterated in their teachings, the light of God is in every heart. It illuminates every soul. By praying with a clean mind and following a strict moral code of conduct, that light is gradually revealed within the soul. Once people are able to follow the religious path and keep regular prayer for consistent periods of time, that light will continue to spread in their souls and make them feel more serene, content and emotionally fulfilled in life.

“Terrorism has no Religion”

2011-10-06T02:59:00.000-07:00

by Shomaila Butt

Faith, prayer and peace are often the terms that we associate with religion. In fact, these are what are known to define the Holy Scriptures of many religions worldwide. If religion was core to the beliefs held and implemented by the likes of Gandhi and Mother Teresa, and where they are core to the basis of much of today’s structures which underlie society’s norms of right and wrong - then how have we come to associate religion to the brutality of terrorism?

If we think back to the tribulations of September 11^th, the Madrid bombings and 7^th July attacks, we can see how a growing majority of the nation have made the hapless link between religion and terrorism, a thought process which has heightened up to the present day. This unfortunate link has resulted largely because of the fact that the majority of the attackers were Muslim, and now, as a consequence, many hold the mistaken belief that terrorism is at the heart of Islam.

Clearly, as human beings, we are enraged towards those who harm innocents-especially in the country in which one lives. What’s more complicated is, if we begin to associate the religion of those people with the acts they carry out, this can incite racial hatred that further makes it acceptable to single out a particular group of people as a result of the acts carried out by only a minority.

Many of the attacks carried out by terrorists are largely due to political gain as opposed to direct religious beliefs: We know the likes of Hitler and the KKK are no example of good Christians; nor are the Tamil Tigers a complete representation of how the Hindu community are. In the same way the Taliban and Al Qaeda are no reflection of the entire Muslim community.

Yes there are those who will use religion as a reason or in fact an excuse as to why they committed such an act, but their implications have no place in the scriptures they claim to follow. We need to, as respected members of a multicultural and multi faith society, realise that terrorism has NO religion, and has no acceptance IN religion. They are in fact complete opposites.

Of course you shouldn’t have to be religious or in fact believe in any religion at all to realise this, what seems to be the case is lack of knowledge and understanding of religious beliefs. We are now living in such diverse communities, that different religions are spread across the globe; from Hinduism and Sikhism, to Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and many more.

It is far better to have an understanding of people’s religious values and beliefs, through conversing with ordinary everyday people who will tell you the true meaning of how their religion teaches peace, love and equality, rather than basing an opinion solely on the political stance of a particular newspaper or channel.

Sukhi Joins Faith Matters!

2011-10-06T02:46:00.001-07:00

I am a newcomer to the organisation Faith Matters and am super excited about my journey. I was really interested about Faith Matters because it gives people of all faiths a voice and to really make a positive contribution and difference to their community.

I was bought up with two options of faith. The first one was that we are all equal regardless of our faith and no one should be judged on it. The second one was that I should only converse and socialise with people of my own faith. These two views are very extreme of each other and when you are a child this can be very confusing.

However, from childhood to adulthood I still believe that you should not question someone because of their faith but instead look at the real person inside them and form a relationship of friendship and allow it to grow. Let the friendship represent that we should all be respected and treated equally for who we are and not what faith we are from. Let it show that whatever faith you are from, the foundation of your faith is what brings us together to create unity and peace.

Sukhi

Arsalan Iftikhar: Extremism Causes Wider Muslim Community to Promote Peace

2011-10-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

Author and human rights layer, Arsalan Iftikhar, explained in a recent interview with NPR (U.S. National Public Radio), that ongoing examples of extremism promoted by a very small number of Muslims are urging the wider Muslim community to promote non-violence in addition to the inherent peaceful nature of Islam.

His new book, Islamic Pacifism: Global Muslims in the Post-Osama Era, is an engaging and insightful read. It suggests that the Arab Spring has actually instilled a greater sense of peace amongst the Muslim community and that Muslims all over the world are speaking out against extremism in greater numbers.

"Last year even, if you told Middle East experts that people like Hosni Mubarak and Moammar Gadhafi would fall in the same calendar year, we would have probably laughed at you," he said.

Iftikhar went on to say that Islamic Pacifism has resulted from the determination to "use religion only for good, using the 10 commandments, using the Golden Rule concepts of loving thy God and loving thy neighbor — which beats at the heart of every major world religion today."

He urged that what is important is that Islamic scholars continue to publically condemn acts of extremism and that by creating an active dialogue that denounces fanaticism of any kind, the global Islamic voice can be one of peace and inclusion.

“Initially after September 11^th, many Americans, and I’m sure many Europeans, did not know very much about Islam or Muslims and their culture” said Iftikhar in an interview with The Economist. He went on to explain that and since the 9/11 attacks the Western world has had an increased exposure of Islam.

According to Iftikhar, what is important is that the world realizes that “Muslims are part and parcel of the fabric of Western society.” And therefore, it is vital that the voice being raised from the community is one of unity.

Sikh and Muslim Relations

2011-08-19T04:19:00.000-07:00

By Hari Malhi

Many liberal theologians and knowledgeable students of comparative religion would agree that whilst Sikhism and Islam differ on a few foundational beliefs, both these religions are completely dedicated towards one fundamental aim, which is to help people perform good, honest deeds throughout life. This includes showing respect for people of other faiths. Muhammad (PBUH) and the ten Sikh Gurus recurrently emphasised the importance of human improvement; this incorporated, as Muhammad (PBUH) has stated, showing love and deference for people of the book. Disappointingly, these beliefs are being lost on some of today’s Sikhs and Muslims.

In the past, I have spoken with groups of people who express an utter hatred for either Islam or Sikhism. Interestingly, the vast majority of people who harbour feelings of hatred towards Muslims are usually the ones who have either had bad friendships with some of them, or have stereotyped Islam after hearing some negative race related stories regarding Muslims. For instance, there have been many times throughout my life where I have tried to question some Sikh people as to why they detest Muslims with such a passion. Unsurprisingly, over 80% of them have not read the Koran let alone read it in any depth, and have subsequently based their views on negative hearsay or experiences they claim to have “heard about.” Similarly, some Muslims are equally ignorant of Sikhism’s teachings or often become infatuated with fervidly opposing non-Islamic beliefs.

During my childhood, I was encouraged to only read about Sikhism and was told by most of my Punjabi and Hindu friends to stay away from Islamic beliefs. It is only after reading more about Sikhism that I became encouraged to deepen my understanding of all faiths and cultures because this, according to the Guru Granth Sahib, is a great way of building positive interfaith relations with people from all backgrounds. Religions and many spiritually orientated texts have many pearls of wisdom and beauty in them that can help people to live more fulfilled lives.

I recently read a book centred on Buddhist beliefs and opened my mind to the benefits of meditating and practising its different techniques. After a few days of following these exercises, I felt more buoyant and active throughout the day. As suggested by many religious monks, regular meditating techniques remove most of the negative thoughts in our subconscious. Similarly, peace loving Sikhs and Muslims who practice regular prayer and live healthy lifestyles maintain a far more positive outlook on life and construct workable solutions to interfaith problems. In contrast, the groups of Sikhs and Muslims who remain at arms with each other are constantly developing negative psychological thoughts. Since these people cannot distinguish from right and wrong, their subconscious chooses to believe the most dominant thought pattern. Unless these misguided individuals learn about their religion in depth and feed more positive messages to their subconscious, they will become prisoner to their negative thoughts.

Sikhism and Islam would find broader support in contemporary society if it wasn’t for religious extremists and all the interfaith disputes around the world. The God of the Koran and Guru Granth Sahib are the same; people can only become emotionally involved in their worship to him if they control their feelings of anger and hatred, and learn to coexist in harmony. When people are relentlessly fighting over faith issues, they are doing a disservice to God and jeopardising their relationship with him. The Sikhs and Muslims who quarrel and fight amongst one another are too blind to understand what their scriptures are trying to tell them. This point is specifically mentioned in the Guru Granth Sahib: “he [God] cannot be understood by reading scriptures; the deceitful pretenders are deluded by doubt.” Through the guru’s teachings, the lord is always found, and the tongue is permeated with the sublime essence of the lord.” As this verse advocates, an individual can only become God conscious and if they learn to meditate and appreciate the uplifting quintessence of the Lord. The ‘deceitful pretenders’ are those religious hypocrites and troublemakers who claim to follow faith, yet contradict its teachings by carrying out sinful acts, such as sparking hostile intercultural tensions. They are distinctively called deceitful pretenders because by contradicting their core belief system, they are more or less living a lie.

