On Friday 15th March 2013, CMF Executive member, Hashim Bhatti, was selected for a three month internship with Interact. Hashim has been working at the grassroots level in the London Borough of Barnet looking at issues ranging from homelessness and animal rights to youth unemployment. He will be holding a ‘Youth Awareness Day at Chipping Barnet Library on Saturday 25th May 2013 where some speakers and charities will showcase the range of employment opportunities that do exist for youngsters.

Interact is a youth-led non-profit organisation that brings together people from all faiths, beliefs and cultural backgrounds. Their aim is to build a cohesive society where diversity is valued and celebrated. They achieve this by creating opportunities for face-to-face dialogue through side-by-side action, building respect and understanding through interaction.

The Interact blog can be found at http://youthinteract.wordpress.com/about-us/ and the employment opportunities fair at http://interact-uk.org.uk/employment-opportunities-fair/

Hashim Bhatti (in blue) with the group of participants on the Interact Leadership programme 2013.

On Wednesday 24th April 2013, CMF Executive members, Faruk Miah MBE, Councillor Asif Ayub, Ahmedur Rahman and Hashim Bhatti were invited onto the Bangladeshi TV channel, ‘NTV’ which transmits on the Sky platform channel number 852.

The were asked to discuss the importance of being involved in their local community and in politics.

The programme is part of a series called ‘Community Matters’ being presented by Faruk Miah MBE. Each of the Executive members drew upon their personal experiences to inspire the Muslim audience to get involved in politics and to be active citizens.

In the photograph, left to right, are Kamal Ali, Ahmedur Rahman, Faruk Miah MBE , Hashim Bhatti and Cllr Asif Ayub.

The Conservative Muslim Forum is shocked and horrified by the murder of a man on the streets of Woolwich, London earlier today.

Reports indicate that the victim was a soldier and that the killers shouted Allahu Akbar (Arabic for “God is great”) as they carried out their crime. A video has appeared on television in which one of the killers makes statements about suffering in overseas countries.

The Conservative Muslim Forum condemns this murder in the strongest possible terms. The killers and any accomplices must be punished with the full force of the law.

No political or ideological beliefs can justify such a crime. Any claim by the killers to be acting in the name of Islam is specious, and invoking God’s name while committing a crime is an obscene action offensive to all Muslims.

As well as facing prosecution and punishment by the legal system, in the fullness of time the killers will answer to God on the Day of Judgement for their crimes.

Those who commit such crimes often wish to divide our country and set Muslim and non-Muslim citizens against each other. The Conservative Muslim Forum calls upon all Britons to unite against such criminals, and to reject any attempts to destroy the harmony of our peaceful society.

We should remember that there are nearly 2.8 million Muslims in the United Kingdom, nearly all of whom are law abiding citizens. Sadly amongst them is a tiny minority with distorted and incorrect views which lead them to commit criminal actions which are not permitted in Islam, killing or injuring their direct victims, and seeking to damage our society’s cohesion.

In contrast to such criminals, many Muslims serve in our country’s Armed Forces and police services helping to protect our society against external and internal threats. The Conservative Muslim Forum encourages Muslims to pursue these careers and our chairman Lord Sheikh has consistently supported the Armed Forces Muslim Association and the National Association of Muslim Police.

On 22 April 2013 Executive Member Faruk Miah MBE led a delegation of 22 CMF members and supporters, including Lady Sheikh, on a visit to the European Parliament.

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU) and it helps to govern the EU along with the Council of the EU and the European Commission. It currently consists of 754 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from the 27 member states. The UK has 73 Members, France 74 while Germany has 99.

The UK therefore has significant influence in the European Parliament but the work of our MEP’s is little understood and often under-estimated. With MEP’s election taking place in 2014 and David Cameron’s pledge for an In/Out Referendum scheduled for 2017, the CMF took the opportunity to meet with Syed Kamall MEP to better explore the UK’s role is in Europe. Syed Kamall has been an MEP since 2005 and continues his excellent work to ensure the UK continues to be a major voice in Europe, and is a member of the EU Parliament committee dealing with financial regulation.

