MUSLIM BURIAL COUNCIL OF LEICESTERSHIRE: NEW PREMISES

This afternoon I make my first visit to the new premises of MBCOL: Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire. And very nicely appointed they are too: modern but comfortable, stylish but simple, dignified but welcoming - and with some decent fresh coffee too.

MBCOL has been at this new address in Moat Road, Spinney Hills, for three months. Mind you, I never set foot in their old premises on East Park Road, so make this my first visit to MBCOL, period.

That's my friend and colleague, Suleman Nagdi, Chairman of the Board of MBCOL, outside their offices. The green door that's the farther away of the two leads into a smaller office specifically for those wishing to arrange a funeral. The larger entrance and the area it leads into is general reception, office, kitchen and stairs to the boardroom on the first floor. In the boardroom, MBCOL provides training for different faith groups and community organisations on all aspects of death and bereavement (e.g. how to register a death; managing relationships with General Practitioners, hospitals, cemeteries and crematoria; involvement of police and ambulance services; how to deal with a death at home). This advice, guidance and training is offered free of charge, not just to the Muslim community but also to any and all who wish to avail themselves of it. MBCOL is also involved with innovative projects such as virtual autopsy device pioneered by the University of Leicester, which will be to the benefit of all those communities and families who find intrusive techniques objectionable. 

I'm glad of the opportunity to chat with Suleman about the historical development, present situation and future prospects for MBCOL. We discuss how to help more community groups benefit from the work that MBCOL is doing. MBCOL has already established its credentials for being an open, all-embracing organisation through the publication a year ago of its book, Discovering Though Death: Beliefs and Practices (the launch event for which I blogged here). The book explores death, dying and bereavement from several perspectives: Bahá'í, Buddhist, Chritisn, Hindu, Humanist, Jain, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh. It also contains introductory sections on each of these religions or beliefs (bar Humanist), adapted from the public information leaflets I wrote for Leicester Council of Faiths early on in my post.

Harmony that gives the lie to extremist tag

Here's the "First Person" column in today's Leicester Mercury. Before I got the chance to see the paper today, the text of this article was mailed around by Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for the Federation of Muslim Organisations. The author of the article, Luman Ali, is a community volunteer and PhD student.

Harmony that gives the lie to extremist tag

Luman Ali wonders why the city is considered a hotbed of Muslim militancy

Why Leicester? That is the question we are all asking after our city was designated as a hotbed of terrorism and worthy of being singled out for significant attention as part of the Government's new Prevent Strategy. What has Leicester done to warrant such concern and worry?

Is it the "One Leicester" campaign, which has brought together the various and diverse communities to celebrate our common humanity and our collaborative achievements, exemplified in the joyful festivities held in the city after the English Defence League demonstration? Is it the work done by the faith communities, in groups such as the Council of Faiths and Faith Leaders Forum, to create the means by which all the people of Leicester may live and work together in harmony and flourish in whatever endeavours they choose to pursue?

Is the launch of a recent Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire book, "Discovering through Death – beliefs and practices", which was written with all faith and non-faith communities to examine how death is dealt with by all, an indicator that Leicester is a rampant hotbed of extremism? Moreover, does it worry the Government that representatives from all faith and non-faith groups came together for the launch of this book in an atmosphere of warmth and conviviality?

Is the Government worried about the way in which the various communities of Leicester came together last October to work with the police and local authority to combat the public disorder that was visited upon our great city? Is the Government concerned that the event passed with such minimal disruption that the strategies implemented by the police, local authority and various communities surrounding the event, have been used by other cities as a model of good practice?

If the Government is concerned about what has been noted here then it is pertinent to ask, why exactly have we been cited as a hotbed of extremism? Furthermore, if the inter-faith and community work that has been done in this city, work which has led to us being cited as a reference point for exemplary community work by other European cities, has not been enough to move Leicester away from being a hotbed of extremism, then what more can we do to help foster excellent community relations?

On our part we will continue to work with our partners to consolidate our strong relationship fostered through years of collaborative hard work. We also invite policy makers to view the work in Leicester to see why a church, Hindu Temple, mosque and synagogue stand yards apart in the Highfields area in peace and harmony. Why Leicester as a hotbed of extremism? No, the fact is "why not" Leicester.