Italy and the Burqa debate

2011-08-05T04:45:00.000-07:00

by Jamila Boughelaf

Exactly one year has passed and we are ready to hear the same debates once again. Indeed, although the focus has shifted from France to Italy, contradictions upon the Islamic veiling practice are still vivid, especially regarding the integral veil.

Italy is getting closer in following the French and Belgian attitudes and banning the wearing of the integral veil in public places. As a matter of fact, a parliamentary commission has recently approved a draft law, which will be applied if approved by the whole parliament in September. As Al Jazeera reports, “Women who violate the ban would face fines of $140 to $400, while third parties who force women to cover their faces in public would be fined $42,000 and face up to 12 months in jail” (Al Jazeera, 03-08-11).

The reasons behind this decision are the same discussed by the French National Assembly and Media for over a year. Raised by Souad Sbai, member of the Silvio Berlusconi’s right wing party, this draft law would look at improving women’s integration in Italian society, while protecting them from the imposed submission and segregation deriving from this cultural (or religious) practice.

It is exactly for this similarity that I would like, in this article, to bring the testimony of French Muslim girls to show what kind of impact political debates and legislations on this topic can bring to the actual Muslim community living in Europe. Indeed it is crucial to mention that, although a very small minority of women is wearing the integral veil in Europe, often the entire Muslim community feels affected and threatened by this kind of debates.

According to a personal research conducted in France last year, exploring the impact of the burqa debate on young Muslim women not wearing the integral veil, Muslim girls that have been interviewed confirmed not to perceive the niqab (or the burqa) to be a sign of submission, but a personal choice. Neither did they feel that a law would improve integration. On the contrary, legislations like this make them becoming protagonist of a situational shared feeling of victimization in respect of the Muslim community. As a matter of fact, the analysis of potential racist and discriminatory behaviours of French society has shown how ideological and fixed socio-political constructions shape people’s attitudes and perspectives, even in women not directly concerned by those.

Although millions of people are involved in such debates and try to give their opinion on this practice, usually described as stigmatizing, barbar and against women’s equality; what needs to be assessed is the actual meaning of the word integration, also considering the point of view of the Muslim community living in Europe.

“…A woman wearing the burqa is seen as useless, as incapable, submitted, as a housewife…but it is not true. There are a lot of women who study and then decide to stop working in order to dedicate to religion” (Algerian girl, 30)

As a matter of fact, it is true that dressing codes might play a crucial role on determining people’s participation in society as well as constructing their external perception; however, it is also true that constant public debates and excessive media coverage only reinforce stereotypes, reminding people their differences and consequently excluding them from society. Moreover, media and political debates are often using the wrong word to describe this practice, as women are not wearing the burqa (which covers the whole face), neither in Italy nor in France, but the niqab (which leaves eyes uncovered). This confusion, coupled with growing Islamophobic attitudes sponsored by far right and populist parties, ends up feeding the sense of stigmatization and lack of integration within the Muslim community.

“When you hear political debates you are always led to think about blond people with blue eyes! It is seriously scary! …if we have to admit what National Identity really is, we should also admit the ethnic differentiation constituting France” (Moroccan girl, 32)

And again...

“…with this debate they are revitalizing this racial hatred…for example they presented the only case of polygamy to picture Muslims as barbaric…”(Algerian girl, 25)

“What is disturbing me is that they are mixing too many things just to talk about Islam…it is time to stop!”(Algerian girl, 21)

The danger embedded in these debates acts on three different, yet linked levels:

- It grows racist and Islamophobic attitudes within the “European” community,
- It feeds the feeling of victimization of the average Muslim community,
- It also spread misunderstandings and stereotypes throughout the Muslim community against smaller Muslim minorities appearing more attached to their original culture or religion

Just to quote another testimony of an Algerian girl living in France:

“… [My perspective] might be linked to political debates; I do not know…I just know that I am not feeling comfortable with a veiled woman sitting next to me” (Algerian girl, 24)

Stating that there is no need for us to repeat that the application of a law would only forbid a woman who chose to wear a niqab to go out and live her life normally; countries like Italy or France should rather tackle the real problems affecting their citizens. Jobs, housing, taxes, corruption; these are the main issues people worry the most about.

“What is really annoying me is that people are getting involved in this topic, while there are so many other more serious problems…security, drogue, jobs…”

“When I wake up in the morning I do not think about the National Identity or the burqa (laughs) …I think about how I am going to live…”(Algerian girl, 34)

Certainly integration is currently very problematic in Italy, however imposing migrants our habits is far to be the right solution. Lack of integration usually comes from “ignorance”, fear of the “other”; the “unknown”, therefore the first step for integration should be getting people closer to different cultures, getting them to know and understand other religions and practices, teaching children to move on from stereotypes and accept the fact that not only Italy (as the whole Europe) is becoming a multicultural country, but also that multiculturalism will improve our cultural richness.

In democratic countries, where equality and freedom of expression represent the core values, we should not be discriminated on the basis of personal choices, such as practicing our religion. Wearing a hidjab should not endanger our life in society, but unfortunately this is happening every day.

“We, veiled women are not well accepted, I think that we are rejected from society! I have been wearing the hidjab for 18 years and I have always been aggressed. Aggression, when wearing the hidjab is an obligation to me, not being remarked would be bizarre...” (Algerian girl, 34)

The acceptance of this law in Italy would sadly strengthen already existing forms of harassment towards women, while bringing about further hatred and misunderstandings vis-à-vis Islam. This is the reason why organisations like ours have to constantly engage in fighting against the exploitation of stereotypes for political reasons, while promoting education and cross-cultural dialogue. If the wearing of the integral veil is considered to be preventing women’s access to society, then other solutions have to be promoted. Workshops, education, dialogues, discussions; these are the sole valuable way to involve them in our societies. UK is moving on. What about the rest of the Europe?

Faith Matters Clip- Young people, Media and the Big Society

2011-07-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

On 28th June 2011 Faith Matters brought together an illustrious panel of speakers for an event at The Penthouse London, to debate the role that young people have in influencing the media, and how they play a part in the 'big society.'

Participants were given the opportunity not only to meet with very inspirational people from media professionals to amazing young leaders but also to make their voices heard through challenging media representations.

Panel speakers included :

Melody Hossaini, a recent contestant on TV's The Apprentice and founder of InspirEngage.
Ronnie Crossland, a participant on Jamie's Dream School.
Noam Kostucki, co-founder of Seeducation.
Reace McDonnell an ex member of youth parliament.
Lydia Frempong, award winner of Leadership in the workplace.
Holly Sutton, Founder and Director of Journalista.
Andrew Carapiet a former BBC journalist.
Kaye Wiggins a journalist from the Third Sector magazine.

Sikh and Muslim relations

2011-07-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

by Hari Malhi

Unfortunately, in this day and age, there are still wide-scale communal tensions within Sikh and Muslim communities. Arguably, this is largely down to religious fanatics who continue to debate and fight. This has lead to the impending generation of Asians engaging with these harmful attitudes, and consequently the vicious cycle continues. The disparaging stereotypes of Sikhs and Muslims as “violent aggressors” will remain unless the relationship between them drastically changes.

To anybody who has read a bit of Sikh history, it is clear that the ten Gurus held a pacifist view of war; that all killing and violence is wrong unless it is perceived to be in the interest of justice and fought against brutal tyrannical rule. Yet, based on the intercultural tensions between Sikhs and Muslims in this day and age, it is easy for non-Asians, many of whom are unaware of Sikh history, to mistakenly presume that Sikhism is vehemently opposed to anything associated with Islam.

However, this isn’t the case. Sikhism continuously teaches tolerance for other religions and their people. To paraphrase the words of Bhagat Kabir, he says: do not say that the Vedas and Muslim books are false. The people who do not reflect on them are false. Sikhi encourages people to expand and develop their knowledge in all areas of life; this includes the understanding of various religious scriptures and cultures.

