Community Cohesion

Murtaza Shibli Introducing 7-7 Muslim Perspectives Event ‘Muslims were also victims of what followed 7/7. Again and again in the book there are examples of utterly decent, patriotic, and law-abiding citizens who were abused, spat at and seen as the perpetrators themselves.’ Peter Oborne said last night in a book launch in the House of Lords of the book ‘7/7 Muslim Perspectives’, compiled by Murtaza Shibli.

Peter Oborne, the conservative commentator, writer and broadcaster continued, ‘The book serves a very important purpose. There has been a failure in public discourse since 7/7. Very understandably in many ways, the discourse concentrated on the innocent victims first of all. That is correct. We just prayed for them just now. The second concentrated on the terrorists themselves. One of the things that does take a lot of courage to say and seems indulgent but is very true. The third focus was the Muslim community who were also victims of what followed. All Muslims were branded as terrorists in some newspapers. We in the press bear and continue to bear a heavy responsibility for this situation. The British press’s culture of victimisation needs to be confronted.’

7-7 Muslim Perspectives FIVE YEARS ON – BRITISH MUSLIMS SPEAK OUT ON IMPACT OF JULY 7 BOMBINGS

British Muslims give condolences, and provide findings for future resilience

Our first thoughts and prayers are for those remembering loved ones and friends lost or injured in the 7 July 2005 London bombings. This was the worst act of domestic terrorism Britain has ever experienced. The shock of finding that the perpetrators were young apparently well integrated British Muslims has caused many to question the role of Muslims in the UK.

The July 7 bombings affected British Muslims in an unprecedented way as questions about their loyalty, Britishness and the nature of their belonging in our society created endless discussion, academic research, government interventions and media speculation.

Joint Faiths Celebration audience April 15th 2010 The Joint Faith’s Celebration was a accumulation of sharing, talk, reading, food, music and drama highlighting the significance of ‘Mawlid An-Nabi (Birth of Prophet Mohammed), Pesach (Passover), Easter And Vaisakhi’. Around the sharing of these precious faiths’ holy events there were many significant meetings among the 80 plus people gathered, including interfaith figures such as Rev. Dr Marcus Braybrooke, President of the World Congress of Faiths, Community Cohesion figures such as Dr Husna Ahmad, CEO, Faith Regen Foundation, Marilyn Brummer of the League of Jewish Women and humanitarian influential figures such as Dr Saif Ahmad, (MADE in Europe), Dr Hojjat Ramzy, Proprietor of the Iqra Girls’ School in Oxford and a presentation by Daniel Hurter about Children’s Relief Bethlehem. Photo Link

Manal Timraz and Barbara Payman Forgiveness and Reconciliation The One Day Conference titled ‘Reconciliation and Forgiveness in Interpersonal Relationships and in the Community’, was chaired in the morning by Rev. Dr. Marcus Braybrooke and in the afternoon session by Imam Dr. Abduljalil Sajid, both distinguished figures in the interfaith world. ‘A very unique day for this UPF chapter,’ observed Rev. Braybrooke. ‘The most inspiring thing was the true stories of eminent people. They spoke with conviction, belief and understanding about peace. We looked at the importance of forgiveness in personal healing and how each of us has a role to play. You can curse the dark or light a candle, it all depends on your attitude.’