Harrow West is a constituency presently held by Labour MP Gareth Thomas. Conservative candidate Hannah David aims to change that in the 2015 General Election, and the Conservative Muslim Forum is doing its bit to help her.

On Friday 12 July 2013, Harrow West Conservative Association held a black tie dinner which was honoured by the presence of the Rt. Hon. Dominic Grieve QC MP, Attorney General, with Lord Sheikh leading the attendance from the Conservative Muslim Forum. The prestigious venue for the dinner was Harrow School, whose most famous old boy is Britain’s wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.

The picture below includes, from left to right:

1. Ms Lurline Champagnie, Chair of Harrow West Conservative Association;
2. Mr Amal Abeyawardene
3. Lord Sheikh, Chairman of the CMF
4. Ms Hannah David, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Harrow West
5. The Rt. Hon. Dominic Grieve QC MP, Attorney General
6. Dr Lionel Samarasinghe. President Conservative Friends of Sri Lanka
7. Lady Sheikh

The Conservative Muslim Forum is delighted to offer its loyal congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the birth of their son.

The birth of the future king of the United Kingdom and of many other countries is a major global news event. However it is also a deeply personal occasion for the parents, and for the Duke and Duchess’s parents who are now grandparents for the first time. Every one of us who is a parent will remember the unalloyed joy on the birth of their first child.

We pray that God grants the future king good health, wisdom and a long life.

The regular constituency surgery is an essential tool for Members of Parliament to stay in touch with their constituents. They provide constituents with a forum to raise issues of local or national concern or request for intervention by the MP on their behalf with local or national government.

On Friday 12 July 2013 Palmers Green Mosque, Muslim Community & Education Centre  30 Oakthorpe Road, Palmers Green, London, N13 5JL hosted a surgery by David Burrowes, MP for Enfield, Southgate. Reserved chairs were provided for David and his intern Attila Arslan to sit in the main prayer hall and listen to the Friday sermon (khutba) which was given by Imam Ajmal Masroor who is well known from his media appearances. After the sermon David proceeded to a gazebo on the lawn outside which the mosque trustees had set up for the surgery.

The event came about as a result of existing contacts between regular mosque attender Mani Hussain and David Burrowes.

Hosting a surgery for the local Member of Parliament is an excellent way for mosques to increase engagement between MPs and their Muslim constituents. It will also increase engagement with non-Muslims who attend the surgery at the mosque; for many it may be their first visit to a mosque.

15 July 2013 saw the 155’th anniversary of the birth of Emmeline Pankhurst who became a supporter of the suffragette movement at the age of eight, and went on to become its leader. Her contribution to British life is commemorated by a statue to her in Victoria Tower Gardens, the public park adjacent to the Palace of Westminster and a very appropriate location.

This year the Conservative Muslim Forum joined with the Conservative Womens Organisation in celebrating her anniversary.

Pictured from left to right are:

• Shaheen Mahmood,CMF Administrator;
• Dr Helen Pankhurst, Emmeline Pankhurst’s great-granddaughter, holding the wreath;
• Sarah Newton, MP for Truro & Falmouth and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.

A number of other women also attended the commemoration, and Lord Sheikh, Chairman of the CMF gave a short address, pictured below.

The Conservative Party is a party for all parts of the country, and Muslims are now found everywhere in Britain. Accordingly setting up local branches is a key part of the Conservative Muslim Forum’s strategy.

Friday 5 July 2013 saw the the launch of our branch for Yorkshire and Humber at an event in Bradford which was well attended by grass roots members as well as leading members of the business and professional community and local leaders from the Conservative Party. Many different communities were represented, as illustrated by the collage below.

As indicated by the above collage, the event was well supported by women as well as men.

In the group photo below, from left to right, are: Mr Jason Aldiss, Mr Gerry Yates, Ms Yemi Fagboran, Ms Sabya Khan, Ms Falak Naz, Baroness Warsi, Lord Sheikh, Mrs Itrat Ali, Ms Shamaila Khanum, Lady Shaikh, Mr Raja Najabat Hussain.

Speakers

There was an impressive array of speakers which included:

1. Mr Raja Najabat Hussain, who did more than anyone to make this event happen.
2. Major Zahoor Baigh who opened the event with a Quran recitation.
3. Mr Iftikhar Ahmed, President, Bradford Conservative Association.
4. Mr Allah Ditta, Assistant Treasurer, Bradford Conservative Association.
5. Councillor Glen Miller, Leader of the Conservative Group on Bradford Council.
6. Mr Chris Rowell, Chairman, Conservative Future Yorkshire and Humberside.
7. Mr Jason Aldiss, Chairman West Yorkshire Conservatives.
8. Mr Philip Allott, Parliamentary Candidate for Halifax.
9. Mr Gerry Yates, Regional Conservative Party Chairman, Vice-President of the National Convention.
10. Mr Mohammed Amin, Deputy Chairman, Conservative Muslim Forum.
11. Lord Sheikh, Chairman, Conservative Muslim Forum.
12. Baroness Warsi, Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Faith and Communities.