Problems between Sikhs and Muslims often arise because people focus too intensely on the differences that exist between the philosophies of Sikhism and Islam. Rather than obsessing over these differences, it is important to appreciate the underlining teachings that both these religions consistently preach. The Mool Mantra of the Sikh scriptures and Bismillah of the Koran are both dedicated to One benevolent, forgiving God - a god that transcends all concepts of time and is the sole creator of the earth, solar systems and galaxies. The Will of God in the Koran is very similar to the idea of Hukam in the Guru Granth Sahib. In other words, everyone is given the opportunity to attain a place in the court of Lord through good deeds, regular prayer and by living with a good heart. Furthermore, both Islam and Sikhism strongly encourage people to give their time and money to helping the poor and needy. Sikhs and Muslims are taught that truthfulness, compassion, modesty and devoutness are the qualities needed to live a righteous life. Throughout the Koran and Guru Granth Sahib, there is a repeated requirement for men and women to practice mental, physical and spiritual endurance. This is achieved when people suppress any feelings of greed, lust, anger and pride.

A fundamental reason as to why some members from the Muslim community hold a cynical view of Sikhism is because they believe it was a doctrine written to belittle particular religious beliefs that came before it, including Islam’s views on fasting and pilgrimages. However, this could not be further from the truth. In short, Sikhism preaches the idea that religious rituals should not be performed for rituals sake because this may lead to losing a spiritual connection with God. Sikhism believes that people of all monotheistic religions are equally able of accomplishing salvation whilst still following their own faith.

The advocates from Islam are naturally incensed by teachings such as, “There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim” (words uttered by Guru Nanak Dev Ji). On the surface level, this looks like a direct verbal attack on all Hindus and Muslims and often gets perceived as such by ignorant minded people. However, when taken in its metaphorical context, it perfectly sums up the idea of equality and need for universal brotherhood. In the words of Guru Gobind Singh Ji: all men have the same eyes, ears, body, build – all of which is a compound of earth, air, fire, and water. As he goes on to say: The Muhammadan and Hindu God are the same; let no one even by mistake suppose there is the slightest difference.

Despite the many references of equality propagated in religion, people from Sikhism and Islam are often divided. The events of 9/11 had unfortunately weakened the relations between Sikhs and Muslims further. With Islamophobia on the rise, and Islam fast becoming one of Britain’s alleged prime enemy, some Sikhs still wish to remain disconnected from Muslims. The important point is to curb this anti-Islamic feeling as it will only lead to further problems. All Asians have experienced racial prejudice at some point in their lives, and therefore, rather than isolating the Muslim community, they should take a more compassionate stance. It is essential to look forward – or else the cycle of cynicism, revenge and bad feeling between communal relations will long continue.

Alex's experience as a Faith Matters youth coordinator for our Big Society?My Society? project

2011-04-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

When I began working with Faith Matters as a youth coordinator for a series of conferences in Derby, Birmingham and London I believed in the ideas and ideals behind them. I believed that through interfaith dialogue, through more communication and engagement we could improve how the communities in our country interact within their local areas.

I saw that whilst our country has made leaps and bounds in creating a working definition of multiculturalism; that there was and still is much more work to be done in moving to provide equal opportunities and freedom from discrimination for all.

I believed that through this series of conferences on youth and our society I could make a small contribution to halting the break off of some communities from our national neighbourhood and to give those who are marginalised and disadvantaged the space to express themselves and work together to make positive action.

At our first national conference in Derby on the 19^th of April where we discussed the issue of discrimination and best practice for fighting it; I watched a hugely successful young Muslim man talk of his belief in Islam’s core support for the universal values we all know and love, a young openly gay Catholic talk of his faith which he has not abandoned and a young man changed by the granting of an opportunity the mainstream school system denied him I admit, something changed in me.

I ceased to believe in equal rights and respect for all, in an end to discrimination and in the importance of full and frank engagement between all. No, watching this fusion of difference, the sharing of a table by three charismatic, engaged and most importantly hopeful young people I cannot tell you that I believe our country will continue its walk towards a better future, I know she will.

Reace Mcdonnell@ Faith Matters - Big Society? My Society? Youth Conference

2011-04-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

Geert Wilders Trial

2011-04-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

'Mr Wilders, whose Party for Freedom came second in the European elections last summer, faces a 70-page charge sheet covering five counts of breaking Dutch law in more than 100 public statements — for example, by likening the Koran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf and calling for an end to the “Islamic invasion”. He could be fined or jailed if convicted. The alleged offences include MrWilders’s film Fitna, which shows images of 9/11 and beheadings interspersed with verses from the Koran. It ends with a clip of the controversial Danish cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.' (Times Online)

Wilders condemnation and virulent attacks on Islam feed into a much bigger and more damaging discourse on Islam.Today dehumanizing representations of Muslim and Islam together with overused narratives of difference are prevalent. Wilders’ negative rhetoric works only to advance the already existent tensions created through such counterproductive and detrimental rhetorical and representation both of which further exacerbate tensions between and within interreligious communities. Hate rhetoric can produce lasting negative effects; both behavioraland cognitive. The power of words not only has the ability to fuel discriminatory behavior, but can further shape public opinion, dictate the outcome of events and guide politics. Words and representations can change the very way that ordinary people view Islam and its followers. Although there has been much talk in recent years on our basic human right- freedom of speech, much less has been spoken of about another fundamental human right; our right to be free from discrimination. Today, this right has been strongly compromised by the former in ways that have led many Muslims to feel divided and disenfranchised.

Representations and ideas of Islam are rooted in hostile Muslim depictions dating back to the eleventh century during a time of major crisis in terms of political and cultural identity comparable to modern Europe today.A vital component to the ideological construction of the Middle Ages of an Islam that had to be defeated was the single-minded attack on the character of the Prophet Muhammad. Medieval imagery vilifying the prophet Muhammad has proved resilient in the Western mind and has often been used to degrade Islam by Wilders. In modern popular culture, the character of the prophet is often attacked thereby aggravating tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims throughout the worlds. Wilders works have done just this, sparking outrage across of Muslim world and further damaging relations locally and internationally. This is further typified in recent years by controversies such as the Jyllands-Posten Danish cartoons in which the prophet Muhammad is depicted as a bomb-wielding fanatic, and which Wilders uses in his own clip. The response to the cartoons was unequivocal as Muslim social protest was triggered throughout the globe. Today, there is an extreme sensitivity towards representation of the prophet Muhammad especially in an insulting context and further strengthened against a geo-political backdrop of conflict, war and inequality. Moreover the passionate and violent responses demonstrated by some Muslims in response to insulting depictions have often served as a self-fulfilling prophecy reinforcing stereotypes of Muslims as aggressive, irrational and quick-tempered in the popular mind.

Today the demonization of Islam and misunderstanding of Islamic society and religion are still ubiquitous and perpetuated by people like Wilders; many historical stereotypes continue to shape the image of Islam produced by mass media in the west. There has been a marked resurgence in anti-Islamic imagery leading to revival of traditional depictions of Muslims as violent, wrathful and lascivious. Thus stereotypes often reflect current affairs; dehumanising stereotypes emerging from the cinema, TV and other media help support government policies, enabling producers to more easily advance and solidify stereotypes. The same way pre 9-11 films fuelled misperceptions against Arabs; hate rhetoric, the war on terror, the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East have produced damaging new media stereotypes and new government law enforcement policies. Further stereotypes have adversely affected western judgments of Islam and Muslims. The results of two 2006 polls reveal that one in four of Americans surveyed have extreme anti-Muslim views, 46% have a negative perception of Muslims and nearly 50% of the American public approves of curtailing the civil liberties of American Muslims.

It is evident that anti-Muslim stereotypes have affected the way in which Americans, 60% of which say they are not very knowledgeable or not at all knowledgeable about Islam, judge the faith and and its followers. Films like Fitna mutate people’s ideas on Islam. Said asserts concerning Orientalism that ‘…this system… operates as representations usually do, for a purpose, according to a tendency, in a specific historical, intellectual, and even economic setting.’ Post 9-11 negative representations of Muslims and hate rhetoric regarding Islam in Britain has served many purposes such as the justifying of foreign policies; the Afghanistan and the Iraq War, the anti-terror legislation and the receding of civil liberties; as a means of retaining the social class system to creating a fear culture. Recent findings have shown South Asian Muslims are the most disadvantaged group in Britain facing issues such as social exclusion, deprivation and poor housing. The perpetuation of stereotypes thus allow for the real issues to be branded as a product of the victims own mistakes and guilt by association.

