Minister in Oldham to hear community reaction to bombs

David Ward, Wednesday 3 August 2005, The Guardian

The anti-terrorism minister, Hazel Blears, yesterday went to Oldham in Greater Manchester on the first stage of her journey to eight centres across the country in search of grassroots Muslim opinion. She listened for two and a half hours as faith leaders, councillors, young men and women came and went to tell her what they thought about the bomb attacks in London and their impact on a town far from the capital.

Additional Reporting by Ahmed Maher, IOL Staff

CAIRO/LONDON, July 24, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - British Muslims have expressed their dismay at the mistaken killing of an innocent man by "overzealous" plainclothes police in their massive manhunt for four suspected bombers.

"While we accept that the police are under tremendous pressure to apprehend the criminals who are attempting to cause carnage on the streets of London, it is absolutely vital that utmost care is taken to ensure that innocent people are not killed due to overzealousness," Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said in a press release a copy of which was e-mailed to IslamOnline.net.

Jamal: [Jamal spots Ali in the street and walks over to him] Salaam bro, how are you?

Ali: [Nah man it's him again!] Yeah I’m buzzin’ Jam. How is you?

Jamal: Alhamdulillah, I’m good. It’s been a month or so since we had a chat. What you been up to Ali?

Ali: I’ve been flexin’, chillin and dat.

Jamal: Did you give any thought to what we spoke about last time Ali?

Ali: Mmm... Yeah, yeah I have been thinking about it and I know your right but...

Jamal: Mashallah. So you ain’t gonna sell drugs anymore?

Ali: Woah woah easy bro... no need to chat like dat, some uncle might hears you and grass me up to me old man innit. You gets me?

The biggest Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) today is drugs. The most popular and easily available drug for youngsters today is cannabis, you might know it as "weed", “grass", "pot", "reefer", "joint", "hashish", "Mary Jane", “puff”, “skunk” and “wacky backy”.

The Revival takes you on a journey in the life cycle of a joint. We have spoken to people who are involved and affected by drugs.

The following are real life accounts of real people and they reflect the views of many people in similar situations.

By Sajid Iqbal

After the terrible terrorist attacks in London, everyone is pointing the finger at Islam and Muslims. So does Islam promote violence? Does Islam support terrorism? Is Islam a religion of extremists and fanatics?

The following traditions of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, will clarify that Islam is a faith that promotes peace and harmony and one that is against violence:

‘A perfect Muslim is one from whose tongue and hands mankind is safe.’

By Sajid Iqbal

Big Brother, a programme where 13 people chosen from thousands of applicants, are asked to live in a house where there are hidden cameras placed throughout the house covering their every move... and I mean every move if you know what I mean.

Every week one guy or girl is evicted by the television viewers, who are given tasks to carry out and then are judged on their success as well as their behaviour, personality and deeds. The successful person at the end of the show is rewarded £100,000.

By Alveena Salim

Have you ever actually sat down and thought about the people you hang around with (your bredrins!)?

Who are they? Are they alcoholics, drug dealers/addicts, wannabe G’s, playa’s? Do they regularly go clubbing? Are they involved in dodgy scams? Do they have lots of girls/boys on the line? Do they treat their parents like crap? Are they regularly involved in fights? Are they dodgy geezers?

You might be thinking “Who cares what they’re on or what they get up to- that don’t matter! We have a laugh when we get together”.

When did it all begin?

There has been a Muslim presence in Britain for at least 300 years. Yes 300 years! However, migration of Muslims to Britain on a large scale began in the 1950’s and ended in the 1970’s.

It has taken over 30 years for the Muslim community to mature and settle in a Western environment. It was done slowly but surely.

Number of Muslims in Britain

In 1951 the Muslim population in Britain was about 23,000. Ten years later, it was about 82,000 and by 1971 it was 369,000. 1

At present, there are an estimated 1.8 million Muslims in the UK, making Muslims the largest religious minority in Britain. 2

Number of Muslims growing!

By Shaid Ayoub & Sajid Iqbal

In this regular section The Revival will argue why you should not just know your MP, be aware of what he or she is actually doing.... but give 'em hell!

It’s YOUR MPs job to represent YOUR views. No MP today can ignore the Muslim voters. So make sure YOUR MP knows what YOUR views are!

Now if you keep in contact with your MP and inform them of the issues that concern you, then it could make all the difference in influencing what issues your MP decides to focus on. This is especially true when MPs are entering parliament for the first time.