The EU Referendum in the UK and the election of Donald Trump in the USA have shown how divided Britain and America have become. Against this background, how can we work together to build a Britain that works for everyone?

To share ideas, CMF Executive member Cllr Halimah Khaled organised the  “Building Bridges” event. It was held on Saturday 28 January 2017 in The Vibe Room, Village Hotel Nottingham, Brailsford Way, Chilwell, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 6DL. All of the audience were invited guests, from a diversity of backgrounds.

The speakers were:

1. Master of ceremonies: CMF Chairman Mohammed Amin MBE.
2. Welcome to the guests: Halimah Khaled MBE who represents Toton and Chillwell Meadows on Broxtowe Borough Council.
3. Quran recitation: Dr Ahmed Meliebary, The Language Centre, School of Cultures, Languages, and Area Studies, University of Nottingham.
4. CMF President Baron Sheikh of Cornhill in the City of London
5. Jim Thornton, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham
6. Rt Hon Nicky Morgan, MP for Loughborough

The Quran extract which Mohammed Amin chose for the recitation, Quran 49:13, is a particular favourite of Lord Sheikh’s. After Dr Meliebary’s moving Arabic recitation, Mohammed Amin provided an English translation taken from “The Qur’an – a new translation” by Professor Muhammad Abdel Haleem, Oxford University Press.

People, We created you all from a single man and a single woman, and made you into races and tribes so that you should get to know one another. In God’s eyes, the most honoured of you are the ones most mindful of Him: God is all knowing, all aware.

The speaker introductions are reproduced below:

CLLR HALIMAH KHALED

Councillor Halimah Khaled represents Toton and Chillwell Meadows on Broxtowe Borough Council. She is a member of the Executive of the Conservative Muslim Forum. In Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2015, she received an MBE for her services to charity and to community relations.

Halimah had organised the whole of this event.

LORD SHEIKH

Lord Sheikh was born in Kenya, grew up in Uganda and came to the UK with nothing after Idi Amin’s expulsion of the Ugandan Asians. He went on to become an outstanding insurance broker and a millionaire.

In 2005 the Conservative Party leader Michael Howard appointed him as the first Muslim peer in the House of Lords for the Conservative Party. Lord Sheikh founded the Conservative Muslim Forum in 2005 and chaired it until 2014. He is now its President.

JIM THORNTON

Jim Thornton is a Professor at the University of Nottingham. He qualified as a doctor at Leeds University in 1977. At Nottingham University, he is Head of Academic Obstetrics & Gynaecology in the faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. His research is improving understanding of the mechanisms which underlie suboptimal maternal and fetal health and developing evidence-based treatments to improve health.

NICKY MORGAN

The Rt Honourable Nicky Morgan is MP for Loughborough. Like many politicians, she is a graduate of Oxford University. Unlike many people who read PPE because they decided as teenagers that they want to be Prime Minister, she did a real subject. Nicky read Law, and became a solicitor, practicing corporate law for 16 years until she was elected to Parliament in 2010. Nicky has already had some important jobs, including Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Minister for Women, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities.

The following group photo shows the CMF Executive members present with Nicky Morgan. From left to right:

1. Executive Secretary Shaheen Thantrey.
2. Deputy Chairman Ash Zaman.
3. Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP.
4. Chairman Mohammed Amin.
5. Dr Sanawar Choudhury
6. Cllr Jeanne-Marie Douglas.
7. CMF President Lord Sheikh.
8. Lady Shaida Sheikh.
9. Cllr Halimah Khaled.

Below are Professor Jim Thornton, Nicky Morgan and Halimah Khaled.

Nicky Morgan stressed the importance of achievement by women, and the group photo below shows some of the many women who were present.

The unposed picture shows some of the diverse audience listening to the speakers.

For the reasons explained on our page The CMF’s approach to policy positions the CMF only rarely makes policy statements. However the Executive has decided to make one on the teaching of the Holy Quran in English.