Demonizing representations and hate speeches regarding Islam have gained potency since 9-11 given the context and diversity of form. The evolving terminology and bombardment of images of a militant Islamist extremism together with a number of audio-visual signifiers set against popular culture, has led to increased stigmatization of Islam and Muslims. A number of core medieval stereotypes still remain, most persistent of which include the irrational and violent Muslim. Representations have taken on different guises in propagating views of an exceptional Other having changed in character and frequency in relation to the changing of geopolitical dynamics, neo-imperialist aims and government aspirations. Further new modes of technology have allowed for such stereotypes to become more pervasive, widespread and dangerous. Mass communication theory holds that film and television viewing has very real effects; it can not only be used as a form of propaganda but also elicit individual and collective reaction, construct meanings and define reality, effect integration through support or subversion and even change the outcome of events. Further agenda-setting has restricted our capacity to view certain forms of popular culture objectively. Aspects of mass media power include attracting/ directing public attention, persuasion in matters of opinion and belief, influencing behavior, conferring status and legitimacy and informing quickly and intensively. Thus Wilders has only perpetuated and fuelled negative and incorrect perceptions of Islam, whilst further damaging social cohesion.

“Our faith and our shared future”

2011-04-08T03:30:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Tanya Sakhnovich before entering Leo Baeck College, Tanya Sakhnovich studied Music and Art History at the Minsk State University and Jewish Studies at the Machon in Moscow, where she later worked for the Jewish community centre. Tanya’s MA dissertation was on the mother-son relationship in the Bible. She is currently serving at Nottingham Progressive Synagogue.

The Launch of the Booklet: “Our faith and our shared future”

By Rabbi Tanya

In the Jewish book of books, the Torah, in the third book, Leviticus, it is said: “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”[1] This law from the Torah is a commandment to all the people of Israel, not only to be good to the strangers when they reside in the country, but also to treat them as their own citizens. Even more so, in the same book of Leviticus it is said “There shall be one law for you, for the foreigner and native alike.”[2] So, as we can see, the Torah is explicit - the foreigner should be treated not only justly but also equally with the native citizens of the land.

However, the most profound statement is made at the very end of the first commandment to which I have referred, commanding the Israelites to love the stranger but, even more significantly, to love him as your own self.

What is remarkable about this simple statement of the Torah “you shall love him (a stranger) as yourself”? Well, it is possible to accept a stranger, to be kind to him, to respect him - but to love him?! We certainly can speculate what the word “love” exactly meant or what sort of love it could identify in the time of ancient Israel. In any case, it is obvious that the word was significant and identified a high level of self-acceptance which was required to be shown to a stranger too. The reason for such a special, loving attitude towards a stranger was the fact that the ancient Israelites were slaves themselves in Egypt. They or their fathers or even their forefathers knew the bitterness of slavery and injustice. The Torah refers to the slavery experience of the ancient Israelites in order to remind the future generations of the Jewish people, who might not have experienced slavery themselves, about their ancestors’ dreadful, terrible experience. It urges the Jewish people to remember the atrocities their ancestors had had to suffer and requires of the Jewish people nothing less than to love the stranger just as himself.

The Jewish values of tolerance and acceptance are particularly important in the later rabbinic texts too. The Hasidic Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (d.1809) taught: “Whether a man really loves God can be determined by the love he bears toward his fellow man”.[3]

However, I am sure some of you might wonder - if the Torah and Jewish law teaches Jewish people to be tolerant and accepting of others – or, as they are called in the Torah, “strangers”, how does the Israeli-Palestinian conflict arise? It is because some Jewish people, just as some Muslim people or some Christian people, do not want or do not know how to love, to tolerate or accept another person who seems to be a stranger to them, someone who is different from them or of a different faith. We all know that our Holy texts speak either the language of love or the language of hatred, depending on whose hands the texts are in.

The question - is what can we do about it?

You and I, each of us can do much. That is why we are all here today. That is why I am here today. I believe that, in spite of radicalization in all our faiths, we live in times of unseen religious tolerance and acceptance. Today more and more people realize that we can deal with ecological, social and demographical issues only if we are united as human beings; more and more people realize today that all the major religions proclaim basic human and ethical values of tolerance, acceptance and integrity with each other. We need to unite against extremism and separatism, learning to respect each other’s differences and to live next to each other in peace and love. Do you want to ask me surprisingly or even sarcastically - is it possible at all?!

My answer is yes, it is possible. It is not only possible, it is essential. We are living in the world where the religions are turning towards each other and seek tolerance through education and friendship. The launch of the booklet “Our faith and our shared future” today is one example.

Another example is from the Jewish community in Nottingham. One of the members of the Nottingham Orthodox congregation, learning that I am from Belarus, shared with me stories she had heard from her grandmother. Her grandmother immigrated to England from Belarus, my country of birth, in the first decade of the 20th century, escaping pogroms in central Belarus. To those of you who are unfamiliar with the word “pogrom” the Oxford dictionary defines it as “an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group, in particular that of Jews in Russia or eastern Europe”. The grandmother remembered as a girl the local Christian villagers running out of the Church on Easter morning to beat and kill the Jews who killed the Christ with their priest running behind them shouting “It wasn’t these Jews who killed Jesus, these Jews did not kill Jesus”.

It is unfortunate that the lady’s grandmother who passed away years ago cannot have the pleasure of buying a copy of the new bestseller written by Pope Benedict XVI “Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week – From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection. There the Pope asks a brave question. He writes: “Now we must ask, who exactly were Jesus’s accusers?” Directly confronting the controversial question raised by St Matthew’s Gospel when the evangelist describes the crowd shouting: “Let his blood be on us and on our children”, the Pope makes clear his own opinion that the Jewish people are not in any way inherently or collectively responsible for the death of Jesus. [4] Is it not a brave act of the Pope to offer a new reading, a new reflection, as he says after the years of antagonism between the Church and Judaism caused by the answer to that very question “who killed Jesus”.

Happily it does not require bravery but enthusiasm for the Officers of the Faith-Matters to inspire such an important and invaluable project as this to take place in the heart of the Midlands. The more we learn about each other, the less we are going to be scared of each other; the more friendships we form between each other, the more we will understand that all religions share ethical values, all teach us to respect and honour each other. Was it not courageous of all the different faith participants to leave their comfort zones and safe places within their communities and to come here to the forum, so that our children now can learn about our faith and our shared future. I wish us all success in the promotion of the booklet.

[1] Leviticus 19:33-34 [2] 24:22 [3] R. Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Wisdom, p.176. [4] See the Times from March 2nd 2011 by Ruth Gledhill.

A Study into the Nature and Effects of Post-9/11 Popular Culture Representations of Muslims and Islam

2011-04-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

By Saira Niazi

Since 9-11, popular culture representations of Muslims have increased significantly in terms of sheer volume and diversity. Muslim representations can be found in all mediums of popular culture, from low-budget indie films and cinema blockbusters to graphic video games, zany art installations and popular literature. The Iranian revolution, attacks on embassies, hijackings, hostage takings and acts of violence committed by various guerrilla groups and mullah-led sets have signalled a militant Islam on collision course with the West. Islam has also been an important element in nationalist struggles and resistance movements in the Muslim Republics of the former Soviet Union, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Thailand, China and the Philippines. Against this eclectic international backdrop of social, cultural and political change together with the rapid spreading of revivalism, Islam has gained a renewed political importance. This has been reflected in media and popular culture, in which exposure to Muslims and Islam has become more visible, pronounced and localised. In this study I will be arguing that post- 9/11 popular culture representations of Muslims occur in a specific geo-political context, reflect certain power structures and serve inherently political purposes.

