East London Mosque 100 years old neighbouring with a synagogue

East London mosque celebrates it’s 100th anniversary on the weekend of Eid ul fitr 2010. It is also the weekend of the Jewish New Year. The East London Field St synagogue opened its doors to the Muslim community.

Sorry about the sound quality I was in the middle of a street party. Will add subtitles.

Eid Message – Interfaith unity to fight global poverty

This is my video message I shot for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation for the day of Eid ul Fitr. Now more then ever as the word is divided there is a greater call for faith communities to unite to tackle the world biggest problems.

“7/7 changed my life” – Article from Waltham Forest Guardian

This is an article from the Waltham Forest Guardian – I was interviewed on my reflections 5 years after the July 7 bombings.

the Article was written by Ryan McCarthy and can be found here

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THE horror of the 7/7 London bombings prompted a young muslim to dedicate his life to promoting a positive image of Islam in Waltham Forest and beyond.

Nadeem Javaid was a 20-year-old student who woke up expecting to collect exam results on the tragic day five years ago this week.

But the devout Muslim received a text telling him the Tube network was down as he was about to leave his Walthamstow home.

Mr Javaid and his family, like millions of others, spent the day glued to the TV screens as it emerged that the coordinated attacks had killed 52 people and injured almost 800.

“On that day Islam was further hijacked by a minority who did not represent the true values of Islam,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »

Young leaders against malaria

This Blog was taking off the Washington Post and can be found here

At the Interfaith Youth Core conference last October, Rabbi David Saperstein joked that we have over 2,000 different religions in America, and 1,500 of them are in California. We experienced that firsthand in the Bay Area this year, working as Faiths Act Fellows with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and Interfaith Youth Core. 30 Fellows across 12 cities spread over 3 continents were given eight months to create sustainable and active hubs of multifaith action towards the Millennium Development Goals and the eradication of deaths from malaria. Read the rest of this entry »

Vote Today, Muslim today and tomorrow and the day after that.

Picture from the SUNBLOG

We see it all the time.  The same old leaflets being handed out.  One particular leaflet caught my eye recently.  It said “Vote Today.  Kafir Tomorrow.”  It makes me wonder why some people believe voting is forbidden in our beautiful religion.  In fact this is so far from the truth.  The reality is gettinginvolved in the political system is high recommended for every Muslim.

One of the greatest things we have in British society is the right to practice Islam freely.  This religious freedom is an example of the contribution democracy has given to the modern world.  Many ‘Ulama have recommended Muslims to go to the ballet box as a way to be politically engaged to benefit not only Muslims in Britain but Britain in general. Read the rest of this entry »

The British Muslim: Conundrum, Compatibility or Contradiction

Written by members of the Young Muslim Advisory Group of which I am a member www.ymag.opm.co.uk

On 1st March, 2010, we once again witnessed the resurrection of the age old stereotypes that seem to have smuggled their way back into our minds, propagated by none other than Andrew Gilligan.

During the ‘Dispatches’ programme, which aired on Channel 4 on Monday evening, a string of false and baseless accusations about the Islamic Forum Europe (IFE), were displayed in front of us on national television. The sinister undertone of the programme insinuated that the Muslims associated with the IFE, and the East London Mosque, are a threat to the social, political and economic stability of our country.

Read the rest of this entry »

Meeting the Archbishop

Last week the Christian-Muslim Forum in partnership with MADE in Europe held what was a ground breaking and historical day. The day saw a new movement of young people of faith coming together as part of a global movement. Thirty young Christians and Muslims spent the day at London’s historical and very charming Lambeth Palace working together to develop a statement on how we as people of faith see ourselves as stewards of the earth and demand that more is  done to tackle climate change when the world leaders meet this December in Copenhagen.  The quality and the content of the document produced was amazing and can be read here

The Archbishop Rowan Williams with a Few Faiths Act Fellows

but what went beyond the content is what that statement represents.  I commented at the event that it is “a statement within a statement” – how powerful is the message that two different faiths can come together and using the passion of young people, the future leaders of tomorrow, demonstrate their shared values as stewards of God’s earth.   Today we come together on Climate change, Tomorrow it is the eradication of malaria and then achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Read the rest of this entry »

What are the biggest issues that you feel young Muslims in Britain are facing today? (300 words) – My Response

Below is my response to the above question.

Many young British Muslims struggle with issues of identity.  Second generation Muslims like myself have been born and raised in this country, attending British schools and surrounded by all aspects of British culture.  But there’s a dislocation between “outside” life and life at home and in the community. It often felt like I was living two different lives which I had to keep distinct from each other in order to get on with those around me.  I couldn’t see how faith fits in with modern life and has a place in today’s society.  I questioned how can I be both a Muslim and a British young person. There is often too much debate on what defines us – are we British first or are we Muslim first? As I have grown more confident in my identity and my faith, I have come to think that why should we separate the two? Some the greatest British values that we have in our society are the same as Islamic ones.

Read the rest of this entry »

Have your say at Copenhagen …

CMYF

The Christian Muslim Forum and MADE in Europe are holding the Christian-Muslim Youth Forum on Climate Change (CMYF) on Thursday 15 October 2009 at Lambeth Palace in London hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, our Founding Patron. The CMYF is your chance to tell those in power what they should be doing about climate change.

You can start right now on this website – so get blogging! The key issues being discussed at the Copenhagen summit are:

• Mitigation
• Adaptation
• Technology Transfer
• Funding

Read the rest of this entry »

8 years on and I want it back..

It has now been eight years since the World Trade Centre attacks completely reshaped the world that we are living in today. I remember it as if it was yesterday, and although I was thousands of miles away, I was very much at home with the people of New York watching the news screens with disbelief. Then a few years later, it was a lot closer to home when London was attacked on the very Tube lines I travel on every day. Sept 11^th was a turning point for many, and for me. It wasn’t only the flights that were hijacked; my faith, my religion and everything I believed in was also hijacked. How is it that these monsters have taken a religion with such beautiful values and transformed it into this hub of evil?

I marked the eighth anniversary of the attacks by remembering the lives that have been lost and reaffirming why I became a Faiths Act Fellow. I work with people of other faiths because I have something to learn from them; we have mutual understanding and we take our shared values towards positive social justice. I do this because I’m taking Islam back from terrorism and back from extremism. This is my faith and it is a beautiful faith, and it has no room for these misguided ideologies.