On Saturday 20 January Kensington, Chelsea & Fulham Conservatives held a campaign briefing and seminar “Engaging with our Community” running from 14:00 to 18:00.

The speakers were:

• Greg Hands MP
• Bob Blackman MP
• Andrew Foster – Deputy Chair Political, KCFC
• Emily Maister – Borough Campaign Manager

The Conservative Muslim Forum supported the event by CMF Executive Member Mike Mogul attending throughout, manning a stand to explain how the CMF could help activists with advice and campaign support.

He is pictured below with one of the speakers Bob Blackman MP and with Conservative Party Vice-Chair Rehman Chishti MP who also attended.

There is a basic principle in life, which is also taught within Islam, that just because you cannot do everything, you are not excused from doing anything. Each good deed we can do, no matter how small, matters.

The world has been rightly apalled by Myanmar’s treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority. This is something our Government has spoken about strongly, as well as giving practical assistance. As individuals we can do little to influence the Myanmar government, but there are actions we can take such as:

• Writing to our MP to express our concerns.
• Writing to Myanmar’s ambassaador in London.
• Joining organisations such as the Burma Campaign UK.
• Giving to charities which aid Rohingya Muslims.

On 7 January 2018 CMF Executive Member Lady Sheikh, and CMF Executive Secretary Shaheen Thantrey attended a fundraising dinner for Rohinghya Muslims organised by their local Mosque in Palmer’s Green.

This local event received pledges of over £117,000 as shown in the picture of the fundraising screen below:

As the details on screen are hard to read, if you wish to make a donation you can do so as follows:

By post: Cheque made payable to MCEC and sent to MCEC, 30 Oakthorpe Road, London, N13 5JL.

By bank transfer: Donate to Muslim Cummunity & Education Centre, sort code 30-99-86, account number 01198920, please use reference Rohingya for your payment.

Below are Lady Sheikh and Shaheen Thantrey at their dinner table.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims was established on 18 July 2017.

Its main aims are to inform Parliamentarians, policy makers and wider society by:

• highlighting the aspirations and challenges of British Muslims;
• celebrating the contributions of Muslim communities to Britain; and
• investigating prejudice, discrimination and hatred against Muslims in the UK.

On Tuesday 19 December the APPG held an event in Parliament to launch its report “A Very Merry Muslim Christmas”. The report highlights the work of Muslim charities, particularly around Christmas time. Sadly each year some newspapers seek to sell extra copies by running scare stories about “Muslims seeking to abolish Christmas.” This report is an excellent rebuttal.

One of the speakers, Bilal Hassam of Penny Appeal reminded everyone that Christmas should be about being “Christ like”. As well as their work overseas, Muslim led charities like Penny Appeal are helping to feed the hungry and homeless in the UK, especially at Christmas time.

At CMF events, we have often reminded attendees that the Quran tells the story of Jesus’s virgin birth, and that He is mentioned by name 25 times in the Quran.

The CMF was represented at the launch by Chairman Mohammed Amin, Executive Member Mike Mogul and Executive Secretary Shaheen Thantrey.

Below is a picture showing the splendid Committee Room 10 of the House of Commons with the panel and some of the meeting attendees.

Below is part of the panel. From right to left:

1. Rt Hon Anna Soubry, MP for Broxtowe and Co-Chair, APPG on British Muslims.
2. Afzal Khan CBE, MP for Manchester Gorton
3. Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West
4. Eleanor Smith, MP for Wolverhampton South West
5. Dr Bilal Hassam, Creative Director, Penny Appeal

Below is the remainder of the panel. From left to right:

1. Wes Streeting, MP for Ilford North and Co-Chair, APPG on British Muslims.
2. Rt Hon Baroness Warsi
3. Jehangir Malik OBE, Chief Executive, Muslim Aid

All around the world, people with any sense of humanity are appalled at Myanmar’s disgraceful treatment of Rohingya Muslims. In November, the United Nations Security Council condemned Myanmar’s actions in a unanimous resolution.

The British Government has been speaking out against Myanmar’s persecution of Rohingya Muslims for many years and has been providing practical help to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

However, when the CMF was recently asked by email to lobby the British Government to take action on this issue, we realised that many citizens may not be aware of what our Government has already been doing.

Accordingly, we have listed a few items on this website page. A search for Rohingya on the Government website  found 112 results on the date of this page was created.

Earliest reference we found

As long ago as the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Human Rights and Democracy Report 2013, the Government said:

“In January [2013], the Burmese government signed a historic initial peace agreement with the Karen National Union after 63 years of conflict, although we continue to be concerned by the treatment of the Rohingya population in Rakhine state.”

“While significant changes have taken place in Burma during the past two years, including the release of many political prisoners, serious violations of human rights continue to be widespread, directed in particular against religious and ethnic minorities.