During the last decade popular culture representations of Muslims have been largly negative and have further demonized the already marginalized Muslim community in Britain. According to Foucault ‘power and knowledge directly imply one another, that there is no power relation without correlative constitution of a field of knowledge, nor any knowledge that does not presuppose and constitute at the same time power relations.’ (1979:27) The exercise of power over subordinates cannot therefore be reduced simply to a question of attitudes and motives on the part of individuals, since power is rooted in the very language and institutions by which we describe, understand and control the world. Foucault’s analysis of power and knowledge provides the basis for Saids Orientalism. An integral part of which alludes to the relationship of power between the Occident and the Orient, in which the balance is weighted heavily in favour of the former. Said asserts that ‘Orientalism is fundamentally a political doctrine willed over the Orient because the Orient was weaker than the West, which elided the Orient’s difference with its weakness… as a cultural apparatus Orientalism is all aggression, activity, judgment, will-to-truth, and knowledge’ The main concepts in Said’s Orientalism points to the problematic nature between representation and the collusion of knowledge and power, the use of binary opposition and the creation and propagation of the Other. The evolution of technology in the post-modern world has made for greater reinforcement of the stereotypes by which the Orient is viewed; TV, films and other media resources have forced information into more and more standardized models strengthening the hold of historical, academic and imaginative demonology of the Orient. Today, representations of Islam and the Muslim Other, take many different shapes and forms; they are more complex, variant and diffused than ever before.

The attacks of 9-11 and the consequent War on Terror greatly impacted popular Western perceptions of Muslims and Islam. The spectacle of violence and symbolism of the collapsing of the twin towers televised throughout the globe effectively intensified historical stereotypes of the violent Other. A new set of terms evolved in order to hierarchize, categorize and control Muslims such nclude ‘terrorist’ ‘fundamentalist’ and ‘holy jihad’. The context in which stereotypical images of Muslims are viewed- against a myriad of real-life images and reports of terror attacks, videotaped beheadings, floggings, violent protest and the killing of British and American soldiers, journalists and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan- has changed drastically. This hyppereality is expressed by Baudrillard who states that ‘reality and fiction are inextricable’ and further poses the question ‘How do things stand with the real event, then, if reality is everywhere infiltrated by images, virtuality and fiction?’ Today, the stereotypes power to inflict damage on innocents’ is much greater than before 9-11. During times of armed conflict, stereotypes meet the least resistance; deceptive images are most convincingly portrayed, defended and justified as truth. Much post 9/11 popular culture has perpetuated notions of the aggressive Muslim through the sustained demonization of Islam, Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Muslim culture is depicted as unchanging and monolithic whereas Muslims are portrayed as backwards, irrational, and aggressive fanatics; their religion is seen to be wholly incompatible with the ways of the West. Many post 9-11 films, including The Kingdom, Black Hawk Down, Four Feathers and Hidalgo have effectively propagated images of the violent barbaric Muslim Other. Further, such current depictions of the Muslim villain carry a high level of believability in cultural entertainment portraying the struggles between good against bad owing to the historical continuity of negative representations of Muslims dating back the Middle Ages.

In the first chapter of this study I will be looking at medieval representations of Islam and the Saracens drawing upon the similarities and differences of pre and post-modern representations and the effects these have had on both ‘Self’ and ‘Other.’ The second chapter will focus on post 9-11 popular culture representations of Muslims and Islam in American and British drawing heavily upon TV and Film. I will assess the different forms depictions assume and the correlation between politics and representation in the two separate nations. The third and final chapter will survey the effects of sustained demonology in representation; followed by a conclusion and summary of my argument. In terms of methodology, this study will be a critical analysis which draws upon different theories and research in the fields of mass communication theory and post-colonial theory. For the full study click below. Study of Effects

Turkey and the EU

2011-03-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Faith Matters fully endorses the acceptance of Turkey into the EU and believes it to be in the interest of all parties involved. Geographically, Turkey is located in a key strategic location, in between Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. Not only does it offer protection against instability in some of these increasingly unstable areas but it can also act as a bridge between Christian Europe and the Islamic World. There is much evidence supporting Turkeys place in Europe including its historical, artistic and academic connections with the region.

Turkey has enjoyed high growth rates with per capita income doubling since 2003; further Turkey attracts large amounts of foreign direct investment. The inclusion of Turkey in the EU may also have positive implications in terms of defense and security. Turkey has been a loyal ally of Europe and defender of European interests since the Cold War with troops serving alongside EU trips in various operations. In the coming years Turkeys role will be central in dealing with Iran on its nuclear threat and with Iraq on its state building. In the last decade, Turkey has also been at the vanguard of the war on terror having itself been the target of terrorist attacks. By including Turkey in the EU, co-operation on defense and security matters will strengthen.

Since 1963, Turkey has been an associate member of the EU. Turkey officially applied to join the EU in 1987 and has since displayed its dedication by introducing many reforms to prepare itself for EU membership including abolishing capital punishment, giving rights to its Kurdish population and taking measures to stamp out torture. Further in the last decade Turkey has taken definitive steps in moving closer towards a European-style democracy. To refuse the country entry now may some reforms undone. The time to act is now; we must openly accept Turkey in the EU and in respective European nations. If Turkey loses interest in joining the EU, the major regional power will consequently look towards the East and other regions the implications of which may be substantial.

Low-Down from the Sikh-Muslim Project's newest coordinator Amardeep

2011-03-11T07:35:00.000-08:00

The Project: The Muslim and Sikh Media Monitoring and Response project is primarily targeted towards Sikh and Muslim communities within West London and targets a variety of groups such as students, parents, religious and organizational leaders and individuals involved in the political life of this country. The Muslim and Sikh Media Monitoring and Response Project involves taking groups of 5-10 members of each faith community and arrange a neutral meeting place where people of diverse backgrounds can come and meet each other and in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance and where differences can be acknowledged, explored and accepted, and issues discussed openly.

On Saturday the 5th of March, Sikh-Muslim group members gathered at the Muslim College in Ealing to discuss a number of issues over a delicious Afro-Caribbean lunch. I catch up with the groups’ newest project coordinator Amardeep. She talks about what she gathered from her first meeting with the team, how she feels about the work and what the future holds for the project!

S: Amardeep welcome to the Faith Matters team! So Amardeep what initially interested you about the project?
A: As a young Sikh woman I’m familiar with the issues the project faces. It looked like a good opportunity to do some grass-root work on a deep rooted area of tension.

S: What did you think of your first meeting with the group?
A: The group are a really interesting diverse bunch of people. I loved the fact that everyone was open to different concepts, ideas and opinions. Everyone’s really well informed and I think the group is a shining example of tolerance and understanding.. They have lots to offer to both their own communities and to the project, and think I’m going to learn a lot from them!

S: What did you discuss at the meeting?
A: There was a lot of juicy stuff on agenda! We looked at the Media Monitoring Report which I really enjoyed compiling with Hasina. It was particularly interesting to see that the EDL’s march in Luton had a strong anti-fascist backlash from both religious and nonreligious communities. It was really encouraging to see the ‘Sikhs Against the EDL’ movement, which emerged as a result of various Sikh organizations coming together to condemn the EDLs recent policy of targeting young Sikhs. In the meeting we also showed the group the first newsletter and had great suggestions from members on how we could move forward with. Following this we had a visit from Oscar who works for our PR company Journalista. He talked to the group about available opportunities to do some media work including broadcasting on national radio stations which the group was very interesting in! This will be great for boosting the message of tolerance and cohesion the project seeks to express. Lunch was also great!

S: What work are you looking forward to doing with the group?
A: Everything! The radio work should be interesting. The next piece of work will be developing the project newsletter to include personal stories. We’re also planning to include the positive news stories that don’t always get told – like the Shrine to Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Baghdad that still stands today. Also I’m looking forward to engaging a wider audience with the work the group does.

S: Fantastic. Any last thoughts?
A: I think the work Faith Matters does is really valuable. It’s so important that we engage in these conversations about respecting each others faiths. If anyone wants any more information about the project, or has any ideas, we’d love the hear from you!

Thanks Amardeep!

Multiculturalism: The Beauty in Coming Together

2011-02-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

By Saira Niazi

All my life I have lived in Tooting, one of the most culturally diverse areas in London. Walking down the high street on a busy Saturday afternoon I pass an array of vastly different shops, ranging from Afro-Caribbean food joints, specialist Indian and Pakistani grocery shops to Polish general stores. Tooting is home to a number of religious institutes, mosques and churches, a Temple, we’ve even got a Sikh Gurdwara; evidently we are a community grounded by faith.

