FIRST PERSON: A FEAST WHICH FOLLOWS A FAST IS NOT IN SPIRIT

Manzoor Moghal has written the First Person column in today's Leicester Mercury:

A feast which follows a fast is not in spirit

The month of Ramadan is once again upon us and Muslims everywhere are fasting. It is obligatory for Muslims to fast during this month, as laid down in the Qu'ran, and they refrain from food, drink and tobacco from dawn to sunset, which at this time of year would be an average of 19 hours a day in Britain.

Before the advent of Islam, fasting was also prescribed for other religions but, with the passage of time, their fasting practices became truncated, distorted and were tailored to the convenience of their followers, with the result that the whole concept of fasting in these religions became totally corrupted.

In one of these religions, a whole month designated for fasting allows its people to eat and drink everything except cooked food and a few other items during the fasting period from morning to evening.In another religion where fasting stretches beyond 30 days, its adherents have to give up one item of their daily favourite food, while allowing them to eat and drink everything else at any time.

In yet another religion, two separate fasting days are extended to 24 hours of total refrain from any eating or drinking, and it has four other days which are somewhat similar to the Islamic way of fasting.

Other minor faiths have some variations, but none of these are anywhere near the Muslim way, which has remained in its pristine purity since its inception some 1,400 years ago.

However, there is a worrying trend which has recently crept into the Islamic way of fasting and it has begun to undermine both the spirit and the letter of fasting.

The time of breaking the Muslim fast at sunset is called iftar, and Muslims do this generally by eating a couple of dates and drinking tea or a glass of milk or water, followed by the fourth obligatory prayer of the day called maghrib.

After this, they disburse to their homes where they eat a modest meal before they go into the long night prayers at their mosques.

Unfortunately, the breaking of the fast time iftar is being turned into feasting by well-heeled Muslims – and it is becoming fashionable practice among many Muslims in some countries, including Britain.

Arab Muslims in the Middle East gorge themselves routinely with large quantities of food every evening after breaking their fast, and Muslims in places such as Pakistan have big iftar parties in restaurants, hotels and community centres.

Of late, a national Muslim organisation is encouraging Muslims in Britain to organise such iftar parties, inviting non-Muslims to participate in order to socialise and promote better understanding between different faiths.

The month of Ramadan is for fasting and not feasting!

Manzoor Moghal is an author and social commentator

LEARNING FOR LIFE: HOW ISLAM IS TAUGHT TO CHILDREN IN A MULTI-FAITH SOCIETY

 

At Madani High School and Community Centre, Evington Valley Road, this evening, for a meeting of the Christian-Muslim Dialogue Group. The topic is "Learning for Life: How Islam is taught to children in a multi-faith society".

 

There are 11 attendees. Fliers were produced six weeks ago which said that it was intended that at this meeting, "Members of Leicester's SACRE (Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education") join us for a discussion on the theme". However, when SACRE met last week at Quaker Meeting House, it turned out that no invitation to this meeting had been received. I forwarded the flier with details of the meeting at Madani to SACRE's officers, and it was circulated to members on Friday morning.

 

Allan Hayes and I are here, both Co-opted Members of SACRE without voting rights (there's no place in the structure of SACRE for full representatives of Secular Humanism or any inter faith organisation). Later on, Stephen Thompson (Methodist representative on SACRE) joins us. We three found out about this meeting through independent channels, not at the SACRE meeting last week or through the last-minute mailing by SACRE. I'm sure that we can report to the next SACRE meeting, say what a good opportunity this evening presented for addressing such an important topic and that if the chance arises to cover this topic again, it would be hoped that SACRE members would support in numbers. I should say that the non-communication about this meeting was not the fault of anyone here this evening or any member of the Dialogue Group.

Revd Pete Hobson (Joint Co-ordinator of the Christian-Muslim Dialogue Group), Sheikh Shafi Chowdhury, Daud Sameja (Joint Co-ordinator of the Christian-Muslim Dialogue Group)

Apparently this is the first meeting of this group outside St Philip's Centre (although the April meeting, co-hosted with Leicester Council of Faiths, at which Bruce Kent spoke, took place in St Philip's Church Hall - though that would be splitting hairs). There was a short discussion about whether this evening's venue might have put off potential attendees, but I hope that's not true. This is the middle of Christian Aid Week, which might have drawn away some interested people, compounding the problems of lack of promotion.