The Muslim Rohingya, stripped of their citizenship in 1982, remain in limbo, stateless, despite their community having lived in Burma for over 200 years. There were reports throughout the year that the Buddhist extremist movement, known as “969”, was responsible for organising the violence.

We therefore welcomed the commitment given by Burma’s President during his visit to the UK in July to take “a zero-tolerance approach to those who fuel ethnic hatreds”, and to call for a transparent process of accountability for those responsible for religious hatred and violence.

We have concerns about implementation and will continue to press the government to take urgent action on this. We have encouraged the Burmese government to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief to visit Burma.

In addition, we are supporting interfaith work in Burma through our project funding. In Kachin, we are the largest bilateral donor, and announced a further £13.5 million of humanitarian aid in July 2013.”

The report contained a case study “The plight of the Rohingya.”

Recent statements

Skipping over the many statements during the intervening years, on 13 November 2017 speaking to the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

“And it includes continuing to step up our efforts to respond to the desperate plight of Rohingyas – brought home to us again on our TV screens so graphically today, with heart-breaking images of young children emaciated and pleading for help.

This is a major humanitarian crisis which looks like ethnic cleansing. And it is something for which the Burmese authorities – and especially the military – must take full responsibility.

The UK is already the largest donor in response to this crisis. And we will continue to play a leading role in bringing the international community together – working through the UN and with regional partners to do everything possible to stop this appalling and inhuman destruction of the Rohingya people.”

On 28 November 2017 Minister for Asia Mark Field spoke in Westminster Hall about the situation the Rohingya people are facing and how the UK is assisting in Burma and Bangladesh. The text of his speech is at this link.

On 5 December 2017, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon attended a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva and reassured Bangladesh of the UK’s support to address the plight of the Rohingya.

Sadly, the legal aspects of national sovereignty and the delicate geopolitics around Myanmar preclude some of the actions that one might wish to take, but within these constraints the UK has provided a strong moral, financial, and diplomatic lead.

One of the CMF’s key messages is the need for Muslim Conservative Party members to participate fully in the activities of their local Conservative association. It is by our actions that we demonstrate that Muslims are an integral part of British society.

On 16 November Enfield Southgate Conservative Association held a curry evening, with guest of honour Will Quince, MP for Colchester.

The CMF was represented by CMF Executive Member Lady Sheikh and CMF Exective Secretary Shaheen Thantrey. In the picture below, from left to right:

1. Will Quince MP
2. Shaheen Thantrey
3. Lady Sheikh
4. David Burrowes, who was MP for Enfield Southgate from 2005-2017.

Since May 2015 CMF Executive Member Hashim Bhatti has been a Conservative Councillor for Clewer North Ward in the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead.

We were delighted to learn that he has been shortlisted in the category “Young Councillor of the Year” in the LGiU Awards 2017. Another young Windsor councillor, Natasha Airey was shortlisted alongside Hashim.

LGiU, short for Local Government Information Unit, is a registered charity and a think tank dedicated to enhancing local democracy.

The winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on 7 November. We congratulate both of them on being shortlisted and hope that the best person wins.

Below we have reproduced the press release the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead issued after the shortlisting was announced.

Two Windsor councillors up for prestigious award.

Two councillors have been shortlisted for a national award recognising their hard work throughout the year.

Cllr Natasha Airey and Cllr Hashim Bhatti are among the final five in the LGiU Young Councillor of the Year award.

The local democracy think tank will announce the winner of the award on Tuesday 7 November.

The award recognises the work and achievements of a councillor who was less than 30-years-old when they were last elected.

First elected at 21, Conservative Cllr Airey has held numerous roles and portfolios in the council and is also heavily involved in her local community.

She is cabinet member for children’s services, a member of the Health and Wellbeing Board, the Local Children’s Safeguarding Board, and sits on the borough’s Suicide Prevention Working Group, as well as being appointed this summer to the LGA’s Children and Young People’s Board.

Most recently, she has overseen the transition of the borough’s children’s services into Achieving for Children.

She is passionate about social justice and representing the voice of young, disenfranchised and vulnerable groups in politics.

Cllr Airey, who represents Park ward, said: “It is exciting to be nominated for this award but my focus remains on serving the people of the borough.

“I have been interested in local government since I was a teenager when I was the Windsor representative to the UK Youth Parliament.

“I have some fantastic, dedicated colleagues on the council of all ages and hope to see many more young people from all backgrounds becoming involved as local councillors.”

The awards are now in their eighth year and will see councillors invited to a reception in London.

In May 2015, Cllr Bhatti was elected as a Conservative councillor for Clewer North.

He is the first British Pakistani in history to get selected by the party in Windsor and is one of the youngest to win a seat.

He was previously a parliamentary researcher and has worked at several City law firms specialising in private equity.

Cllr Bhatti founded London’s first Interfaith Summit in 2015 which he still participates in and oversees. He is also the chairman of the youth wing of the Conservative Muslim Forum, a Huffington Post blogger and a member of the US Embassy’s flagship Future Young Leaders’ Program.

