Soulsby and co can't face reality
I initially wrote a letter responding to the article about Clarissa Dickson Wright, but considered it would not be published, although it voiced a real concern and the view of many whose voices are being muted. I decided not to post it.
It was, therefore, refreshing to see the Mercury would print such views and having read the letter by T Green, I wish to support the views expressed.
Ms Dickson Wright touched on the reality of what is happening to Leicester. Ibrahim Mogra, Manjula Sood and Sir Peter Soulsby all have their heads in the sand and cannot accept the truth when it is put in front of them.
Like the magic suit of clothes, it takes someone whose views have not been clouded by the progressive indoctrination of multi-culturalism to see the reality of the enclaves of this city.
I do not judge the situation from a one-off visit to the city, as Ibrahim Mogra would have us believe, but from a lifetime of seeing a city I once knew becoming a complex of enclaves.
John Croft, Leicester
Fury at TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright's comments about Muslims in Leicester
A celebrity chef has come under fire after making "hurtful" comments about the city's Muslim community.
In her new book, Clarissa Dickson Wright describes a visit to Leicester "as one of the most frightening experiences of my life".
The 65-year-old dedicates a chapter of Clarissa's England: A Gamely Gallop Through the English Counties to each county in England, discussing their culinary, cultural and historical merits. On Leicestershire, she writes of the city's "ghetto".
She describes coming off the ring road to escape a traffic jam and becoming lost.
"I found myself in an area where all the men were wearing Islamic clothing and all the women were wearing burkas and walking slightly behind them," she wrote.
She said the men would not talk to her "because I was an English female and they don't talk to females they don't know".
She said: "Here I was, in the heart of a city in the middle of my own country, a complete outcast and pariah.
"If multiculturalism works, which I have always been rather dubious of, surely it must be multicultural and not monocultural.
"I can only hope that in generations to come there will be a merging of the cultures and not the exclusion zone that is the ghetto."
Ibrahim Mogra, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, and a city imam, said: "How is she judging an entire community on her one-off rare time of getting lost in Leicester?
"I find it very hurtful to read because everybody is working so hard to create a peaceful and happy Leicester.
"It showed a complete lack of appreciation of the fact we are almost two million in this country, doing our bit for our country.
"When she says that she was in the centre of a city in the centre of her own country, I take objection. This is also my country and this is also my city.
"I would like to call on Leicester people to be even more welcoming and hospitable than we've been so far."
Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "That is the sort of thing that makes me very angry – when someone breezes in from outside and paints a picture of Leicester that does not have any foundation in reality."It may help sell books but it is cheap."
Councillor Manjula Sood, chairman of Leicester Council of Faiths, urged readers to ignore her comments.
"I don't believe a meeting with one person on one street should mean you can label a whole city," she said.
Both Coun Sood and Mr Mogra invited Ms Dickson Wright back to the city for an opportunity to change her opinions.
When contacted by the Mercury, the chef, who lives in Edinburgh, said: "I'm surprised any of the people who might object could read what I wrote as it is written in English.
"When you get to 65, you will think back on this conversation and I think you might find yourself in my frame of mind."
She said she had a lot of Muslim friends but her experience of Leicester was "unpleasant".
"It scared me and I am not scared easy," she said.
Asked why, she said: "Because it was part of my country that I was born in and there are a lot of radical Muslim preachers in this country.
"I was in London when the July 7 (2005 bomb attacks) happened and this to me was proof for those people who have been saying we're getting ghettoisation of Muslim areas.
"I have never believed that political correctness was a reason not to say what I have experienced."
She said she had "done a lot" for Leicestershire, campaigning for the protected geographical status of Melton pork pies and Stilton.
In her book, Ms Dickson Wright praised Melton's food festival, saying "it was just everything that a good food festival should be".
She also wrote about "charming" Market Harborough, and "pleasant" Oakham.
She is signing copies of her book at Northfield Farm Christmas Fair, in Cold Overton, on Saturday.
ON THE COUNTY
In her book, Ms Dickson Wright wrote:
Melton: I first came across it at the original Melton Mowbray Food Festival, which, in the first two years, was held in the cattle market in Melton Mowbray and was to my mind without doubt the best food festival in the country.
(It had) produce from the Asian communities, in particular in Leicester, and the West Indian community, and it was just everything that a good food festival should be.
Market Harborough: A charming old town.
Rutland: Rutland is a triumph and a lesson to us all.
Oakham: A pleasant town with all the right sort of shops and bookshops and I am always happy to visit it.
ON LEICESTER
I had one of the most frightening experiences of my life there.
Leicester has a very high Asian Muslim population and I found myself in an area where all the men were wearing Islamic clothing and all the women were wearing burkas and walking slightly behind them.
None of the men would talk to me when I tried to find out where I was and how to get out of there because I was an English female and they don’t talk to females they don’t know, while if the women could speak English they weren’t about to show it by having a word with me.
(She bought a map at a newsagents.) Somebody, very reluctantly, pointed to where I was and then I had to work out the rest myself.
I have many good acquaintances and even some friends among the Muslim community, yet here I was, in the heart of a city in the middle of my own country, a complete outcast and pariah.
If multiculturalism works, which I have always been rather dubious of, surely it must be multicultural and not monocultural.
However, everything has an upside and one of the results of this is that Leicester has a very good selection of Asian restaurants.
I can only hope that in generations to come there will be a merging of the cultures and not the exclusion zone that is the ghetto.
