for unity

Voice of I M W S
IMWS invites PM to visit and see how
Islamic madressas actually work
THE INDIAN Muslim Welfare
Society has written to
Prime Minister David Cameron
inviting him to visit the local
madressaa and see for himself
how the institutions work towards
the common goal of a
better big society.
The open letter, supported
by the IMWS affiliated Masjids,
is in response to the PM’s
recent speech on religious
supplementary schools and
the governments plans to
impose legislation for the organisations
to register and be
inspected.
In the letter IMWS Chair, Mohamed
Mulla, says, “We are extremely
upset and disappointed
that you have decided that;
‘religious institution teaching
children intensively should
register and be inspected’.
“We are not sure why you
have decided to take this action
or who you have consulted?
“In our experience our religious
institutions are trying
very hard with challenging
resources to educate young
people to know their Faith and
be responsible British citizens.”
Around 5000 children study
at the affiliated madressas and
many of these schools have
been around for over 40 years.
They provide key education
that includes faith, moral conduct
and social responsibility.
The madressas have also
gone through changes in
teaching over the years including
the use of English as a
core teaching language.
The letter adds, “These institutions
are outstanding in
teaching religious and moral
values and children leave our
institution as good British citizens.
“The staff and the committee
at each madrassa regularly
look at how they can improve
teaching and learning and
share good practice across all
our madressas.”
Mr Cameron’s recent stance,
however, paints a picture
these schools are not.
In the letter Mr Mulla says,
“We strongly feel that, like
the mass media, you and your
government are once again
specifically targeting the Muslim
community and ‘tarring all
Muslims with the same brush’.
“We are aware that you
made reference in your speech
that all religious institutions
will be inspected. However,
we feel that only the Muslim
institutes will be targeted.
These will further alienate and
marginalize the Muslim community.”
IMWS
have pointed
out that the organisation
and affiliates hold an open
door policy and “urge you to
come and visit our institutions
to see how we educate our
children.”
Mr Mulla added how the
IMWS has held and continued
working to combat radicalisation,
and how the community
organisation had taken the
initiative to hold a conference
exposing groups like ISIS as
not being inline with an Islamic
view point. Underlining the
“wicked methods employed
by ISIS to radicalize young
Muslims.”
He added, “We, like you,
would like to work in further
improving teaching in our institutions
but this can be only
done through partnership
working rather than government
imposition.”
The letter asked for the
Prime Minister to respond personally
and share a dialogue
to better understanding the
issues and to truly deal with
the problems we all face.
The correspondence was
supported by the chairs of the
affiliated Masjids and Madressas,
and copies were sent to
the labour leader, local MPs Jo
Cox and Paula Sherriff and Baroness
Sayeeda Warsi.
...continued from front page
treated to a tour of St Peter’s
Bassilica and the Vatican Museums.
Nine members of the
travelling party remained behind
and joined the Sunday
mass led by Pope Francis.
Fiaz Rashid, who attended
the mass, said: “The congregation
prayers had such vibrancy
that you felt connected with
all around you. It was one of
the most moving experience I
had encountered”.
Prior to the main event
Mount CC played a warm up
friendly against Roma Capannella
Cricket Club, which the
Batley team won with 6 wickets
to spare.
The match on Saturday
played in T20 format against
St Peter’s XI - a team made
up of players studying for
their priesthoods, proved to
be a much more challenging
encounter. The friendly battle
at the Capannella Cricket
Ground came down to the
last over and ended with the
home team clinching a narrow
win by just four runs.
But win or lose the interfaith
occasion was about building
bridges between different
faiths, communities and nationalities
through the medium
of cricket. Both teams
bonded with friendship and
mutual respect and later dined
together to celebrate the successful
venture.
The trip included dignitaries
from both sides including
Philip French from the ECB
who said, “It shows how cricket
can break down cultural
boundaries and we are so immensely
proud of the fact that
Mount Cricket Club from Batley
is out here.”
John McCarthy, Australian
Ambassador to the Holy See
and founder of the St Peter’s
XI, said the game and the occasion
exceeded ”all my expectations
and all my hopes
about what could be done
through interfaith and ecumenical
sports association of
this sort”.
Pratheesh Thomas, a member
of the Vatican team and
a Seminarian, said “Today
we have realised one of our
dreams to play against a team
composed of Muslim friends.”
Whilst the Chair of Mount
Cricket Club, Hanif Mayet,
summed up the whole experience,
“the four days in Rome
will be etched into our memory
and hearts as an unforgettable
experience. Thank you
Vatican.”
Also joining Mount CC were:
Mark Arthur – Chief Executive
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
(YCCC) & Mrs Debbie Arthur,
Robin Smith – Board Director
YCCC, Matt Dwyer – Director
of Participation & Growth,
English & Wales Cricket Board
(ECB), Philip French – Director
of Public Policy & International
Relations, ECB.
A return match to be played
at Headingly is already in motion.
November 2015 7