In the photograph above, from left to right:

Front row: Fiona Barry, Sotez Chowdhury, Ajantha Tennakoon, Hasina Momtaz, Omar Faruk, Syed Kamall MEP, Lady Sheikh, Ash Zaman, Jenin Khanam, Nafeesa Ashraf.

Second row: Zunaed Ahmed, Shaheen Mahmood, Muhammed Nurul Islam, Sophia Hill, Hashim Bhatti, Faruk Miah MBE, Najma Begum.

Back row: Muhammed Rashid Salik, Fuad Hamzah, Ahmedur Rahman, Cllr Asif Ayub.

On Tuesday 15th January 2013, CMF Executive member Hashim Bhatti was invited to participate in a BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) Young Leaders mentoring session with Lynton Crosby AO (Order of Australia) organised by the Patchwork Foundation.

Lynton Crosby is the chief political strategist in charge of David Cameron’s 2015 re-election campaign. In the past, he has widely been credited for the success of Boris Johnson’s 2008 election campaign and 2012 re-election campaign.

The mentoring session focused on having a clear message which engaged with voters when campaigning. It was also vital to ensure that one had a key voter base to rely on. At the same time, when deciding which political issues to focus on, factors such as whether the issue was generally salient, whether it was personally relevant, whether it was capable of being politically differentiated and finally, whether the issue related to the way people actually behave in the polling stations were all relevant considerations.

Hashim Bhatti is sitting in the centre of the picture with the blue jumper and white collar. Lynton Crosby in on the far right of the picture.

The one hour video of the meeting is embedded below. It provides an excellent record of Lynton Crosby explaining how effective political campaigning is conducted.

The Conservative Muslim Forum held its annual general meeting at 1 Millbank on Tuesday 16 April. As the agenda was relatively short, the meeting was scheduled to precede the monthly meeting of the CMF Executive.

As with all CMF events, we began with a Quran recitation which was given by Cllr Altaf Hussain.

Lord Sheikh then paid tribute to Baroness Thatcher, whose funeral he would be attending the following day. Earlier that afternoon while Baroness Thatcher’s coffin was lying in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster Lady Sheikh had been one of the few people invited to the service that was held there. Lord Sheikh also gave a brief summary of the CMF’s activities during 2012.

The CMF accounts for 2012 were tabled, discussed and approved.

The constitution was amended to change the elected position of Vice Chairman into Deputy Chairman, and to enable the Executive to designate one or more of its members as Vice Chairman or Vice Chairmen, and also to enable the CMF Executive to appoint a President or Presidents. After the constitutional changes were passed, the meeting resolved that the current Vice Chairman Mohammed Amin should become the Deputy Chairman, to hold this office until the current Executive’s term expires.

The group photo below was taken. Seated left to right: Mohammed Amin, Lord Sheikh, Lady Sheikh, Shaheen Mahmood.

Standing front row L-R: Cllr Altaf Hussain, Mohammed Shuaib Sheikh, Omar Faruk, Navshir Jaffer, Ahmedur Rahman, Ash Zaman, Faruk Miah, Ajantha Tennakoon, Jeanne-Marie Douglas.

Standing outer row L-R: Imran Khan, Hashim Bhatti, Mike Mogul, Samir Thantrey, Cllr Raza Anjum, Fuad Hamzeh, Moawia Bin Sufyan.

After the AGM and Executive meeting, some of the participants went for an informal meal at Bangalore. Cllr Asif Ayub is at the left of the picture below; he is absent from the above picture as he took it.

The British Library recently had a major exhibition “Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire” which is now closed.

At its peak, the Mughal Empire stretched from Kabul in the northwest and covered most of the South Asian subcontinent. Descendants of Timur (Tamerlane), the Mughal emperors ruled over the land from the 16th century through to the late 17th century and are credited with producing some of the most beautiful artefacts and architecture in India. During this period, the rulers encouraged artistry, reformed government and accelerated the development of Indian transport and communications.

