Bringing You to the Party

Last week, I had the pleasure of bringing new members to the Liberal Democrats, all three of whom who would add value to their local Liberal Democrat associations and to the Party as a whole. Mike Penrose (an international development consultant), Rabbi Deborah Kahn Harris and Dilek Aygun (a Haringey Turkish community activist - pictured), were headhunted by me with a view to ensure that high value members and potential candidates like these three, found a home in the Liberal Democrats. This was also allied to the fact that all three of them exuded liberal values and two of whom were fed up with the two other political parties and who were looking for a Party to 'speak for them.'

It is essential that we headhunt and bring activists and campaigners to the Liberal Democrats, many of whom are looking for an alternative to the Punch and Judy show of the two other political parties. More than ever, our ideas, our vision and our values as Liberal Democrats are needed within a fast changing world and where the politics of rationality, common sense and inclusion can and will make a difference.

The Horn of Africa and Radicalisation

Running up to the next election, Labour are going to lay a number of charges against us, some of which will attempt to paint our Party as being ‘soft’ on issues of safety and security. They have consistently tried to push this and at the forefront of their strategy will be the charge that our Party has no coherent strategy to tackle radicalisation and extremism.

Having had the opportunity to work on PREVENT programmes with various Government departments, I know the vast amounts of work that are being undertaken on this agenda and with new and innovative thinking playing a role in ensuring safety and security. Yet for me, there is always a fear that communities may be labelled and marginalised, although the Government’s language has become much more sensitive and more importantly, it is not that certain faith communities will be labelled, it is about the potential impacts on the civil liberties of Muslim and other Black and Minority Ethnic communities.

Things have moved on significantly since the initial Pathfinder PREVENT programmes were implemented in certain local authorities in 07/08. Local authorities are starting to clearly disseminate between PREVENT work and community cohesion, even though there are common strands. The language of PREVENT is more sensitive, yet preventing violent extremism is clearly stated as being part of the programme of work, even though projects may be labelled in softer ways. Also, many more Muslim civil society groups are applying for funding,, compared to the few that applied in the initial Pathfinder programmes. So, things are moving on and the PREVENT work is bedding down in communities.

One of the concerns that I have is that we do not get caught out by Labour’s charges and a detailed analysis of what is taking place on the ground needs to be disseminated to key stakeholders so that we can understand the complexity of the issues around violent extremism. The Government and security agencies have for example, developed threat assessment frameworks that are related to certain towns and cities in the UK, suffice as to say that even if suspected individuals who can and will carry our violent actions leave the city, it may still be regarded as being an area at risk. More importantly, as I mentioned at a conference recently, the horn of Africa and in particular, the continuing civil war in Somalia, may lead to real problems here in the UK.

A few weeks whilst doing a door to door surgery in my ward in Haringey, I came across a young Somali who was angry at the actions of Ethiopia within Somalia. He felt that the actions of Ethiopia within Somalia were disastrous (something that I agree with); he felt very angry at what was taking place and the inaction of our Government (he is entitled to feel that way and more importantly, to voice them), but then he moved onto something else. He stated that violent action was the only way to free Somalia and this is where I intervened and talked about other ways of voicing concerns and changing opinion. After listening to me for 10 seconds, he closed the door. I do not believe that young man would conduct any violent actions, yet, he clearly had thought about various options in his own mind and the only way forward for the ‘liberation’ of Somalia, was through violence.

Global conflicts are clearly impacting on us in the UK and there are political and social complexities that lead to people believing that violent action for social change is the only way forward. Yet, more than ever, we need to be aware of what is taking place and to develop our own pro-active thinking in this area. We need to be seen as the thoughtful David, taking on ‘Goliath’ political parties, rather than Achilles with a serious flaw that can be prone to attack.

Gay and Lesbian Muslims? Yes and Proud of Being Both

Today, I had the pleasure of speaking at the IMAAN (www.imaan.org.uk) annual conference in Euston. Imaan is a group that focuses on informing and campaigning on issues affecting gay and lesbian practising Muslims and I was invited on the basis of my interfaith work and as an elected politician who happens to be Muslim.