The speaker this evening is Sheikh Shafi Chowdhury. He is an Imam, a qualified and experienced teacher, currently working in a multi-faith prison chaplaincy. He speaks for 20 minutes or so with compassion, humility, humour, knowledge and reflection. His talk is peppered with authoritative references to the Qur’án, Hadith and incidents from the life of the Prophet, his companions and early followers of Islam. He mixes personal experience with a historical overview of the meaning and role of education for the Muslim community (worldwide, in England and in Leicester), set within the broad sweep of the historical development of Islam in general.

Key to an understanding of this topic is the inescapable fact that Islam does not differentiate between the "sacred" and the "profane", nor does it categorise experience or phenomena as "spiritual" and "material" in terms of being complementary or oppositional. Such differentiation could be said to be central to the western idea of humanist, liberal, secular education. In classical terms, this meant that those figures whom we might identify as religious scholars in the Muslim world were also scholars of "natural philosophy", leading to innovation in the arts, humanities and sciences alongside insights in matters of faith, belief and religious practice. Of course there are many examples of the same thing happening within other faith communities, but it could be said that this was such a distinctive quality of Islam that when it became the exception rather than the rule, some 300 years ago, it exemplified  a radical change in the expansive and inclusive nature of Islam that had driven its success up till then.

Our speaker says many things that are worth mulling over beyond this meeting. Here are just two of them (quoted here with his permission):

"The curse of superficiality of faith is to be challenged by everything and to be frightened of everything. We cannot be fully Muslim unless we reach out and engage with our neighbours."

"Today all our communities are brought up with a heightened awareness of difference, of consciousness of the Other."

This is the first time I've attended a meeting of the Christian-Muslim Dialogue Group proper. I'm sure it won't be the last. I found it a stimulating, thought-provoking occasion in which a variety of view were welcome. With better promotion, I'm sure more people would enjoy these meetings and contribute to this important ongoing conversation.

KORAN CASE SHOWS FLAW IN THE LEGISLATION

Harry Perry has written the First Person column in today's Leicester Mercury (which is not on the website):

 

Koran case shows flaw in the legislation

Secularist Harry Perry calls for the removal of the word "insulting" from part of the Public Order Act

Tearing up a holy book is not an effective way to take issue with religion but the right to free expression valued by jury members is so fundamental to our way of life that it must be protected even when its exercise involves bad taste or insult.

A criminal prosecution was recently brought by Leicester’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) against a man who publicly demonstrated his opposition to religion by ripping up a Koran in public and throwing it to the ground.The case ended with a hung jury and a decision by the CPS not to pursue it further. The failure of the jury to reach a verdict reveals a problem with the law.

Many religions take it on themselves to seek to persuade people of other religions or of no religion to convert. Dire consequences of failing to believe in this or that god are often cited in these attempts. Likewise, atheists sometimes seek to expose the fallacies in religion, hoping to persuade people to give it up. They can all do this because what they are seeking to change is a matter of personal conviction. With race, gender, sexual orientation or disability the position is completely different. You cannot persuade someone to change these characteristics.

The legislation that rightly protects people in these categories from being harassed and abused or put in fear of their life on account of their characteristics has been developed over recent decades. But the addition of protection on grounds of religion more recently has brought with it a threat to the right of free speech because the police and the CPS have not got clear in their minds the qualitative difference involved. It is because of this that a broad coalition, including religious opinion, is currently trying to get Parliament to remove the word “insulting” from Section 5 of the Public Order Act as it has been used by the police in several instances to silence critics of one or other persuasion.

There is no special protection from insult or abuse on matters like politics, vegetarianism, astrology, homeopathy, and so on, beyond that which ordinary citizens expect purely in virtue of being a citizen. 

The same should apply to religious belief and non-belief.