Lord Sheikh organised a private viewing of the Exhibition on 21 March 2013 which was free to CMF Members and Supporters and their guests. The group had the further benefit of a speaker from the British Library and a curator. Before the viewing, Lord Sheikh also gave a brief speech relating to the Mughal Empire and the Emperors. He talked about the dynasty which was founded by Babur in 1526 and ended when the last Mughal Emperor Bahadar Shah Zafir was deposed by the British in 1857 and exiled to Burma in 1858.

The Executive of the Conservative Muslim Forum is deeply saddened by the death of Baroness Thatcher, and extends its sympathy to her family.

It is our country’s good fortune that at key moments of crisis, great leaders emerge.

It is hard to remember now the state of our country at the time when Margaret Thatcher became the leader of our Party (the first woman to lead any major British political party) and when she was elected as our country’s first woman Prime Minister. In the most difficult of circumstances, her government’s determination, resolution and innovation transformed our country’s future. She will forever be remembered as the saviour of our country.

It is not only Britain that owes a debt of gratitude to Baroness Thatcher. The darkest moment of her time in office was the day that Argentine troops invaded the Falkland Islands. The determination and refusal to contemplate surrender that Mrs Thatcher showed at that time led not only to the liberation of the Falkland Islands; they led directly to the collapse of the Argentine Junta and the liberation of the people of Argentina from a brutal military dictatorship.

Margaret Thatcher was our country’s longest serving Prime Minister of the 20’th century, as well as our first woman Prime Minister. However, beyond that, we believe she will be remembered as the greatest peacetime Prime Minister that our country has ever had.

Postscript

Our chairman, Lord Sheikh, is deeply honoured to have been invited to Baroness Thatcher’s funeral and God willing will be attending.

The CMF’s fourth objective is “Encourage Muslims to make effective and positive contributions to the development of an inclusive and cohesive society in the United Kingdom.”

Accordingly we encourage Muslims to be involved with all of the organisations that provide an opportunity to serve our society, including the armed forces and the police. In that regard, on 28 March 2014 Lord Sheikh and several members of the CMF Executive met with two senior officers from our army to discuss how we may be able to help them with regard to recruitment and community engagement.

In the picture below, from left to right are:

1. Ash Zaman, Executive member.
2. Lieutenant Colonel Colette MacDonald, SO1 Diversity, Directorate of Manning (Army).
3. Colonel Simon JR Browne OBE, Commander, The Army Engagement Group.
4. Lord Sheikh, CMF Chairman.
5. Mohammed Amin, CMF Deputy Chairman.
6. Mike Mogul, Executive Member.

Executive members Faruk Miah and Fuad Hamzeh also attended the meeting but are not in the photograph.

British Muslims have recently been alarmed at the sudden and rather aggressive publicity surrounding the issue of religious methods of slaughter of animals for food. Our Chairman Lord Sheikh, has been particularly concerned and hence decided to take up the cause and take appropriate action.

On 16th January 2014, a debate was held in the House of Lords, during which several Peers provided insights from both religious and scientific points of views. The debate was of a high quality and was well-received.

Lord Sheikh spoke in the debate and was clear; “Islam forbids the mistreatment of animals; the welfare of animals is enshrined in Muslim beliefs”.

His speech can be read in full on the linked website page which also has a link to the Hansard debate.

In February, Denmark passed a law banning the religious slaughter of animals for the production of Halal and Kosher meat. This followed bans in Poland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

The Danish Minister for Agriculture and Food stated that “animal rights come before religion”. The campaign group Danish Halal collected more than 13,000 signatures opposing the law change. They stated that the new law was a “clear interference in religious freedom and limits the Muslims and the Jews’ right to practice their religion in Denmark”.

Earlier this month, the new President-elect of the British Veterinary Association, John Blackwell, said that he felt the UK should follow in the footsteps of Denmark and outlaw the religious slaughter of animals that have not been stunned first.

Mr Blackwell suggested that British Muslims should allow animals to be stunned before slaughter in the interests of their welfare.

Following these comments, Lord Sheikh wrote a letter to the Daily Telegraph which was published on 15 March 2014. He outlined his concern at the misunderstanding that could result from Mr Blackwell’s comments and provided clarity about the Halal method of slaughter. The full text of the letter is reproduced below:

“ SIR – As a Muslim peer who contributed to a recent debate in the House of Lords on the subject of religious slaughter, I have been alarmed at the sudden and rather aggressive publicity surrounding the issue.