I am proud to have spoken since for me, there is no contradiction in being gay or lesbian and wanting to practise Islam. Many Muslims make reference to the Sura (chapter) on Lout (Lot) in the Quran, yet there are numerous examples and references to respecting individualism and in protecting the integrity and honour of people. Islam also makes clear that people are different and that difference is a gift from Allah (God) or the Almighty. I therefore see no conflict and whilst this may be unsettling to many, the very fact that someone classifies and wants to be identified as a Muslim means that they should be respected as so.

Today, I saw many young Muslims who practised their faith and who also felt at ease with their sexuality. In fact, I heard about how Islam teaches them to be truthful and for many, they will not marry simply to live a double life so that they are not seen as 'bringing shame on their families.' They would rather not ruin the life of a woman and live a lie as their faith gave them a strong moral compass. This resounded with me greatly.

As a heterosexual man who happens to be Muslim, it is very clear that a space is needed for these young men and women. Not only do they suffer from homophobia, they also suffer from Islamophobia outside and within gay and lesbian communities. This double whammy is not lost on them and in fact, it makes that space for their voices even more important. I for one will support their work and within Haringey, I am sure that there is a large gay and lesbian Muslim community, bearing in mind that Muslims make up over 40,000 residents in the Borough.

You see, the strength of Islam is its diversity. And within that diversity, there are also those voices which I listened to today. I hope that they continue to stand up for who they are and help to change midsets and prejudices that are ranged against them on a daily basis.

Appointment as Advisor to the Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Interfaith and Tackling Radicalism and Extremism

Can I firstly congratulate and thank the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg MP, on his bold vision to appoint Cllr Meral Ece and I as advisors. My new role as of this week is to advise the Leader on issues related to the fields of interfaith and preventing extremism and radicalism.

Over the last 6 years, I have worked around building good community relations through interfaith projects which have attempted to promote commonalities between faiths, whilst then looking at and understanding key differences. These have been done through the prism of building resilient communities and more recently, my work and insight into the Preventing Violent Extremism agenda strengthens my belief that the scourge of radicalism, extremism and terrorism needs to be defeated wherever and whichever community it is found within. This in my opinion, does not mean labelling faith groups like Muslim communities, though it means working with them to promote mutual tolerance and understanding whilst weeding out the purveyors of hate. These purveyors of hate do nothing for the faith that they purport to be from and make issues more difficult for others within their communities. We must also not forget that Islam and Muslims have been in Europe for over a millennium and they are part of Europe's history.

This is not to say that radicalism and extremism are only relevant to a few communities. Through my work I have found the scourge in many faith groups, yet we must not forget that faith plays a strong role in social action in our country and has shaped social justice within our local areas.

My appointment also means that we, the Liberal Democrats, understand the importance of interfaith work and that it should be mainstreamed within political discourses and debates. This is a very important first step and there are no such advisors within Labour and the Conservatives around this area.

Nick said that he was going to be bold and put forward a vision of a diverse Britain. I realise that his vision is based on social justice, fairness, tolerance and openness. I believe in that and these ideals are fundamental to ensuring that we all have equal access to resources and opportunities within our lives.

Notes to Editors

A short biography of Fiyaz Mughal is below:

FIYAZ MUGHAL

Fiyaz Mughal was part of the Working Groups that made up the Extremism Task Force which was convened by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, after the 7/7 bombings.

He is an accredited national Peer Mentor with IDeA on preventing violent extremism.

An Oxford City Councillor in 2002-2004, Fiyaz is now a Councillor in the London Borough of Haringey and was also the Chair of the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats from 2002-2006. He was also appointed as one of a number of Deputy Presidents for the Liberal Democrats in 2006 and was one of the party's Prospective London Mayoral candidates in 2007.

Fiyaz founded Faith Matters (http://www.faith-matters.org.uk/) in 2004 and works on interfaith, conflict resolution and Preventing Violent Extremism programmes within faith communities in the UK and internationally.

Pakistan Is imploding!

So what is happening to the country of my father's birth? (Well actually, he was born in pre-partition India and his father and him saw the effects of the colonial partition of India. The mass killings and the trails of human misery who were uprooted and who moved from one country to another were the results of the lines drawn by India's colonial masters.)

When Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the father and founder of Pakistan, put forward his vision of a modern Pakistan, he never imagined that nearly 60 years on, the country is on the verge of imploding politically and socially. Having just seen off the dictatorial ex-General Musharraf, Nawaz Shariff's Pakistan Muslim League and Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan People's Party, both have track records that are far from ideal. Mr Shariff was exiled in Saudi Arabia on corruption charges. On the other hand, Mr Zardari, the husband of murdered previous Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was previously known as Mr 10% on account of his cut in financial and political deals. Some in Pakistan now refer to him as Mr 20%! Who says crime does not pay?