Leicester Secular Society is a “Freethought” organisation dedicated to the idea that the best way to change people’s convictions is through the rational debate of available evidence. People in Leicester who wish to show their disagreement with others’ beliefs should normally do so in a calm and reasoned way, showing respect for persons even when condemning or lampooning their ideas or station. This is common courtesy and politeness, after all, and exemplifies the kind of city and country that most of us would like our children and grandchildren to inherit from us.

But by the same token, those whose beliefs are challenged, even when done discourteously, would be best advised to ‘turn the other cheek’ rather than calling for prosecutions. 

Harry Perry, Leicester Secular Society

PROTESTER WHO TORE UP KORAN HAS CASE DROPPED AT LEICESTER COURT

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Protester who tore up Koran has case dropped at Leicester court

A man who was put on trial after staging an anti-religion protest by ripping out pages from the Koran in front of Muslims has had the case against him dropped.

A jury at Leicester Crown Court failed to reach a verdict in the case against Peter James Crawford last month.

The Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the evidence and a decision was made not to continue with a fresh trial.

The case was dropped against Mr Crawford, 52, when the prosecution offered no evidence against him at a hearing – a move described by Mr Crawford's advocate as "sensible".

During the trial in December, Mr Crawford was alleged to have torn pages from his own copy of the Koran and thrown the holy book on the ground next to a stall run by the Islamic Information Centre, near the Clock Tower, in Leicester, on May 12 last year.

He told Muslim volunteers at the stall that he disagreed with their religion.

Mr Crawford, of Mere Road, Spinney Hills, Leicester, claimed in interview he was expressing his disagreement with religion of any kind, saying it was all "b******t".

He told police he would have done the same with a Bible as he did not understand either holy book and "hated" all religion.

"I'm not against the people, just their religion," he said.

James Bide-Thomas, prosecuting, said in his opening address to the jury last month that freedom of speech was "tradition in this country" and "people are entitled to say what they want, as long as it's not illegal in relation to the law which prevents people going out to cause harassment, alarm or distress by insulting behaviour".

He said: "It's for you to decide whether what he did was insulting or whether it was a legitimate piece of freedom of speech being exercised, or whether what he did was deliberately calculated to upset the people from the Islamic Information Centre."

The jury told the judge there was no prospect of them reaching either a unanimous verdict or one on which at least 10 of them agreed.

Mr Crawford had denied causing religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress, by demonstrating hostility based on membership of a particular religious group.

Speaking this week, Mr Crawford's defence advocate during the trial, Steven Newcombe, said: "I think the prosecution made a sensible decision not to have a retrial in the light of the jury being deadlocked.

"There were other ways of dealing with this matter, rather than attempting to prosecute Mr Crawford in a crown court.

"He has learned a lesson and I'm sure he will conduct himself with a greater degree of sensitivity."

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: "When jury cannot decide on a verdict, the prosecution must decide whether to seek a retrial on the basis of the same evidence.

"A number of factors must be taken into account, including the likely penalty if the defendant is found guilty, the time delay in securing a date for the retrial, the views of the victim, judiciary and police and the likelihood of another jury reaching a decision."

Mr Crawford was not available for comment.

KORAN-RIPPING JURY DISCHARGED

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Koran-ripping jury discharged

The jury in the trial of a man who staged an anti-religion protest by ripping out pages from the Koran in front of Muslims has been discharged.

The eight women and four men on the jury at Leicester Crown Court failed to agree on a verdict.

They sent a note to the judge saying there was no prospect of them reaching either a unanimous or a majority verdict on which at least 10 of them agreed.

Peter James Crawford (52) was said to have torn pages from his own copy of the Koran and thrown the holy book on the ground next to a stall run by the Islamic Information Centre, near the Clock Tower, in Leicester city centre, on the afternoon of May 12.

Crawford, of Mere Road, Spinney Hill, Leicester, denied causing religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress by demonstrating hostility based on membership of a particular religious group. The Crown Prosecution Service has 14 days to decide whether or not to proceed with a retrial.

Crawford was released on bail with a condition imposed that he should not to go within half-a-mile of the Clock Tower on Saturday afternoons.

RIPPING KORAN WAS "FREEDOM OF SPEECH"

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Ripping Koran was "freedom of speech"

An atheist who ripped out pages from the Koran in front of Muslims at a stall promoting Islam was simply exercising freedom of speech, a court heard.