Read this article, along with reader comments (and the opportunity to make your own) on the Leicester Mercury website: http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Harmony-gives-lie-extremist-tag/story-12766987-detail/story.html

Faith book out

That's the rather non-descript headline for a brief article in today's Leicester Mercury about MBCoL's book launch last Friday.

Faith book out

Discovering Through Death – Beliefs and Practices has been compiled by people from the Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jain, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities and was written by Suleman Nagdi, chairman of the Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire.

For more information, visit: www.mbcol.org.uk

MUSLIM BURIAL COUNCIL BOOK LAUNCH

To Parklands Leisure Centre, Oadby, this evening, for the launch of Discovering Through Death: Beliefs and Practices - a new book published by the Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire (MBCoL).

I'm greeted outside by three Muslim friends. I ask where the entrance is and one of them tells me, "Follow the straight path!" I reply, "Could anything be more Islamic?" Laughter all round.

Upon entering, I'm greeted warmly by Suleman Nagdi (Chair of MBCoL). As we shake hands, someone takes our photo (I've seen the result: Suleman looks as debonair as ever, I wear the pained expression of someone who's just banged his knee on the edge of a table.)

There's a pile of copies of the book on a talbe near the door and we're invited to take one - for free. Having spend much of my working life in book publishing, it can still come as a shock to be offered a nicely produced book free of charge: I take four.

When formal proceedings get under way, we hear words of welcome from Faisal Issat (Legal Advisor to MBCoL): Suleman Nagdi; Councillor Linda Hartley, Mayor of Oadby & Wigston; Sir Peter Soulsby, Mayor of Leicester; Councillor Manjula Sood, Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths; and Resham Singh Sandhu, High Sherriff of Leicestershire and Chair of the Interfaith Forum for Leicestershire. Guests of honour this evening include Lady Gretton, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire; and His Honour Judge Simon Hammond.

A representative from each of the communities of faith or belief included in the book is called to the stage to say a few words: Minou Cortazzi (Bahá'í); Caroline Brazier (Buddhist); Rev Canon Andrew wingate (Christian); Hamang Bhatt (Hindu); Humanist (Allan Hayes); Rabiah Hannan (Muslim); Tony Nelson (Jewish). That's Tony at the microphone in the photo above. Unfortunately, no one was on hand at this point to represent the Jain or Sikh communities.

Keynote speaker this evening is His Honour Judge Howard Morrison CBE QC. He is a judge at the Internaional Criminal Court in The Hague, where he currently sits on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia considering the case of Radovan Karadžić, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnians Muslims  and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.

Judge Morrison expresses his hope that this new book (fro which he wrote the foreword) will not only be a source of accurate and up to date information, but will also be a catalyst for thought and relationships that will make us think about how we live out the rest of our years.

Following Judge Morrison's brief but thought-provoking address, Suleman Nagdi proposes a vote of thanks. then, as the last formal part of the evening, Faisal Issat made a presentation to Richard Welburn, Head of Bereavement Services at Leicester City Council. Richard is due to retire in October and MBCoL wished to mark this with a gift and some words of tribute.

I think that this event is a landmark in inter faith relations, not just for Leicester, but nationally. Definitely one for the history books. My only reservation is that there's no mention (either from any of the speakers or in the book itself) of the fact that significant portions of the book's content are the work of Leicester Council of Faiths. Sections in the book which serve as an introduction to each of the eight faith communities which are members of the Council of Faiths (single paragraphs in unified style, covering such topics as Definitions; Origins; Beliefs; Scripture; Worship, Prayer and Meditation; Spiritualityl Lifestyle; Community; and Festival) are reproduced, word-for-word, from the set of public information brochures that we published in 2008. The Muslim Burial Council bought the right to use these texts from us for an agreed (small) fee and, while they then had the rights to limited used of the texts, we did ask for a credit as the originator of the material. I'm not going to be the dog in the manger at this special and very positive occasion, but I was saddened that we didn't get any mention for this contribution to the book. Even if it were done from the platform, it would have been nice to have heard it said in such distinguished company. Still, I won;t let anything take the shine off such a good occasion.