We recommend that UK mosques and madrassas teach the Holy Quran in English to ensure all worshippers and those wishing to learn about Islam understand it. Most people who attend mosque and madrassas do not understand modern Arabic, let alone classical Quranic Arabic. Accordingly, it is beneficial to teach them the Holy Quran in English.

The CMF believes teaching Muslims to understand the Holy Quran, particularly from a young age, should mean they are less likely to be led astray in later life. Learning thoroughly what the Quran truly teaches should protect them against others peddling distorted versions of Islam.

Recommended Quran translations:

There are many translations of the Holy Quran in English. We recommend using the ones below:

“The Qur’an – a new translation” by MAS Abdel Haleem, published by Oxford University Press.

This is particularly recommended for those reading the Quran in English for the first time, as there are intentionally few footnotes.

“The Study Quran – A New Translation and Commentary” Edited by Prof Seyyed Hossein Nasr, published by HarperOne.

This is a joint effort of five academics, both Sunni and Shia. It contains extensive references to the major traditional Quran commentaries.

“The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an” by Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This also contains extensive references and is available from many publishers.

The day after this attack, our Chairman Mohammed Amin wrote on behalf of the Conservative Muslim Forum to convey our condolences to the German Ambassador. His letter is reproduced below.

At the time the letter was sent, there were news reports that the killer was from Pakistan. It has since been learned that he was from Tunisia.

LETTER

20 December 2016

H.E. Dr Peter Ammon
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
23 Belgrave Square
London
SW1X 8PZ

Your Excellency

Christmas is a time of great joy around the world, when billions celebrate the birth of Jesus. Tragedies are painful at any time of the year, but particularly poignant at Christmas time.

I was horrified to learn of the barbaric mass murder committed yesterday evening at a Christmas market in Berlin. While details are still emerging, I am mortified to learn that the apparent killer was born in Pakistan, the country of my birth, and that he seems to have set out to kill the citizens of a country that has given him refuge.

While the details of his motives are yet to emerge, it is clear that such people aim to divide us by religion. They must not succeed.

You have my deepest condolences.

Yours sincerely
Mohammed Amin

On Tuesday 6 December 2016, hosted by David Rutley MP for Macclesfield, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held their annual Family Values Award Luncheon to acknowledge members of the community who make significant contributions in support of the family. The Church recognises the family as the most essential unit of society and reveres those who work diligently to strengthen homes and families throughout the world.

This year’s awards

Past recipients have come from many religions, including Muslims. This year the lunch honoured two strong advocates of family values: The Reverend Prebendary Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Jim Shannon MP.

The Reverend Prebendary Rose Hudson-Wilkin is a Church of England Priest. Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, she left for England to train with The Church Army, and was commissioned in 1982. In 1991 Rose was ordained to the Diaconate, and later ordained to the Priesthood in 1994. Since November 2014, she has been Priest in Charge of St Mary-at-Hill, City of London. She additionally holds the roles of Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons and Chaplain to the Queen. Rose met her husband Ken Wilkin when she was training at The Church Army College. He is Chaplain to Downview Prison and the couple have two daughters and a son.

Jim Shannon has been involved in local politics in Northern Ireland since the mid 1980’s, serving as a Local Councillor and Mayor. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for Strangford in 1998 and subsequently re-elected in 2003 and 2007, representing the Democratic Unionist Party. Since 2010, Jim has been the Member of Parliament for Strangford. Jim is married to Sandra and they have three sons. They live on the family farm outside Greyabbey. Jim is a member of the Baptist Church, and a member of the Ulster Farmers Union. He is also the former chairman of Ards District Policing Partnership and sits on the Board of Governors at Glastry College.

CMF attendance

The event was attended by CMF Chairman Mohammed Amin, CMF Executive Member Lady Sheikh and CMF Executive Secretary Shaheen Thantrey. They have also attended the same event in previous years.