The vote of thanks was given by Mrs Itrat Ali.

The officers of the new CMF Yorkshire and Humber branch are listed below:

Mrs Itrat Ali – Chairperson

Mrs Falak Naz – Deputy Chairperson

Mrs Shamila Khanum – Secretary

Dr Almas Rashid – Treasurer

Most of the speakers are included in the collage below.

Top row, from left to right: Mohammed Amin, Glen Miller, Philip Allott, Jason Aldiss, Gerry Yates, Lord Sheikh.

Bottom row, from left to right: Major Zahoor Baigh, Allah Ditta, Iftikhar Ahmed, Raja Najabat Hussain, Mrs Itrat Ali.

Right hand panel: Baroness Warsi

In politics, to get your policies implemented you have to win elections. Canvassing, both in person and by telephone is an essential requirement for winning. The goal is not to persuade people, but to find identify which electors support the Conservative Party, so that they can be reminded and encouraged to vote when election day comes.

Telephone canvassing takes place regularly at Conservative Campaign Headquarters, and is often supported by senior members of the Party. On 24 June 2013 the Party Chairman the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP was leading the way, ably supported by CMF Executive Members Ajantha Tennakoon and Fuad Hamzeh.

The Conservative Muslim Forum is an integral part of the Conservative Party. Accordingly CMF members are active in supporting their local Conservative Associations.

On Sunday 30 June, CMF Administrator Shaheen Mahmood hosted Chipping Barnet Conservatives at her home, at an event supported by Fiona Bulmer (Chairman, Chipping Barnet Conservative Association); Mike Freer, MP for Finchley and Golders Green; and Lord Sheikh, CMF Chairman.

Food is a great way for people to relax and get to know each other better.

Pictured are Shaheen Mahmood with Mike Freer MP, and Lord Sheikh while he was speaking.

On Wednesday 1 May, the CMF held a fundraising dinner at Bundu Khan Restaurant on Commercial Street. This was attended by over 120 people who came to support the CMF, sample the excellent cuisine, and hear from speakers who included:

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Lord Popat of Harrow

Lord Sheikh – CMF Chairman

Syed Kamall – MEP for London

Bob Neill – MP for Bromley and Chislehurst

A particular highlight of the evening was the musical entertainment which encouraged men young and old to take part in the traditional Asian dancing. To spare their blushes, no photographs of that are being published here!

Syed Kamall took the opportunity to present certificates to the team that had won the quiz on knowledge of the European Union during the recent CMF trip to the European Parliament. From left to right above are CMF Executive members Ash Zaman and Attic Rahman, Ms Najma Begum, Sayed Kamall MEP holding the team’s prize and CMF Executive member Asif Ayub. The team also included Executive member Fuad Hamzeh who was not in this particular picture, but received his certificate separately during the dinner.

On Monday 25th February 2013, CMF Executive members Hashim Bhatti and Rabia Bhatti attended the launch event for “MP of the Year 2013.” This new award was launched in association with Mosaic Associates, Three Faiths Forum and UpRising and was hosted by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.

The MP of the Year Award represents a unique opportunity for deprived and minority communities to acknowledge and reward the contributions made to their communities by Members of Parliament.

It was a great chance to listen to key leaders such as:

• Shabir Randeree CBE (Chair, Mosaic Associates)
• Simon Woolley (Founder, Operation Black Vote)
• Andrea Cooper (Director, UpRising)
• Daniella Shaw-Gabay (Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Three Faiths Forum)
• Neil Jameson (Executive Director, Citizens UK).

Key political figures attending the event included:

• The Rt Hon Keith Vaz (Chair, Home Affairs Committee)
• Alok Sharma MP (BAME Vice Chair, Conservative Party)
• The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP (Chief Whip, Liberal Democrats)
• The political strategist Lynton Crosby AO.

Pictured left to right: Hashim Bhatti, Jonathan Freeman (National Director of Mosiac) and Alok Sharma MP.

Building on the skills and experience he gained during the Three Faiths Forum Undergraduate ParliaMentors scheme, Hashim Bhatti (CMF Executive member) has been working with Faith Matters. The Ambassadors project brings together people of different faiths and gets them to interact with each other through different activities. The interfaith aspect makes you realise that even though someone may belong to a different religion, through interacting and acknowledging your surroundings we all share many things in common.

Faith Matters is a not for profit organisation founded in 2005 which works to reduce extremism and interfaith and intra-faith tensions and they develop platforms for discourse and interaction between Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jewish and Hindu communities across the globe. It is responsible for the Tell MAMA project, of which Lord Sheikh and Mohammed Amin are both patrons.

Hashim Bhatti is pictured at the back with the scarf along with other participants on the Faith Matters Ambassadors project 2013.