Conservative Muslim Forum Northwest was launched at a dinner in Manchester on the 14th May.

The dinner was attended by over 400 people and the speakers included Lord Sheikh (Chairman of CMF), Caroline Spelman MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government), Sajjad Karim MEP, Mohammed Amin (Vice-Chairman of CMF), Mohammad Idrees (Chairman of CMF Northwest), Azmat Hussain (Vice-Chairman of CMF Northwest) and Cllr Faraz Bhatti.

The number of persons supporting the Conservative Party is very much on the increase and this is evident whenever Lord Sheikh and Executive Members of the Conservative Muslim Forum meet people up and down the country.

Lord Sheikh, in conjunction with Cllr Raza Anjum (Chairman of CMF Youth), hosted and chaired a meeting in the House of Lords for the Associate Parliamentary Group for Afghanistan and the British Council Associate Parliamentary Group.

The discussion focused on education and global citizenship in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Other members of the panel included Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods MP (Chair of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Afghanistan), Sue Beaumont (British Council Director Pakistan), Sital Dhillon (British Council Director Afghanistan) and Paul Rowen MP.

Shaun Bailey (Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hammersmith) visited the House of Lords to speak at a function organised by CMF Youth. He spoke about his experiences – both at work and personal.

Also in attendance were Lord Sheikh who also said a few words, Cllr Raza Anjum (Chairman of CMF Youth), Samir Thantrey (Vice-Chairman of CMF Youth), Lady Sheikh and Shaheen Mahmood (CMF Executive Secretary)

Lord Sheikh (Chairman) attended a function in Maidenhead, organised by Islamic Trust (Maidenhead), to celebrate the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi. The event was well attended and the speakers included Lord Sheikh, Theresa May MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions) and Cllr Dorothy Kemp (The Mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead).

The theme of the event was “Teachings of Islam to live together in a Multifaith Society” and Lord Sheikh emphasised the value of educating our children and the importance of equality in Islam.

Mohammed Rana (CMF Executive Member) organised a function for the British Muslim Association of Merton to celebrate the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi.

The event was very well attended and was a great success. Mr Rana, who is a member of the Executive Committee of the Conservative Muslim Forum, is the Chairman of the Muslim Association of Merton.

Lord Sheikh was one of the speakers and referred to the speech made by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) at Arafat and its relevance in the modern world. He also talked about the need to look after the environment and quoted the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in regard to the sayings on the subject of the environment.

Lord Sheikh (Chairman) promoted the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Ilford South, Toby Boutle at a function organised by the Ilford South Conservative Association.

Lord Sheikh entertained the crowd with humorous stories and held an auction which raised funds for the Conservative Party in Ilford South. Also in attendance was Cllr Keith Prince (Chairman of Redbridge Conservative Association).

Lord Sheikh hosted a visit from the Pakistani Professionals Forum to the House of Lords.

In his talk Lord Sheikh highlighted the fact that the Pakistanis have played an active role in the advancement and wellbeing of the United Kingdom. They have been successful in every walk of life including excelling in numerous professions and businesses.

Lord Sheikh (Chairman of the CMF) was invited to make the keynote speech at the World Takaful Conference in Dubai.

The subject of his speech was “Towards an $11 billion market by 2015? Revitalising the Real Growth Opportunities for Takaful in International Markets.”

Lord Sheikh (Chairman of the CMF) was invited to speak at the Islamic Funds Conference in Edinburgh that was organised by the Islamic Finance Council. The subject of Lord Sheikh’s speech was “Life opportunities in the Islamic financial arena”.

Mohammed Amin (Vice-Chairman of the CMF) is also very actively involved in the area of Islamic Finance. He is a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and leads their Islamic Finance practice in the UK.

In April 2009 Mohammed Amin (Vice-Chairman) and Nash Jaffer (Treasurer) addressed a primarily Muslim audience at the Dialogue Society (www.dialoguesociety.org) on “What a Conservative Government would mean for British Muslims.”

The format was a short presentation followed by a long question and answer session, during which no questions were turned away. The audience appreciated the opportunity to engage with the speakers both of whom stressed the need for Muslims to engage in politics, being their right as citizens and their obligation as Muslims.