How the CMF came to be there

There is an important message in how the CMF members came to be at the lunch.

Five years ago at the Conservative Christian Fellowship’s annual Wilbeforce Lecture, Mohammed Amin met someone who was a Public Affairs advisor for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They exchanged cards and stayed in touch. From that chance meeting Mohammed Amin and Lord Sheikh have built up a strong personal relationship with senior Mormons in the UK.

There are several messages, some small, some very important:

• Always carry your business card. Without that it is much harder for people you meet to stay in touch with you.
• Follow up after you have met someone.
• People who have different faiths have far more in common than they have which divides them, but need to be willing to recognise those commonalities.
• A cohesive society is built up by many people building individual connections with people who have different backgrounds to their own.

Photographs

Mohammed Amin engrossed in conversation with Malcolm Adcock who is responsible for European Public Affairs for the Church.

In the group photo below, from left to right:

1. Malcolm Adcock
2. Shaheen Thantrey
3. Mrs Julie Herbertson
4. Mohammed Amin
5. Lady Sheikh
6. Peter Urie

Canvassing, either in person or by telephone, lies at the heart of grassroots politics. To win, you have to learn voters concerns, identify those voters who are likely to support you, and remind them to turn out and vote.

On Tuesday 22 November, with the Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election coming up, CMF Deputy Chairman was doing his bit at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters call centre.

As you can see below, also canvassing were the Defence Secretary the Rt Hon Sir Michael Fallon MP and the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Rt Hon Liz Truss MP.

Last week saw the election of Donald Trump as President of the USA. As a result, many British Muslims are concerned because of some of the things Mr Trump said about Muslims while running for office.

Accordingly, both the CMF President Lord Sheikh and the CMF Chairman CMF Mohammed Amin have written to the US Ambassador to convey their concerns. There is nothing confidential about the letters, and we have published them here for two reasons:

1. So that our members and friends can see what they have said.
2. As an illustration of the style one should always adopt in communications. It is essential to be courteous and to use measured language at all times.

Letter to US Ambassador sent on Lord Sheikh’s House of Lords notepaper

His Excellency Mr. Matthew W. Barzun
Ambassador of the United States of America
United States Embassy
24 Grosvenor Square
London, W1A 2LQ

16th November 2016

Your Excellency [manuscript]

The people of United States of America have spoken and decided democratically to elect Mr Donald Trump as their next President. The elections were fair and decisive and we must all respect the will of the people.

We would like to congratulate Mr Donald Trump on his conclusive victory and very much hope that he will be a wise and able President in the present world where there is a climate of turmoil and insurgency.

As a Muslim politician and leader I am consequently in touch with Muslims here in United Kingdom and other parts of the world and would like, with respect to make you aware that amongst some quarters of Muslim community there is disquiet and apprehension at Mr Trump’s possible actions against the Muslim population.

Mr Trump has made some unsavoury and to some extent frightening comments relating to the Muslims.

I hope that these remarks were rhetoric and Mr Trump will take conciliatory, calm and understanding approach towards Muslims in your country, Muslims entering your country and Muslims generally in the world.

There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world and 3.3 million in the United States and 3 million in the United Kingdom.

Nearly all the Muslims are peace loving and hardworking people who have done well in every walk of life and contributed towards the advancement and wellbeing of the country where they were born or in the land of their adoption.

There is of course a tiny minority of Muslims who have created problems and who have an incorrect understanding of Islam.

I am actively combatting radicalisation and extremism and I feel it is not right for anyone to tar all members of a community with the same brush.

We need to interact and engage with the young Muslims to dispel wrong impressions and understanding of our glorious religion. To enable us to do so there must be a positive and holistic action taken by the Government, Local Authorities, Police, Schools and the Muslim Community itself.

I very much hope that after his victory Mr Donald Trump will soften his stance which he has hitherto taken in regard to the Muslim community.