The recent comments from John Blackwell, president-elect of the British Veterinary Association, have led to misunderstandings.

Islam strictly forbids the mistreating of animals; there are numerous references throughout the Koran to substantiate this.

The Muslim method of slaughter, known as zabiha, ensures an extremely quick and near-painless death. A properly trained practitioner will cleanly sever the structures at the front of the neck with such speed and precision that blood empties rapidly, from both the body and the brain, and consciousness is lost immediately. Claims that animals are cut and left to bleed slowly to death are untrue.

In other methods, when stunning is used, the animal is paralysed and unable to display signs of pain. Animals can even regain consciousness before the point of slaughter.

We must pay greater attention to the wider welfare of animals throughout their lives, including the conditions in which they are bred, housed and transported.

Lord Sheikh
London SW1

In order to take the matter further, Lord Sheikh also wrote to the Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Mr Cameron, during his first visit to Israel as Prime Minister, made a pledge to the Jewish community to defend Kosher shechita in the United Kingdom. Lord Sheikh congratulated the Prime Minister on this announcement and was keen to obtain a similar assurance from the Government to defend Halal zabiha.

Lord Sheikh, along with the Jewish Peer Lord Palmer, also met with Lord de Mauley on 19 March 2014 as the Minister with responsibility at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Lord de Mauley gave assurance that the existing methods of religious slaughter will be retained. DEFRA have approved a press release which is reproduced below.

Press release approved by DEFRA

There has been some concern amongst the Muslim and Jewish communities of possible discontinuance of the current practice of religious slaughter in the country.

Lord de Mauley, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, received representations from Lord Sheikh and Lord Palmer of Childs Hill. Lord de Mauley met the two Peers to discuss the matter on 19 March.

Lord de Mauley said that: “The government has no intention of banning religious slaughter. We would prefer animals to be stunned before slaughter but respect the rights of religious communities and will retain the existing longstanding national rules on religious slaughter in our new domestic regulations protecting the welfare of animal at slaughter”.

Lord Sheikh and Lord Palmer of Childs Hill welcomed the official reassurance from the Minister which will be welcomed by the Muslim & Jewish Communities

Lord Sheikh, along with members of the Conservative Muslim Forum and the wider Muslim community believes that we must pay much greater attention to the wider welfare of animals throughout their lives, including the conditions in which they are bred, housed and transported.

Lord Sheikh feels that we should introduce an efficient system of self-regulation for upholding welfare standards. Such a system would have a rigorous code of conduct at its heart and would reassure non-Muslims that such animals are being respected and standards are being adhered to.

Furthermore, he believes that everybody, regardless of race or religion, is entitled to transparency over how their food is produced. Consumers must be able to make an informed choice about the meat they buy.

In that respect, he is calling for a non-discriminatory system of universal meat labelling, to indicate the manner of stunning for stunned meat as well as highlighting non-stunned meat.

Update 20 May 2014

On 12 March 2014 Prime Minister David Cameron addressed the Knesset during his visit to Israel. His speech mentioned religious slaughter:

I have stood up to protect Jewish practices too. The Jewish community has been an absolute exemplar in integrating into British life in every way. But integration doesn’t mean that you have to give up things that you hold very dear in your religion. When people challenged Kosher Shechita I have defended it. I fought as a backbench Member of Parliament against the last attempt to do something to change this, and there is no way I’m allowing that to change now I’m Prime Minister – on my watch Shechita is safe in the United Kingdom.

While it is clear that protection of kosher slaughter goes hand in hand with protection halal slaughter, David Cameron put the matter beyond doubt in his speeech on 31 March 2014 at the Muslim News Awards, which were attended by CMF Chairman Lord Sheikh and CMF Deputy Chairman Mohammed Amin:

And let me make absolutely clear that, while I’m Prime Minister of this country, Halal is safe in Britain.

Lord Sheikh subsequently wrote to thank Mr Cameron for his remarks. The Prime Minister replied on 28 April 2014 and we have his permission to publish his reply here.