He has spoken on the impact of Brexit on faith communities, made addresses at the Buddhist Vihara temple on interfaith relations, mentored university students, organised an Eid function in Parliament and was selected by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to help build a coalition building manual in Austria.

Cllr Bhatti said: “I’m delighted to have a chance of winning this award. It’s a tremendously positive reflection of the hard work of scores of people across a host of organisations.

“It is nice to be recognised in this way but I prefer seeing the differences positive action and working together can make to our community.”

Cllr Simon Dudley, leader of the council, said: “Congratulations to both Cllr Airey and Cllr Bhatti.

“The fact our council has two of the five shortlisted councillors goes to show the real dedication and motivation of our councillors.

“This just underlines the strength of the young talent in our borough.”

The CMF seeks to establish good relations with the London embassies and high commissions of all Muslim majority countries. The reason is that all these countries have diaspora communities in the UK who are potential Conservative voters and potential CMF members. Also all of these countries are trading partners of the UK.

One important aspect of this is attending events at the embassy or high commission when invited.

On 2 November CMF Executive Member Lady Sheikh, and CMF Executive Secretary Shaheen Thantrey were at the Turkish Embassy. They were attending a celebration for the 94’th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. (Republic Day is 29 October.)

In the picture below from right to left:

1. Shaheen Thantrey
2. Turkish Ambassador Abdurrahman Bilgiç
3. Lady Sheikh
4. The Ambassador’s wife Esra Bilgiç

On Wednesday 25 October, the CMF held a reception to mark Eid al-Adha. Although the date of Eid itself was much earlier, the CMF always holds its celebration event in October to allow time for the party conferences season. The event was very well attended, with a large number of younger people attending.

Our speakers were:

1. Master of Cermonies CMF Executive Member Hashim Bhatti
2. Recitation of Quran 37:102-109 by Imam Ali Omar, Muslim Chaplain to the Military
3. Welcome to the guests on by Narinder Singh Pooni, Senior Parliamentary Researcher to Alberto Costa MP on behalf of our Parliamentary Host Alberto Costa who was called into an urgent meeting at the last minute.
4. Stephen Kerr, MP for Stirling.
5. CMF Chairman Mohammed Amin
6. Major Roger Metcalfe of the Royal Artillery
7. CMF President Lord Sheikh
8. Vote of thanks by Anwara Ali

The picture below shows some of the speakers. From left to right:

1. Major Metcalfe
2. Lord Sheikh
3. Stephen Kerr
4. Mohammed Amin
5. Imam Ali Omar
6. Anwara Ali

We also took a group photo of all of the CMF Executive members who were present at the end of the event. From left to right:

1. Attic Rahman
2. Anwara Ali (co-opted onto the Executive in November)
3. Samir Thantrey
4. Dr Alam Ara Khan
5. Mohammed Amin
6. CMF President Lord Sheikh
7. Mike Mogul
8. CMF Executive Secretary Shaheen Thantrey
9. Tahara Amin
10. Hashim Bhatti
11. Lady Sheikh
12. Kamru Ali

On Tuesday and Wednesday 10 and 11 October, the CMF organised its third delegation to the European Parliament. Our host was Syed Kamall, Conservative MEP for London and Co-Chair, European Conservatives and Reformists Group.

This was the largest delegation the CMF has taken to Brussels, consisting of 49 people. Accordingly it could be considered an achievement that all 49 delegates reached Brussels, and all 49 returned on the scheduled train! The trip was ably organised by CMF Secretary Hashim Bhatti.

After arriving in Brussels, (in the middle of a Metro strike!) the delegation checked into its hotel, had lunch in small groups, and then visited the Parliamentarium which is the European Parliament’s visitors centre. After that, they went to the main Parliament building for a welcome by Syed Kamall MEP including an informative question and answer session. The delegation were also able to visit the Hemicycle, the semi-circular chamber for the world’s largest transnational parliament. The evening closed with a group dinner in El Turco Turkish Restaurant.

Below is the delegation at London’s St Pancras International Station before departure.

Below is the delegation in Brussels before a mural of the Hemicycle.

Below are the members of the CMF Executive who went on the trip. From left to right:

1. CMF Treasurer Samir Thantrey
2. CMF Chairman Mohammed Amin
3. CMF Secretary Faruk Miah
4. CMF Executive Member Tahara Amin
5. CMF Executive Member Lady Sheikh
6. CMF Executive Secretary Shaheen Thantrey

One of the most enjoyable ways for Conservative Muslim Forum members spread the its message is to attend events put on by other organisations.

On Sunday 8 October 2017 the Centre for Turkish Studies (usually abbreviated to CEFTUS) held its 6’th Annual Gala Dinner, which also incorporated the Turkish, Kurdish, and Turkish Cypriot Community Achievement Awards.

The CMF members  made up a table shown in the photograph below.