Special meal marks end of Ramadan
Members of different religions in the city gathered for a meal together.
Bishop of Leicester, the Right Reverend Tim Stevens, and assistant city mayor Manjula Sood were among the guests who joined Muslims marking the end of their day of fasting for Ramadan.
The event, at St Philip's Centre [St Philip's Church, in fact], in Evington, Leicester, on Wednesday, August 15, was organised by the Federation of Muslim Organisations in Leicester.
The meal, known as an Iftaar, was attended by guests representing Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and other faiths and non-faith communities.
The federation also organised regular meals for the homeless and hungry during Ramadan.
Federation spokesman Suleman Nagdi, said: "The blessed month of Ramadan is a time for sharing and giving.
"However, there are many Muslims and people of other faiths who are vulnerable and lonely and do not get to enjoy the togetherness of Iftaar. It is our hope that we are able to bring hope and happiness to those who desperately need it."
This email has been widely circulated today by
Leicestershire Sikh Alliance after the public vigil organised by Leicester Council of Faiths for victims of the shootings in the Oak Creek Gurdwara, Wisconsin.
Members of Leicester Council of Faiths who
attended the vigil appear to agree that the Council of Faiths did itself more good in the eyes of those present - City Councillors, local media - and especially the Sikh community of Leicester and Leicestershire - in 25 minutes last Sunday evening than it had in the
whole of the last 25 years. This spilled over into social media, with a lot of traffic on Twitter and coverage on Facebook in particular.
Since this was an event illumined by open demonstrations of friendship, support and sympathy across the boundaries of culture, language, nationality and race, it's appropriate to see it (and its ramifications for our city's communities) in the light of this quotation from Bahá'u'lláh's Hidden Words that came to my mind while I was there: "words are the property of all alike, whereas such deeds as these belong only to Our loved ones". Actions speak louder than words.
And that links so aptly with the invocation that opens the message below. This may be translated into English as, "The Khalsa belongs to God, all victory is the victory of God."
Vaheguru
Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh
With
hundreds of people in attendance, including all faith leaders, the
vigil for the victims of the Wisconsin Gurdwara massacre was a resounding
success. In these dark hours, it was amazing for all communities to come
together and start the healing process as one universal
Leicester community.
A big
thank you to Cllr Manjula Sood and Leicester Council of Faiths
for arranging this event. And an even bigger thank you to Cllr
Inderjeet Gugnani who was the unsung hero and hidden architect
for the whole event.
Also it
was great to hear Jon Ashworth MP's speech. "Tonight
we are all Sikhs", was very touching. Nice one
Jon! This massacre was the largest attack on the Sikh community
within the western hemisphere for over half a century. Is it therefore
right that only one MP from the City and County bothered to show? In one
word, "diabolical!".
Pictures
attached courtesy of Punjab2000
PukaarNews UK, online
news channel
JonAshworth MP's speech,
Leicester South
A few
words from Surinderpal Rai, General Secretary GTBG
A few
words from Amandeep Rai, Public Relations Officer LSA
A few
words from George M Ballentyne, Equality & Diversity Officer
LCOF
A few words
from Sharnjeet Kaur
Thanks
Amandeep Rai (Public Relations Officer for LSA)
At Bishop's Lodge, Springfield Road, this evening for the annual garden party hosted by the Bishop of Leicester. Bishop Tim holds this event at a similar time each year, extending his hospitality to members of his Faith Leaders Forum. This particular gathering is dedicated to celebrating the 25th anniversary of the founding of Leicester Council of Faiths. This has meant that many people who are not normally invited to attend the Faith Leaders Forum have been asked here this evening. Representatives of the eight member communities which constitute the Council of Faiths are in attendance, as are friends and supporters, including those who don't identify with any particular faith - or, indeed, any faith at all.
After we've enjoyed some food together, Bishop Tim gives a welcoming address, in which he mentions the major events which have happened during his tenure: the millennium; 9/11; war in Afghanistan and Iraq; 7/7. All these events played their part in leading to the establishment of the Faith Leaders Forum and the St Philip's Centre for Study and Engagement in a Multi-Faith Society, both of which have strengthened the Diocese's presence in inter-faith engagement.
We hear a message from Dr Atta'ullah Siddiqui, former Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths, followed by a speech from Cllr Manjula Sood and current Chair. She recognises the endeavour of founding figures and early members of the Council of Faiths, some of whom are here, some of whom are now too old and inform to be present at this occasion, some of whom have passed away.
There's a convivial atmosphere with a lot of praise for the progress that the Council of Faiths has made over the last quarter of a century, as well as recognition of some of the big challenges ahead. Much confidence is expressed that the Council of Faiths will meet the tests of the future, as it has the tests of the past. Such confidence is all very well, but from my point of view, with my sleeves rolled up, doing the day-to-day work of the Council of Faiths, I'd have liked someone to acknowledge that our biggest challenge will be meeting those forthcoming tests with less funding, fewer committed members and potentially (and most damagingly) no staff. I would deny that that's lack of faith on my part. I don't believe that all those who have the opportunity to speak this evening are actually aware of the oncoming difficulties in terms of resourcing and sustaining the work of Leicester Council of Faiths.
In the photo above: The Right Revd Dr Tom Butler (the previous Bishop of Leicester), Kayhar Singh, Tony Nelson, Minou Cortazzi and Cllr Manjula Sood cut the 25th anniversary cake. I get a lovely corner bit, which has the best icing coverage.
