MIDLANDS DIALOGUE FORUM

To Mansion House, Guildhall Lane, for a talk sponsored by the Midlands Dialogue Forum: "Rising as a Civilization: Which Muslim Countries can Accept the Challenge?" by Dr Asaf Hussain of the Universityof Leicester and Chair of the Society for Intercultural Understanding in Leicester.

The talk is well supported, with about 50 or so attendees (among them my son Alastair, Alan Race and John Hall from St Philip's Centre for Study and Engagement in a Multi Faith Society, Allan Hayes from Leicester Secular Society and Rachel Carmichael from Leicester City of Sanctuary).

I've had the pleasure of reading quite a bit of Dr Hussain's writing recently and of collaborating with him on a few occasions. His knowledge, erudition and insight are matched by his affability enthusiasm and humour.

Ten minutes or so into the talk, the room is suddenly filled with the sound of Morecambe and Wise singing "Bring Me Sunshine". I look around (as do several others) wondering whose phone that is and why they're not doing anything about it. Then I realise it's coming from my iPhone, in my pocket. but it's not my ringtone, so I don't know what's going on. I move to the back of the room, get it out and see that it's a YouTube video, which appears to have burst into life of its own accord. Ruddy iPhone!

Mansion House is the new premises of the Midlands Academy of Business and Technology (MABT). They also have a site in the Melbourne Centre, Highfields. I was occasionally involved with them there, when I did some work representing the British Accreditation Council, the agency which authenticates private institutions of further education in this country. I visited MABT a number of times, got to know some of the staff and its owner and CEO, Rokonuddin Ahmed, who is here at this meeting. I'm gald to be able to renew my acquaintance with him this evening.

Making my way back home tonight, at the end of a rather long day, there's an odd sense of experiencing the day in reverse. The frost I saw disappearing as I left the house this morning is forming again on the roofs of cars and I'm listening to another edition of Astronomy Cast (this time, "Where Do Baby Stars Come From?")

Photo of Dr Asaf Hussain courtesy of Sadik Cinar.

US ROTARIANS VISIT GURU NANAK GURDWARA

A group of Rotarians from South Carolina, USA, are on an exchange visit to the East Midlands. At lunchtime today, they're visiting the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Holy Bones. Mrs Surinder Sandhu has asked me to come to the gurdwara and be part of the small group receiving the visitors there.

The Guru Nanak Sikh Museum, which occupies the first floor of the building, was the first Sikh Museum in Europe. It opened in 1992 and its tenth anniversary was marked by a visit from the Queen – her first visit to any gurdwara on British soil. The museum recounts the narrative of Sikh history and the most important and influential figures in that narrative, mostly through paintings and photographs. So many people in these pictures, all of them important to the people here – and I know nothing about them. Humbling, really, to recognise such a big blank in my own knowledge; rather the way I felt when I saw the Fluying Sikhs documentary.

Also on display are models of The Golden Temple at Amritsar, Nankana Sahib (birthplace of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism) and five other distinguished Sikh shrines in different parts of India, known as Takhats (Seaats of Authority). The photographic gallery displays photographs dating from as early as the 1840s of those people who took part in the struggles faced by the Sikh Nation and also commemorates the role played by Sikh servicemen in both World Wars and in the struggle for India's freedom. A selection of Panjabi handcraft (Phulkaris), ancient Sikh coins, hand-written manuscripts and more are also on show.

Surinder has asked for me to provide copies of the leaflets on the Sikhs which have been produced by Leicester Council of Faiths. I also bring along the banner from our (newish) exhibition, which I get to put up in the gurdwara (and leave on show over the weekend).

I'm honoured to be asked to be present for this visit, although the visitors don't get to stay very long and don't have the chance for much interaction. We receive langar together; a table is set out for our American friends, who dine together, separate from their hosts, most of whom sit on the floor to eat. I'm not very good at sitting on the floor, so I take the chance to push in (politely) and chat with a few of our guests over the vegetarian meal. I discover that they represent six Rotary Clubs from different districts around the state of South Carolina. I ask if they're aware of a Sikh community in their own neck of the woods. They rell me that there's a gurdwara or Sikh centre in the state capital, Columbia (later, I google this and find a very interesting link, that I've included below – as well as the picture above, reproduced from the website of the the Pluralism Project at Harvard University).

I get the feeling that our visitors today are rather disoriented. On tours like this, a lot gets crammed in, but the few I speak to – it really seems like their heads are spinning! Or maybe that's just Leicester ...

Today, for the first time, I get to meet a couple who are frequently namechecked at places I go to or events I attend. Freda Hussain, MBE, former High Sheriff of Leicestershire and retired Principal of Moat Community College in Leicester, is here. The itinerary for this group of visitors has been organised by her husband, Asaf Hussain, Chair of the Scoeity for Interculutural Understanding in Leicester. He's calling this programme a "safari". I don't know how our paths haven't crossed before, but I'm glad to meet them both here today.

Find out more about Sikhs in South Carolina (and in the US in general).