Yet, this political instability is supporting the military and law and order vacuum in some parts of the country, particularly in northern tribal regions like Waziristan. The Taliban is resurgent and allied to this, bombs have been killing civilians on the scale of attacks in Iraq.

All of this is leading Pakistan into an abyss from which I believe that it will not recover from for decades to come. With covert CIA operations taking place on the ground within Pakistan and with the Taliban openly resurgent in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Pakistan is fast looking like a failed state. The real problem though is that stability in Pakistan is essential since an unstable country means that the region could be pulled into a catastrophic war. This is made worse due to the fact that Pakistan holds between 50-70 nuclear missiles, whilst India's nuclear arsenal is in the region of 200-300 missiles. Each country can destroy the other many times over.

For a British Muslim who is proud of my country and who believes that hard work pays within the United Kingdom, I feel a sense of sadness that if my father had been alive, he would have been depressed at the state of his country of birth. Pakistan is far from the vision that Jinnah wanted. The cancer within needs to be cut out and this includes corruption, the lack of leadership, extremism and more importantly, the manipulation of political structures for the sake of personal gain. Both of the current political leaders can easily be accused of this. I just hope they do the right thing and move on! Pakistan needs a new start; in fact it deserves that.

Getting Rid of the Politics of Fear

The politics of fear has been something that has been constantly present within the Middle East and rarely does the politics of bridge building get a chance whether it is through the press that hungrily looks for the ‘negative angle’ or whether it is through politicians who want to keep the status quo in place.

It is this politics of fear that has played a role within the Middle East for centuries and whilst there is a legitimate basis for many of the historical crises, the ingrained response of fear now shapes the language, discourse, outlook and character of governments in the area. Some of the Arab Governments blame the militarism of Israel whilst Israel blames Arab states for the military positions that it takes. The politics of fear within this complex relationship merely feeds off each party, like a bad marriage where each partner cannot really do without each other, yet where there is some twisted comfort.

Like any bad marriage, (for it is a marriage of neighbours based on history, geographical location and resources), there are a few routes to take. These routes may involve complete separation. It may involve mediation towards separation or it could include the continuation of a relationship based on some guidelines and frameworks; a kind of learning process where each partner learns to take a step back and think of the implications before acting, thereby creating a cessation in the cycle of abuse.

For those on all sides who have lost loved ones, rationalism and bridge building are far from the mindsets of relatives. Anger, pain and depression beset many and there are many in Gaza and the West Bank who undergo these emotions. Then there are those within Sderot, Jerusalem and other towns who grieve, who feel the same elements of grief and pain. These people who grieve cannot be asked to look at the future. They alone know their grief and they alone know the loneliness of placing their loved ones into the earth. The graveyards of Gaza are full with the early bounty of the dead and those within the West Bank, Sderot, Jerusalem and other towns and cities slowly take up the dead, cut short in their lives. Yet there are those groups like Combatants for Peace who through grief have learnt that there is another way than the gun and an alternative to the politics of fear.

The history and the dialogues of each community in the Middle East, of Arabs and Jews, or Muslims, Christians and Jews will always be seen through lenses that look upon the same events at different angles. Mix that differentiation with the politics of fear and the future looks bleak. There is therefore only one way forward. A route emancipated from fear is the only way to respect the futures of all communities in the region. The politics of fear is not the domain of one community and politicians and spin doctors have seen the vast potential of it within the region. The public relations battles continue, waged with ferocity and where ultimately the truth suffers.

My wish is simple. That we do not get caught up in accepting fear since it is something that feels familiar in discussions around the Middle East. The best decisions are free of fear, free of pressure and internalised reactions. In the end, you and I have a duty to each other, a bond of common protection and a respect for basic human rights. That being the case, we owe it to ourselves to liberate our thoughts so that a genuine peace based on mutual respect and acceptance can take place. Without that, we are part of the cycle of hopelessness and despair which hang around discussions on peace within the Middle East and between Israel and Palestine.

Living Islam Out Loud - American Muslim Women and Linking with British Muslim Women

I have just spent 5 days on the road on a project that is being run by Faith Matters, an interfaith and conflict resolution organisation that I founded in 2005. Faith Matters also runs Faith and Finance social regeneration projects.

