Editorial

By Sajid Iqbal

You're sat on the bus with your mates. You're having a wicked meal at a top restaurant with your work colleagues. You're walking down a busy road with your partner. You're attending a football match with your brothers. You're on the plane with your parents. Then a huge BANG! A massive explosion. Bodies are flying everywhere. Hundreds dead and injured. Soon it's reported it was a suicide bomb. Nobody knows why. Everyone questions what have the victims done to deserve this? Nothing makes sense. How can anyone do this? Hours later a Muslim organisation takes responsibility for the suicide attack.

By Sajid Iqbal

I was co-presenting a late night discussion show on my local Radio in the month of Ramadan this year, which I have been doing for quite a few years now. The topic was marriage, which is one of the most popular shows every year… I dunno why! However, every year, a small section of the listeners remind me of one massive ignorance and fault our Muslims communities have across the UK.

By Sajid Iqbal

I’m a father, a mother, a husband, a wife, a brother, a sister, a son and a daughter. I’m a child, a teenager and an adult. I’m a neighbour, team mate, work colleague and soul mate. I’m a student, a graduate and a teacher. I’m soap mad, a football fan, a food fanatic and a shopaholic. I’m normal, special, ambitious, creative and fun.

So what am I? I’m a Muslim.

By Sajid Iqbal

Who are you? What are you? Are you a leader or a follower?

Do you follow society or does society follow you? Are you scared to be different or proud to be you? Do you stick to your guns?

Or do you say what people wanna hear? So the question is... ARE YOU A SHEEP?

"...I ain't no sheep, orite!..."

is what y'all sayin' yeah?

So tell me, are you proud to be a Muslim or embarrassed to be labelled one? Do you stick to your Islamic beliefs at home as well as when you're at college/uni/work?

I don’t know about you but I’m sick to death of every Tony, Trevor and David bangin’ on about Muslim integration.

From the issue of the veil to the bombings of 7/7, from the cartoon hoo haa to the Pope’s outburst and from Muslim schools to ‘Muslim ghettos’... yep you’ve guessed it- it’s all because Muslims don’t integrate, innit!

Yeah didn’t you know... ’these Muslims need to integrate more... if they wanna live in our country then they need to live like we do!’.