The Conservative Muslim Forum was shocked and deeply saddened by the murder of six innocent Sikhs on Sunday 5 August while they were attending a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in the suburbs of Milwaukee. Our thoughts go out to the bereaved and their lost loved ones, and we pray for the recovery of those wounded, who include one of the heroic responding police officers.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has classified this as a case of domestic terrorism, and has revealed that the killer, Wade Michael Page, committed suicide after being wounded by the police. No motives have been identified for the attack, but in the intervening period it has emerged that the killer had extensive connections with “white power” neo-Nazi organisations.

Sadly all around the world there are people who regard themselves as superior to others whom they consider as less human than themselves. Such attitudes can easily lead to tragic incidents such as the Oak Creek killings. The Conservative Muslim Forum will continue its work to remind all people that we are one human race, and that the things which divide us are far less important than our common humanity.

15 November will see elections throughout England and Wales to elect Police and Crime Commissioners. (London is excluded since the Mayor of London already has the same powers as a Police and Crime Commissioner.)It is important for the Conservative Party that we win as many of these elections as possible, and important for the CMF to do everything it can to help our candidates.

The website http://www.policeelections.com/ has been launched by Policy Exchange, an independent charity, and is an easy way of finding out more and learning who your Conservative candidate is if you do not already know.

We encourage all CMF Members to make contact with their local campaign and volunteer to do what they can to help the campaign.

This is a reminder that today is the last day for applications to the USA Political Exchange programme.

As the application form requires a referee, some potential applicants have asked whether Lord Sheikh (CMF Chairman) or Mohammed Amin (CMF Vice Chairman) could be their referee. In each case Lord Sheikh and Mohammed Amin have explained that they must remain impartial and cannot act as a referee. The reason is that both have been involved in the formulation of the programme, and Mohammed Amin will be working jointly with the US Embassy to select which candidates will be chosen for the programme.

Many British people have been horrified by the recent violence in Rakhine State in Burma. The BBC News website has an excellent short background briefing on the issue.

The British Government has taken a strong position on this issue. Our Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs the Rt Hon William Hague MP has recently said:

“We encourage the [Burmese] government to ensure that it treats the affected communities fairly and equitably and to ensure that the authorities prevent any further bloodshed. There is also a need to seek a long term solution to the problems they face in a manner which recognises their human rights, including their right to nationality, and to take effective steps which prevents any further forced or involuntary displacement and which does not leave them permanently displaced.”

The full text of Mr Hague’s statement can be read on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website.

The Conservative Muslim Forum has also written to Mr Hague. Our letter is copied below.

The Conservative Muslim Forum organised an event on Heart Disease and Obesity at the House of Lords on 20 June 2012.  The event was co-chaired Lord Sheikh (chair of the CMF) Dr M Farrukh Hussain, consultant psychiatrist and chair of CMF Health.  Dr Shakeel Qureshi, a renowned Consultant Cardiologist at St Thomas’s Hospital and of Pakistani origin gave a presentation using PowerPoint on different types of heart diseases, their reasons, treatments and the latest advances and developments in his field of work.

The presentation covered the diagnosis of heart diseases and their treatments.  Dr Shakeel said that the incidence of heart diseases in people of South Asian origin is higher than in other communities in the UK.  He added that fatty foods and static life styles are responsible for that.  The presentation also covered the diagnosis of heart diseases in unborn babies and the latest techniques for their treatment in situ.  The session ended with an interesting, informative and knowledge enhancing Q & A session.

The nutritionist, Mr Phil Veasey, talked about the escalating challenge of obesity, especially among UK Asians and its causes and solutions.  He gave a description of his MEND programme (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do It!) and its application resulting in the achievement of good results in the Asian community amongst youth in East London.  He also gave an overall picture of the problem of obesity, with the help of a PowerPoint presentation, to drive home the points relevant to overweight individuals and how this leads to ill health and diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and stroke.  There were very useful and relevant questions from participants.  As a token of the CMF’s thanks, Lord Sheikh presented both speakers with mementos of their visit to House of Lords and their useful presentations.

In the picture, Lord Sheikh is seated in the centre, and on his left are Dr Hussain, Dr Qureshi and Mr Veasey.