I shall be most grateful if you can forward this correspondence to the appropriate person or department in Washington.

Kindest regards,

Your sincerely [ manuscript]

Mohamed Sheikh [ manuscript]

The Lord Sheikh

Letter to US Ambassador sent on CMF Chairman’s notepaper

9 November 2016

His Excellency Matthew W. Barzun
Ambassador of the United States of America
United States Embassy
24 Grosvenor Square
London
W1A 2LQ

Your Excellency

As someone who has followed US presidential elections closely since 1960, I am writing to congratulate you on your country yet again conducting a peaceful election notwithstanding the wide political divisions within your electorate. Your transition of power on 20 January will again set an example to many countries around the world on how power should pass from one democratically elected government to another.

The Founding Fathers worked well when, almost 230 years ago, they created a Constitution that has served your country well and survived many trials. With its provisions for equality before the law, freedom of speech and religion, it remains a beacon for many around the world who are denied such rights.

Given the importance of the USA, people around the world listen closely to your government officials from the President downwards, and also to the words of candidates aspiring for elective office.

In that regard, you cannot fail to be aware that some of Mr Donald Trump’s comments while seeking the Republican Party’s nomination were interpreted by Muslims in Britain and in many other countries as indicating a desire to introduce a religious test for entry into the USA, with the prohibition of entry by those who are Muslim.

Such a policy would be of great concern to almost 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. As someone who has visited the USA on many occasions, both for professional and personal reasons, and whose son may soon become an American citizen, I would be affected personally as well as being concerned about the impact of such a discriminatory policy upon others.

While I claim no legal credentials, I did read your Constitution while in my twenties. It is my opinion that, in addition to being unwise, such a policy would also appear to be unconstitutional.

Please could you convey to your government my concern that any policy of discriminating against Muslims, whether against Muslim visitors to the USA or against Muslim American citizens, would alienate many of your country’s friends around the world.

Yours sincerely

Mohammed Amin

Eid al-Adha is the Muslim festival that falls at the end of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. It commemorates the willingness of the prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) to sacrifice his son upon God’s instruction, a story found in the Bible as well as the Quran. The Wikipedia article at this link gives more information about Eid al-Adha.

Although this year Eid al-Adha fell on 12 September, we delayed holding our reception due to the impact of the Parliamentary and Party Conferences calendar. It took place on Tuesday 25 October at 7 Millbank, Westminster, London, SW1P 3JA, and was enjoyed by the many guests from all religious backgrounds and none who attended.

The Master of Ceremonies was CMF Executive member Cllr Hashim Bhatti.

The evening began with Sheikh Bilal Khan reciting from the Quran, verses 37:102-109.

After his excellent Arabic recitation, in accordance with normal CMF practice he provided an English translation. In honour of Muhammad Abdel Haleem, King Fahd Professor of Islamic Studies at SOAS, University of London who was in the audience as one of the Chairman’s guests, the translation was taken from his work “The Quran: a new translation” published by Oxford University Press:

When the boy was old enough to work with his father, Abraham said, ‘My son, I have seen myself sacrificing you in a dream. What do you think?’ He said, ‘Father, do as you are commanded and, God willing, you will find me steadfast.’

When they had both submitted to God, and he had laid his son down on the side of his face, We called out to him, ‘Abraham, you have fulfilled the dream.’ This is how We reward those who do good – it was a test to prove [their true characters] – We ransomed his son with a momentous sacrifice, and We let him be praised by succeeding generations: ‘Peace be upon Abraham!’

Alberto Costa, MP for South Leicestershire was our Parliamentary host for the evening.

Alberto was effusive in praising the good work of the Conservative Muslim Forum.

Ranil Jayawardena, MP for North East Hampshire.

Like Alberto Costa, Ranil wa elected to Parliament for the first time in the 2015 general election. He emphasised how the Conservative Party is the party for everyone, regardless of religious or ethnic background.