The project entitled 'Living Islam Out Loud,' brought 4 American Muslim women to the UK to have dialogues and discussions with British Muslim women and to develop further trans-Atlantic links.

Well, what can I say? I have had the privilege of spending these days meeting empowered, focussed and courageous Muslim women who are working in social regeneration schemes, within promoting dialogue and cohesion and using innovative projects to reach out to other communities.

I have learnt alot from Saleema Abdul Ghafur, the editor of the book - Living Islam Out Loud, which was published in 2005. I was also enthralled, motivated and enthused by Samina Ali, Aroosha Zoq Rana and Shami e Ali Al Jamil. All four are great ambassadors for American Muslims and I learnt that:

- Civil society work within the American Muslim community is far advanced than work in the UK, even though UK Muslim communities are starting to get activated for civil society work,

- Because of the nature of migration to the US, identity is not seen through negative lenses and the migration does not cause fear and revulsion. Immigration to the UK is a hot topic and one that generates a vast divergence of views.

- There are many divergent views on the development of Muslim communities within women's groups in the UK. Muslims are clearly not one homogenous group and the diversity of voices and races within UK Muslim communities will lead to pluralism in a number of areas. It is a natural evolutionary process and I have seen some of the future leaders of Muslim communities across the UK. I have had the pleasure to meet some of these future leaders in the last 5 days.

- There seems to be a buoyancy and a greater sense of hope that came across from Saleemah et al. Within some of the group discussions it was clear that there is a feeling of despondency within some Muslim groups. It is up to us all to ensure that people feel included within political, social and civil processes. Without that, we are failing in our duties to fellow citizens.

- That US Muslims are far more diverse than those within the UK. There are Muslims from 80 different countries in the US than the UK and 1/3rd are from Black communities, 1/3rd from the Maghrebi and Arab communities and the rest are from South Asian countries. Within the UK, the vast majority of Muslims come from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, with some migration having taken place from East and Central African countries.

Finally, Faith Matters and I would personally like to thank the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP. A Government minister who has a strong grasp on her portfolio, I welcome her vision and her desire to develop communities where we all can play a positive role within.

Post Office Closures will Have a Devastating Effect on Local Communities

The recent announcements that seven local post offices will be closing in the restructuring of Post Offices throughout the Capital will have a devastating impact on local communities. Those that affect Haringey include Highgate High Street, 100 Alexandra Park Road (N10), Ferme Park Road (N4), Salisbury Road (N22), 89 Weston Park (N8), Page Green (N15) and 434 West Green Road (N15).

Post offices have long been at the centre of communities and their closure will be acutely felt by our vulnerable residents. Many of these vulnerable clients rely on welfare rights, including older people and the disabled. They see their local Post Office as a lifeline and a place where they can collect their entitlements.

They also use Post Offices to catch up with friends, so that they provide a platform where some form of human contact can still take place in an increasingly mechanized and information technology-heavy society.

Additionally, those who are financially and socially excluded within local communities have always been able to interface through Post Offices with Central Government departments like the Department for Work and Pensions.

But whilst the Government says it wants social inclusion, the actions it has taken in recent years have slowly deprived the Post Office of business. And by doing that, it has pushed the very individuals that it purports to assist to the margins of society.

Yet Labour councillors talk about saving Post Offices when the very Government they represent has been eroding the roots of the Post Office Network. I do therefore sincerely hope that they can lobby against these cuts and I welcome the letter from Cllr Meehan to the Consultation Team of Post Office Ltd stating that, “this Council voted unanimously at a meeting of Full Council on Monday 18th February to oppose the Post Office Ltd’s plans to close six branches in the Borough.” I hope that he continues to voice our opposition when he meets the relevant Government Ministers.

The current situation with Royal Mail has come about because it has been starved of investment by successive Governments : it needs at least £2 billion to invest in automation to remain competitive. Under the last Conservative Government, 3,500 local post offices were closed and under Labour another 4,000 have closed, hitting rural –and now urban - communities across the country.

Post Office Ltd are now implementing the new set of cuts through a ‘Network Change Programme’ that will see up to 2,500 branches close out of a network of 14,300. This means that nearly 20% of all branches in London will close.