Every morning on my way to the high street I pass the two trolley homes. Transparent plastic sheets and cardboard boxes are placed shoddily over a disused Sainsbury’s trolley to form a makeshift dwelling and bizarre refuge for the occupants within. Stuck on the wall behind these homes are newspaper cut-outs and colourful hand-made posters with a wide array of different massages on peace and harmony, there are also a few religious notes including; Jesus loves you, Eid Mubarak and Merry Christmas. Inside lives a Carribean woman and her young daughter. They are our local peacemakers who have nothing but misunderstood advice to offer humanity. I was once lucky enough to speak to the older woman, her name was Mary. She told me she had an epiphany from God 2am down at the Broadway. She had been asked to set up a stable by the edge of a dusty road, to give up her material life and devote her time to bringing everyone together in this individualist society; to spread the calm. Tooting has its fair share of what can only be described as flamboyant eccentrics each drifting through the town, day in day out. It has its own unique set of characters, the blond dread-locked man who never seems to budge from his spot on the bus bench, the rambling old alcoholic, and the quiet hobbling giant. I live in incredibly vibrant town, a town in which I feel its locals are integrated. Rarely have I waited at the bus stop and not had someone strike up a conversation with me, the eastern European guy new to town, known locals, the old people who always have something to say about the weather.

In recent years however, I have seen my community change drastically, tensions have risen and given way to racial acts of violence fuelling mutual distrust amongst all parties. Not long ago an old Muslim man was attacked by a group of local youths, his subsequent death has been the cause of much distress and has led local Imams to plea with Muslims against revenge attacks. Since 7/7 there have been evident changes in community life, from an increase in police to unrelenting whispers surrounding phoney arrests. In these troubling times, many are asking the question, is integration possible?

I’m a Pakistani Muslim, a few years ago I started wearing the headscarf and I feel that it hasn’t much changed things for me. I still meet new people and make the most of all the opportunities that come my way. In the past I've started up a writers group, attended pottery classes, sign language classes, children's illustration workshops and world crisis lectures. I've worked in diverse primary schools, outdoor wetlands and busy community pharmacies. Fellow classmates, colleagues and friends have been from all walks of life, coming from countries such as Vietnam, Bosnia, Columbia, Korea, the list is endless. They have all had something in common; they each take pride in their heritage and accept people from others. We get along very well as we’re always learning about each other’s cultures and past lives, hence integration happens. Within these small classes, and work places over time we bond and learn to get along in harmony. I think one of the problems is that people have trouble breaking out of their cultural sect into the wider world, perhaps they don’t mix as they feel that they won’t be able to relate to one another.

What would a Muslim youth have in common with a Korean lady, you’d be surprised. Sometimes you’ll find you can relate to the most unlikely of people, maybe it’s something else, maybe people fear rejection or they stick to their own as they share the same beliefs and ideals as each other. I’ve been volunteering at a refugee centre for long time now, and I find that people from the same countries stick together. This could be down to similar negative experiences and vitally their high level of understanding of one another. Segregation in different areas around London is evident, go down to Peckham on a weekday night and you’ll see mostly African and Caribbean people around, or go to Southall and most of the population will be Asian. Read the newspapers and you’ll undoubtedly come across something negative, something along the lines of ‘these bloomin’ eastern Europeans are taking over the country’ or some more damaging propaganda on Islam, something really scathing. The English Defence League is said to be getting stronger, the number of people in support of them is on the rise, perhaps due to fear evoked through newspaper articles like these.

In recent years I have sought, albeit in my own small way, to neutralise these negative representations by committing myself to projects that bring people together. I’ve showcased photography and put together art shows which seek to challenge viewers, to invite them to confront their prejudices. And although there is segregation I would like to believe it is getting better; after all we’re all human. We all share the basics, flesh, blood, a unique mind. I think the only thing that is missing is empathy. If people are to live together in harmony they’ll need to understand one another. I believe that it is more important now than ever before to reassert our similarities and celebrate our differences. The work of organisations like Faith Matters is vital in that they undertake seek to do just this. Multiculturalism has not failed however there is still a long way to go and each of us has a contribution to make. We must reach to one another, to be unafraid of not receiving in return. We need to let go of all this distrust and anger and fear and unite. After all we are all children of the earth.

Who is failing multiculturalism?

2011-02-07T06:14:00.000-08:00

We were disappointed with David Cameron’s unhelpful and provocative attack on multiculturalism this weekend.

At Faith Matters, we have been working with Muslim, non-Muslim and secular communities since 2005 to overcome narratives which serve to fuel divisions within society. On a daily basis we are heartened to see society’s drive to overcome and disprove negative and misinformed portrayals of Muslim communities as willfully segregated and isolationist. Yet Cameron’s divisive comments this weekend, far from supporting and embracing diversity, serve only those who wish to create tensions within our communities.

For Cameron to target Muslims as a source of extremism, especially on a day on which the English Defence League was gathering to demonstrate its own extremist agenda, and to then make no mention of the dangers of far-right extremism, is unforgivable. Extremism, in all its forms, must be rejected and countered. Last year we published our report, “The English Defence League: Challenging our Country and our Values of Social Inclusion, Fairness and Equality”. The report showed, clearly, that the English Defence League strives to increase hate, segregation, community division and that its values fly in the face of the “British” values Cameron seems to believe are missing from Muslim communities.

Being British, possessing “British” values, and being Muslim are not mutually exclusive. Muslim communities are not static; the vast majority of British Muslims do feel very strongly that their “Britishness” is an important part of their identity. And, of course, as with all heterogeneous groups, there will be minorities who do not feel that being British is an overriding part of their identity. However, to blame Muslim communities for not integrating, at a time when his government is slashing social investment and exacerbating the social conditions which force groups, Muslim and non-Muslim, to live isolated from wider society, is harmful.

Converts to Islam are a Bridge for Developing Better Links and Cohesion Between Muslim and non-Muslim Communities

2011-01-04T08:50:00.000-08:00

Recently so much has been said about religious conversions, from the high profile conversion of Tony Blair to Catholicism to the recent conversion of his sister in law, Lauren Boothe to Islam. Changing religions, it seems, is something that catches press headlines and I have wondered what Alistair Campbell would say today after his much publicised statement to the press about ‘not doing faith.’

Religious conversions have received mixed press and this has also been the case with the two high profile conversions listed earlier. However, talk about converts to Islam and press articles mainly go from the hostile, to the outrageously hostile. Since 7 / 7 article upon article in the national press have pushed stories about Muslim converts who turned towards violent extremism, as though Islam had turned their rational neural networks into a mass of dysfunctional neurones, all driven by a thirst to kill.

Nothing in these narratives suggested that these individuals were manipulated by those determined on using religion for political purposes. To do so, would sink the rabid statements made about converts to Islam which have pervaded civil society discussions and this is one reason why a detailed study, it was felt, was needed on a range of specific themes. These included the numbers of converts to Islam today, their support services, their thoughts, feelings and perceptions and the role of mosques in their lives.

The report entitled ‘A Minority Within a Minority: A Report on Converts to Islam in the United Kingdom,’ was produced by Faith Matters in conjunction with Kevin Brice, a convert to Islam. Our findings are pretty clear and the report estimates between 90,000 to 100,000 converts to Islam in the UK today. This figure takes into account the number of conversions within mosques in the UK today and based upon the 2001 census figures which showed that there were 59,445 converts to Islam in England and Wales in 2001, with 55% of converts coming from the White British ethnic group.
As part of the study, focus groups were also undertaken with converts to Islam and the overwhelming majority of participants suggested that converts (especially converts from the majority White British ethnic group) could act as a bridge and a link between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Such a human resource, it is clear, can be and should be supported to develop community cohesion within areas where tensions are being stoked up by fringe elements like the English Defence League, the British National Party and their exclusionary counterparts, groups like Al-Muhajiroun.