Dr Rami Ranger CBE Chairman of Sun Mark Limited.

Dr Ranger spoke very movingly about what people of different religions have in common. During the vote of thanks the Chairman Mohammed Amin mentioned that Dr Ranger’s remarkable life story of achieving great success from a humble start i life had been featured in a recent BBC1 programme “Going Back, Giving Back.”

CMF President Baron Sheikh, of Cornhill in the City of London.

Lord Sheikh spoke with great passion about what all of us have in common.

TV presenter Saira Khan was our keynote speaker.

She spoke about “What being a Muslim means to me.” Some in the audience were in tears when she described the adoption in Pakistan of her second child, and her meeting with the late Abdul Sattar Edhi.

The event was televised by the Pakistani channels GEO and ARY.

Below is a photo of the MC Hashim Bhatti, Lord Sheikh and our new CMF roll up banner:

On 22 October Raza Anjum, Chair of CMF Youth, met H.E. Mazen Kamal Homoud, the ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United Kingdom, during the Ambassador’s visit to Saffron Walden at the invitation of the town’s mayor.

During their meeting Raza expressed support for the Jordanian Government’s role in fighting extremism in the Middle East and commented on the historic bilateral relationship between the UK and Jordan which includes strong military links and a growing trade relationship. They also discussed Jordan’s role in providing humanitarian support to Syrian refugees and Britain’s significant financial support for the refugees which includes the provision of education, healthcare and municipal services.

Since the start of the Syria crisis, the UK government has contributed $500 million in support to Jordan to help deal with the Syrian refugee crisis.

They are pictured below.

On 16 October Raza Anjum, Chair of CMF Youth, hosted The Rt Reverend Irfan Jamil, the Anglican Bishop of Lahore, at his home during the Bishop’s recent visit to the UK.

They discussed the human rights challenges facing the Pakistani Christian community. In recent years there have been several high-profile cases of violent attacks against that community including an attack this year on Easter Sunday in Lahore in which more than 75 civilians were killed.

Raza strongly condemned the harassment and discrimination suffered by Pakistan’s Christians and emphasised the need for the Pakistani government to safeguard their rights. He also expressed serious concern at the continued detention of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian mother of five who has been imprisoned under the country’s controversial blasphemy laws and called for her release.

Our Foreign and Commonwealth Office have estimated that around 2.8 million Christians live in Pakistan including two million in Lahore.

Raza is a long-standing campaigner for the rights of the Pakistani Christian community and has worked with the British High Commission in Islamabad and with the EU on this issue.

The Bishop and Raza are pictured below.

Shakeel joined the Conservative Party in 2010. Since then he has done some great work campaigning, and served as Deputy Chair, Membership for Tooting Ward. He was selected as the Conservative Party’s Council candidate for Tooting Ward in the 2014 election. On selection Shakeel said:

“I am an aspiring candidate who has vowed to contest this election and bring about the desirable changes that are so much needed in society. I am one of you so I know the expectations of the common man. I understand the hardship of the people and will find a remedy through the proper channels. I want politicians to have a mandate and to be able to say, “The people have spoken!” I will stand for you and work as a team with you. I believe that your precious vote will affect the outcome of the election. I will strive to excel in this work so that you may prosper. It’s crucial we continue the revolutions in welfare and education to ensure that the state meets the aspirations of the people of Tooting – and their children. I look forward to working hard for the opportunity to represent the people of Tooting. Leading on community engagement, including Community Plan, and tackling youth offending. Engaging young people in the life of the community e.g. Youth Parliament and their responsibilities as part of the whole community.”

Shakeel was elected as Chairman of Wandsworth Tooting Conservatives in February 2016. He said:

“As chairman my vision is clear. For Tooting to work closely with the local council and policing team to build a strong and safer community. For Tooting Association to have a great team of officers and Councillors who are working hard with local communities, schools, religious groups, businesses and council to give better service and value for money which all Tooting resident deserve.”