As the ward councillor for Noel Park in Wood Green, I can tell you that the closure of the Salisbury Road post office will mean that residents in the area will have to travel to the main Post Office on the High Road, adding another half a mile on the journey to post something or to use other services on offer.

People with mobility problems will be affected and the already-long waiting times at the High Road Post Office will grow . The work-load there will increase and, more than ever, we will lose that personal touch in service delivery as we become seen through the counter grille as units to be served and moved on as fast as possible.

This Government talks about building and sustaining local communities. But between Post Office Ltd and the undermining actions of this Government it seems they are actually ripping the heart out of local communities.

Responses to the Archbishop Do Not Look At the Facts On The Ground

Within 48 hours of the Archbishop making comments around religious inclusion and Shariah, there were press calls, comments and rabid responses for his resignation. This strain of fear is disproportionate and based on conjecture, myths and in some instances, xenophobia. But before I lay out these facts, there is something that I must clear up. The vast amount of Shariah Law covers financial elements, marriage and divorce and other codes for living life. It is not primarily around punishment. However, I for one as a Muslim and as a liberal to my very core, see Islam through the prism of emancipation and knowledge sharing. This means having the chance to question, to debate, to discuss and therefore Shariah is a theoretical and practical framework which must be looked through within a modern context. This therefore means ardently protecting women's rights, respect for diversity in all of its forms (the first convert to Islam was a black man), providing the space for dissent, education for all and emancipation from debt by taking out interest in financial transactions. These are just some examples of what I regard Islam to be about. It should be a driver against poverty, against fear and xenophobia and it should be a driver against ignorance. I have to also add, that I cannot accept two legal systems as a citizen of the UK and the resulting confusion and isolation for Muslims if this were to happen would in the long term, provide a foundation to those who want to portray Muslims as the 'other' and therefore somehow different. We should not give them that chance.

I make these comments on the basis of very real facts on the ground that we must all wake up to. The Archbishop does not want, nor did he state that two parallel legal systems should be set up. He picked up on something that is already taking place within our major cities. In places like Birmingham, Manchester and London for example, Shariah based mediation towards divorce is taking place. There are hundreds of these cases. Additionally, the UK has become the world's Ethical Finance / Shariah Finance base and has even outstripped the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia in the diversity of non-interest based financial products that are provided to Muslims and non-Muslims within and beyond the UK. Thousands of jobs for UK nationals are created and the billions of pounds of profit help our economy, yet this is gratefully accepted and there has been no outcry. Indeed, in some parts of the country the non-interest based programmes have been tailored for lending to Muslims and non-Muslims and have helped to assist local communities. Allied to this, lending has been focussed on getting people into business and thereby making them economically active.

You see, Shariah has many strands and the elements which talk about punishment need to be seen within a modern context and have no place today in modern societies. Islam is and must be about inclusion and it must be interpreted as so, so that women are not discriminated against, nor injustice served.

Fundamentally, what the Archbishop was getting at, was looking to find ways of using elements of what is within Shariah to help in for example, mediation in divorce. If two consenting individuals want to undergo mediation with someone who understands concepts of Islamic jurisprudence, then they should have the right to do so, though ultimately, any agreement must be presented within the common law courts of our country so that a judge can make a decision with responses from the two individuals. In the end, such Shariah based mediation is not legally binding and can only work on the basis of the two parties agreeing without coercion. The only binding element would be the courts decision and in the end, there should only be one legal system that is binding on us all.

There are therefore no parallel systems of law, just the facilitation of decision making with those who want to use community based services; participants can also leave the process at any point. To ensure non-coercion in the process, pre-mediation interviews with participants can be conducted with professionals who can help to tease out whether one of the parties has been forced into the process.

Even within financial packages based on Islamic finance, the contracts that are entered into must be in line with regulations laid out by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and within strict financial laws. There are no opt-outs and there is strict monitoring of processes.

So, I have provided some examples of facts on the ground already operating within the legal processes and boundaries of our common law. Finally, can I suggest that the real impact of the hysteria will be to give substance to those criminals who prey on the disaffected within Muslim communities and who want to carry out violence against us all. They will be smiling today and suggesting that Muslims do not have a home in the UK. They will no doubt point to the hysteria that has been whipped up. Collectively, we should ask forgiveness for what we have done by strengthening the hands of those extremists who promote violence. That is all what this storm in a teacup will achieve.