What is also interesting to see is that a survey of British newspaper content on press articles from September 2001 to August 2010 found that the overwhelming themes of stories on converts to Islam were terrorist related or based on extremism. It would therefore appear that converts to Islam are regarded as a greater threat than born Muslims by British newspapers and this is deeply troubling. To promote such themes about 90,000 – 100,000 people within our communities and local areas is not only inaccurate, it goes against people who have a better understanding of Islam than many born Muslims and who are deeply spiritual and untainted by the cultural baggage of Pakistan, Bangladesh or the Middle East. Yet, the report found that mosques are failing in their provision of support services to convert Muslims and this needs to change quickly. It is simply no good to have faith institutions if they are not relevant to the communities that they serve and worst still, if they have poor public services.
It is well known that mosques since 9 / 11 and 7 / 7 have come under added scrutiny, in some instances, unfairly, since radicalisation does not fester and take place within mosques. The umbilical cords which support radicalisation are developed beyond the mosque.
What is clear though is that mosques are not being seen as relevant in the conversion process by a large majority of converts. So there are problems and these have become more acute over the last 10 years where global geo-politics have meant that mosque committee members, who are mostly first or second generation migrants and sometimes completely detached from young people in their communities, simply open up mosques for prayers and then close them for fear of discussions being held by worshippers.
Mosques should ideally be community hubs and centres, open to all faiths and those who chose to have no faith, but who may want to visit and learn more about them. They should be a hive of community projects with a vibrancy of energy within them, yet the report finds that they are unable to support New Muslims. One hundred and twenty two survey responses of converts for the report found that 52% received no help from mosques and 43% stated that their local mosque has no provision for converts. Additionally 52% of converts said that they sought answers to religious issues from the internet, with 42% seeking answers from friends and 39% from books. Only 29% would seek answers from their local mosque and imam.
It is clear that perceptions around converts to Islam need to change. Devoid of cultural baggages that detract from the deep spirituality and strong link between God and human being which Islam promotes, converts bring with them a clear fusion of values which are pluralistic, open and dare I say liberal (with a small ‘l’). These sit completely at ease with the spirituality of Islam and the deep connection between a loving God which is based on monotheism. They are a part of this country’s future and many born Muslims can learn so much from individuals who have sought and sometimes gone against the tide in their personal spiritual journeys. I just hope that the majority of mosques wake up and play their part in supporting a growing community, instead of closing those doors time and time again after prayers.

One Europe, Many Voices

2010-12-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

My experience of faith matters as a participant in the One Europe Many Voices project was an interesting and rewarding one: unique in and of itself, but also indicative of civil societies strengths and limitations. The objectives of the project were made clear prior to participation, and these were achieved with relative success.

The aim was to expose a visiting group of Italian students to the cultural and religious diversity of London, through a combination of structured workshops and daily visits to locations of significance. The workshops were often engaging and thought provoking, providing participants with the opportunity to enter constructive dialogue on themes of contemporary significance, such as the nature and purpose of European citizenship; the importance of faith in modern life; and the relationship between church and state.

The daily visits complimented these discussions, offering first hand experience of religious, political and cultural activities in London. They became more lively and humorous as the formal barriers between the participants and organises were broken down as the week progressed. It was certainly rewarding to go home each evening reflecting on what had passed, however embarrassing it might be to admit that I switched between wishing I was a Sufi mystic; an expert in the history of the English language; and a noble speaker defending the people in the House of Commons - each wish reflecting one of the many organised activities in which the group participated.

I imagine this mix of theory, reality and idealism that developed as the project went on shows that it had a positive impact on me!

From a philosophical standpoint that centres on the wider European and global context, where the world is becoming more fragmented, the task of the One Europe Many Voices project and its apparent impotence in the face of unbridled global forces becomes apparent; this appears to be the case with civil society more generally, where its power is so diluted when compared to that of governments and big business.

That said, the genuinely human element cultivated throughout the project was powerful enough to inspire me into believing that cultural and social dreams are worth dreaming, and that small tailored projects like this lead to wider incremental changes.

By sharing a set of experiences with a group of visitors in a civilised and controlled setting, one is able to appreciate the particularities and commonalities of the group members and their culture in an intimate sense, which encourages a sort of cohesion and understanding that somehow strengthens the more specific formal aims of the project.

I have no doubt that if the enthusiasm expressed by the participants for the project is continued into the future with the same intelligence and tolerance, then it is inevitable that its success will be most evident in the mindset and actions of these very persons, as ambassadors of the very qualities it aimed to inspire.

Jovy Sarjeant, UK participant of the 'One Europe, Many Voices' exchange project organised by Faith Matters in December 2010

Join the debate: Christina Patterson will be there, and you?

2010-10-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

Do not miss the chance of participating to one of the most upcoming vibrant debates we are organising on the 21st October. Christina Patterson, columnist for The Independent, and Jonathan Arkush, Senior vice president of the board of deputies of British Jews, will be among the speakers examining the question: Ghettoised and introspective or misunderstood and vilified, are faith communities moving towards building cohesive societies in a modern and diverse Britain? The event will take place at the Commonwealth Club (25 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5AP) from 18:00 on the 21st of October and we would be delighted if you could join us.

This event has been organised by Faith Matters (www.faith-matters.org) in relation to two articles that Christina Patterson wrote in the Independent about the limits of multiculturalism in the UK.

If you are interested in attending this event please RSVP to pa@faith-matters.co.uk or call us on 02075548847. We anticipate a great deal of interest in this debate so will be allocating places on a first come first served basis. If you have any questions at all or need any further information please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Our Faiths and Our Shared Futures: Why you should read it?

2010-10-04T04:43:00.000-07:00

Do you want people to tell you what to think? Or do you want to think for yourself? Does it make you angry when you see yourself described as a “hoody” or your beliefs labelled as “extremist”?
Do people who live in different parts of the UK, people who have a different faith or different coloured skin to you, deserve to be judged by you? And beyond our own borders – do the people of other nations deserve to be listened to, or to be ignored because they are “foreign”?
Should judgement be reserved until you know what lies in the heart of a person? Is it even a man or a woman’s place to judge another person?
We believe that as Muslims, Christians, Jews or non-believers, there are more things that unite us than divide us.
Our religions all come from the same place. We are all children of Abraham one way or another. And our God is the same God, though his name may sound different when we say it.
In this booklet we ask you: do you know your own faith? Do you understand the faith of your neighbours? Do you respect the way of life of others?
We challenge you to keep reading – to find out for yourself what the Qu’ran, the Bible, the Torah and the Talmud have to say about the sanctity of life, the rights of other people, and the respect that all people deserve to receive from us.
Don’t rely on other people to tell you about these things. Find out for yourself and then think for yourself.
Start reading it : http://faith-matters.org/resources/publicationsreports/192-developing-a-local-narrative-against-extremism

Give Peace a Chance!

2010-09-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

Today is World Peace Day and as John Lennon was singing it years before we should all try to ‘give peace a chance’.

One could question the effectiveness of a single day dedicated to peace when in fact peace should be an everyday ongoing process, goal and concern for everyone. But let’s stay positive since peace is actually the hardest thing that anyone can undertake and it is so easy to make war. So let us consider this day as a good opportunity to raise awareness on the importance of interfaith dialogue in building a world of peace.

As an interfaith organisation, Faith Matters aims to bridge together faith communities at the local, national and international level to engage effectively in peace building and conflict resolution activities. This is not an easy path and the necessity to raise understanding between faith communities is required more and more in a world where extremist views are sadly relayed quicker and faster than the positive and moderate attitudes of the majority. Interfaith dialogue is an absolute pre requisite to peace but this is a long term and complex process. Too often, interfaith activities are solely reduced to one-off sessions discussing consensual issues and involving the same people that are already convinced of its legitimacy. But the challenge of effective interfaith dialogue is precisely to reach these people who are not naturally open to dialogue and this is what Faith Matters is trying to achieve through bridging people as well as celebrating differences as a positive force to social cohesion. And this work is not peaceful, let me tell you, but the impacts build the frameworks for long term mutual understanding and trust which are essential elements to peace building.

Finally, on this World Peace Day and to illustrate this, I would like to share with you some of the great achievements we have been witness here at Faith Matters:
- Jewish and Muslim communities looking back to move forward together through the stories of Righteous Muslims

- Local faith communities and young people in Derby engaging in building faith narratives that promote tolerance and understanding

- Muslim and Sikh communities discussing openly about issues affecting both communities at a local and national level

In conclusion, one way by which we could give peace a chance today is by acknowledging that differences can contribute positively to building a society based on tolerance and understanding.