The Conservative Muslim Forum held a meeting last year when the Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley outlined the Government’s proposals for major changes in the NHS and its service delivery.  Lord Sheikh invited him back to speak at our event on 13th June 2012 for update on the proposed changes.

Opening the meeting, Lord Sheikh said that major and fundamental changes were much needed for the good of everyone’s health and this has been achieved by the Health & Social Care Bill becoming law.

Dr Farrukh Hussain, Chair of the Health Group of CMF and also Chair of the Pakistani Professionals’ Forum introduced the speaker to the room which was full with a keen audience.  He said that Andrew Lansley had succeeded in the face of great opposition from the Nurses Union, the BMA, GPs, Hospitals, Doctors and Consultants, in fact from the entire medical establishment.  He deserved full credit for that achievement.

The Health Secretary highlighted that tele-health will support the redesign of health services, stating that “Tele-health is not just the technology; it’s the way to redesign the service.”

He added that strong leadership would be needed from within the service for the changes and involving a GP & Clinical Led Patients and Intelligence Directorate, a National Commissioning Board, and a Special Health Authority.

The future is in computers and monitors on the desks of all GPs.  One for accessing databases such as patient records; the other for remote consultations to make life easier for both doctors and patients by sharing records electronically between GPs and consultants. The sharing of records will allow consultants to email a provisional opinion within 24 hours, and that technology will continue to change medicine further.  There could be such changes as consultations via video-link.

He assured the audience that the health commissioning process is on track and that the NHS budget is not to be cut. Instead savings will be made to help increase spending on NHS facilities in the areas and specialities which need to be developed to improve health facilities.

In the picture above, Andrew Lansley is speaking with Lord Sheikh on his right and Dr Hussain on his left.

The Conservative Muslim Forum invited the renowned asian pop singer and philanthropist Abrar Ul Haq to speak at the House of Lords about his musical career and charitable work.

The event was chaired by CMF Youth Chairman Raza Anjum who noted that Abrar had received support for his social work from the British Council. Lord Sheikh, the Chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum highlighted how Abrar had opened a 250 bed hospital in rural punjab in order to provide free medical treatment to underprivileged members of society.

In his speech Abrar spoke about his career and his humanitarian work which includes providing shelter to tens of thousands of displaced people as a result of natural disasters. Abrar also entertained the packed audience by singing a few of his most famous songs. The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all and was attended by the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC MP.

Raza Anjum, Chairman of the CMF Youth Wing, was one of two United Kingdom representatives at the Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The three day conference held on 22-24 April 2012 was sponsored by the U.S. State Department and brought together more than 70 young elected political and civil society minority leaders representing 26 countries across Europe and the United States. It marked an important milestone for strengthening relations between emerging minority leaders on both sides of the Atlantic.

Pictured are Raza Anjum with Rita Jo Lewis, the Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

CMF Youth hosted Gavin Barwell, MP for Croydon Central, in the House of Lords for a discussion on “The Conservative Party’s plans to promote community cohesion and integration”. The event was chaired by CMF Youth Chairman Raza Anjum who in his opening remarks highlighted the need for all ethnic minorities to integrate into British society and to embrace British values.

Lord Sheikh, Chairman of the CMF spoke about how Britain was a land of opportunity and spoke highly about British values.

In his speech, Gavin Barwell MP set out how the demographics of his constituency have changed over the years and how Britain is a rich, vibrant and diverse country. He spoke at length about the various factors relating to community cohesion and also highlighted the important role that education and representation can play in the process of integration.

The event was well attended and included a lively question and answer session.

The Conservative Muslim Forum is delighted to congratulate Boris Johnson on his re-election as Mayor of London.

In the last four years, Boris has led the way in preserving and enhancing the status of London as the premier world city, and as a place for Londoners to live and to develop their careers. We look forward to another four years of Boris continuing to build on the achievements of his first term.

A victory like this is only achieved by the hard work of many people who were inspired by Boris to volunteer for him. The Conservative Muslim Forum is proud to have played its part in campaigning for Boris. Some of what we have done can be seen on our website, but all around London unsung heroes from the CMF will have played their part in working for Boris’s victory.