Marie-Charlotte, Project Coordinator

Muslim/Sikh: Adab 'Respect' Research Programme

2010-09-07T06:44:00.000-07:00

The Adab (Respect) research report builds on the work that Faith Matters undertook in Corrymeela in 2008 where a group of Sikhs and Muslims took part in facilitated discussions sessions looking at issues affecting both communities in England. That report (the Cohesive Communities report) is listed on this site.

This report builds on and raises some of the narratives that are leading to tensions in localized areas between Sikhs and Muslims. It also describes the deep cultural, religious and historical links that have bound together Punjabi speaking Muslims and Sikhs for generations whilst today there are some young people from both communities who have a ‘collective amnesia’ towards this rich shared heritage. Without this understanding, communal tensions can took root and some of these tensions are being manipulated by the British National Party. For the British National Party their decisive intervention is based on the age old premise of ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend.’

First ‘top one-hundred’ mosques for women revealed

2010-09-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

The top one hundred mosques for meeting the needs of Muslim women have been revealed at the launch of a ‘Developing Diversity’ directory on 10 June.

The directory is compiled and launched by inter-faith, community cohesion and conflict resolution organisation Faith Matters, with government and national women’s Muslim groups’ support.

Every mosque in the ‘women friendly’ directory is listed as either five or four star depending on how many of the five key criteria, identified by Muslim women as important to them in their places of worship, they met.

The five key criteria include the provision of separate prayer space for women; services and activities geared towards women; and an Imam or female scholar who is accessible to women. The inclusion of women in decision-making processes and on mosque committees were also considered of primary importance to Muslim women.

This list was compiled through interviews with over one hundred Muslim women living across England from Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Somali and Turkish communities. Approximately five hundred mosques across England were assessed via telephone and face-to-face meetings against the five criteria.

Speaking at the launch of the directory, the Founder and Director of Faith Matters Fiyaz Mughal said:
“This project is the first of its kind to focus on the needs of women and their access to, and participation on the governance and day to day functioning of the Mosque.

“We hope the directory will provide key reference points for other institutions to improve upon so that they can build on the best practice examples that are celebrated here today.”

Director of the New Muslims project and member of the National Muslim Women’s Advisory group Batool Al‐Toma said:

“This project must be hailed as a welcome and useful exercise for the whole of the Muslim community in the UK.
“Secure and safe places for the performance of prayer for women are long overdue and will be warmly welcomed by women who have been struggling to deliver on these sought after requirements for several decades.”

Muslims tackle the 'nutters'

2010-09-01T08:23:00.001-07:00

The title of Christina Patterson's piece "Moderate Islam must find its voice" (24 June) suggests that there are two forms of Islam, moderate and extreme, when in fact there is a set of beliefs that people can interpret, as do believers of other faiths when they read their scriptures. The article implies that religion produces blind adherence, as if we are all brainwashed and lose our rational logic. This is far from the truth.

The article goes on to suggest that moderation through humour is the way ahead, which I would wholeheartedly agree with, though Christina fails to have any idea of the real pressures that Muslim communities are under. Her solution of getting mosques to play Four Lions subtly reinforces an association of Islam with violence.

As an organisation that works with Muslim communities across the UK, we are aware that grinding poverty, poorly paid employment, a sense of vilification and a lack of a mainstream political voice are just some of the issues that hang heavy on Muslim communities. Yet, within that, the dignity and the resilience of these communities to tackle the "nutters" (of which all faiths have their share), continues to grow, and we experience this almost daily.

The secular ultra-liberal approach taken in the article does not take into account the rational and progressive debates and drives within Muslim communities.

There are comedy acts that place humour directly within the heart of Muslim communities. It is pretty risqué stuff, but many Muslims accept that humour plays an important part in the development of strong British Muslim communities. There has been a rich tradition of this within sub-continent communities, including British Muslims of Pakistani origin who make up the vast majority of Muslims in the UK.

Fiyaz Mughal, Founder and Director, Faith Matters, London, WC1

Interfaith support for opposition to food labelling

2010-09-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

Muslim leaders have joined the concern expressed over new EU regulations which mean kosher and halal meat will be labelled “meat from slaughter without stunning”.

The European Parliament voted in favour of the amendment to the provision of food information to consumers last month, just two weeks after New Zealand banned the kosher slaughter of animals.

The decision, which only applies to food killed by religious slaughter, was widely condemned by the Jewish community with Henry Grunwald, chairman of Shechita UK, calling it “discriminatory”,

Now, in a joint statement, the rabbis and imams advisory group of the Chief Rabbi’s Office , and the inter-faith organisation, Faith Matters, said: “We support the concept of fair and universal labeling but believe that such an amendment is naked discrimination.

“It singles out religious communities who have been extremely careful to undertake humane food preparation for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.”

Source: Jewish Chronicle By Robyn Rosen, July 15, 2010

We mustn't use the niqab and hijab as a political football

2010-02-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

Last year, Laurie Penny wrote on LabourList's Huffington Post pages about an experiment which saw her swap her outfit for that of a Muslim friend. What struck Laurie was that they both felt immensely liberated: "Our bodies were finally our own, hers to show off as she pleased, mine to cover if I wanted". Laurie's article highlighted that by seeking to restrict the free choice of women to dress as they please, "France is not protecting women but mounting a paranoid defence of its own right to determine feminine behaviour."

Fast forward several months and the issue has surfaced once again. For several months, a Parliamentary Commission in France has been investigating whether the burka or the niqab should be banned. They have reported today, recommedning a partial ban on the wearing of the burka in public buildings an on public transport.

And so the debate is making its way to Britain. What exactly did the Euro MP Nigel Farage think he would achieve when on the Politics Show last Sunday he suggested that we should ban the burka and naqib in the UK, on the basis that they were offensive?

His ill-informed proposal was undoubtedly inspired by the French minister Jean-Francois Cope, who himself is planning legislation along these lines in France. Farage, like Cope, has launched a full frontal assault on the personal freedoms of the individual and his comments were abhorrent on many levels to us in the wider European Union.

What has always deeply troubled me when issues like this gain momentum is the blatant disregard with which men like Nigel Farage, President Sarkozy and Jean-Francois Cope feel they may influence what a woman should and should not wear. Farage couldn’t be more removed from the rich and diverse culture that Muslims bring to Britain. It is also not the norm for western politicians and heads of state to become involved in disputes about what women should wear. It makes us feel very uncomfortable.

Yet today, commentators feel at ease pigeon-holing - and thereby isolating - Muslims on issues of dress, therefore suggesting that if you are Islamic it is not possible to be an integral part of European culture.

Islam has of course shaped Europe in many positive ways. Muslims in Europe also have a history and a heritage; particularly in Southern Europe. The ignorance of the French Government’s view has allowed politicians like Jean-Francois Cope the space to develop legislation that I find offensive.

In the land where the notions of liberte, egalite et fraternite are the cornerstones of French society, the decision to impose legislation on cultural or religious identity leaves a bad taste - even for a secular nation.

One must agree that husbands should be stopped forcing their wives to do many other things which diminish their freedom - that is not an issue - but there is an assumption that Muslim women don’t wish to wear the burka or niqab. However, it remains an individual’s choice and it is that which should be protected in law.

Today’s modern Muslim women are at the heart of social activities within Muslim communities. They are like any other women: leading demonstrations, NGOs, self help groups, prayer classes. They are increasingly playing a role to support the income within the home by working outside of it.

Across Europe, Muslim women are empowered, self aware and confident, some through their faith and others through a sense of their personal identities and personalities. They neither welcome nor need legislation which is both patronising and offensive and above all shows a huge lack of cultural understanding for the faith.

Monsieur Cope looks at women through a stereotypical, male anthropological lens and still believes the dynamism and drive that Muslim women have to be actually something alien to them.

The least offensive act that French politicians can do is to stop using the niqab and the hijab as a political football and move beyond their simplistic and stereotypical anthropological lens.

http://www.labourlist.org/farage-niqab-hijab-political-football