Peter James Crawford told police his decision to then throw the holy book on to the pavement at the Clock Tower, in Leicester city centre, was part of his protest against religion.

The 52-year-old is on trial at Leicester Crown Court accused of causing religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress, by demonstrating hostility based on membership of a particular religious group, Islam.

He denies the charge.

Barrister Steven Newcombe, who is representing Crawford, told the jury: "You have to expect that if you set up a stall in the city centre of Leicester advocating views, you are going to get people who have a completely opposite view.

"To do what they did in such a place takes a bit of a thick skin.

"You have to anticipate and expect that somebody is going to take exception and that is exactly what this defendant did.

"This defendant had a right to freedom of expression, just as the two Muslims had a similar right to advocate their religion."

After he had been arrested, Crawford told police he had had the copy of the Koran for two years and had studied it.

Prosecutor James Bide-Thomas told the jury Crawford, of Mere Road, Spinney Hill, Leicester, had approached the Islamic Information Centre's stall run by volunteers under the Clock Tower on Saturday, May 12.

He said at about 1.30pm, Crawford tore out pages of the Koran he had brought with him and then threw the holy book on to the pavement.

Mr Bide-Thomas said: "You the jury have to decide whether he made a valid religious protest or did he go out to upset some Muslims?"He said it was the prosecution case that Crawford had deliberately caused distress and upset to the Muslims on the stall.

Her honour Judge Taylor QC told the jury that the case centred on the balance between the right of Crawford to freedom of speech and the right of the two Muslims to advocate their views without being subject to criminal behaviour.

She said the jury had to decide whether Crawford's behaviour had been insulting and whether the decision to prosecute him was proportionate.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for one hour and 39 minutes before the judge sent them to a hotel for the night. They were due to resume their deliberations today.

ATHEIST IN COURT FOR RIPPING UP KORAN

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Atheist in court for ripping up Koran

An atheist shocked Muslim volunteers at a stall promoting Islam when he ripped out pages from the Koran.

Peter James Crawford (52) then threw the holy book onto the ground and told them: "Your religion is a load of b******s."

He is on trial at Leicester Crown Court accused of causing religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress, by demonstrating hostility based on membership of a particular religious group, Islam. He denies the charge.

The incident happened at the Islamic Information Centre's stall, near the Clock Tower in Leicester city centre, on a busy Saturday afternoon, on May 12.

Kamran Qayyum, an employee of the organisation, told the court: "We give out literature to create an awareness of Islam and engage with the public."

He was with four volunteers when Crawford began pacing around nearby.

Mr Qayyum said: "He started tearing up pages from a book and they were going on the floor. He wasn't saying anything. The pages covered a lot of ground, they were everywhere.

"I then noticed Arabic inscriptions and realised it was the Koran. I knelt down and was picking up the papers when he threw the Koran down, just missing me."

Mr Qayyum said: "The Koran is sacred to us and we honour it. We also have a Bible on our stand and we show the Bible the same respect.

"One of the laws of the Koran is it shouldn't be on the floor, it should be high up and our hands should be clean when it's touched. I was shocked."

Mr Quyyum said after the defendant was arrested: "He made a signal to us, shaping his hand in the form of a gun, saying 'See you next Saturday.'

Defence advocate Steven Newcombe said: "There are many who oppose Islam. Did you take it he was expressing anti-Islamic views and disrespecting the religion?"

"Yes," said Mr Quyyum.

Mr Quyyum agreed that apart from a hand gesture – which Mr Newcombe suggested was the pointing of a finger rather than a gun gesture – the defendant did not threaten or provoke any violence.

Another stall volunteer, Zahid Hussein, said: "I saw him ripping up the book. I was in shock, disgusted. It's our life, our way of life and we live by that book – it's very sacred."

He said Crawford told them their religion was "a load of b******s."

Crawford, of Mere Road, Spinney Hill, Leicester, claimed, in interview, he was expressing his disagreement with religion of any kind.

He told the police it was his own copy of the Koran he tore up, and he would have done the same with a Bible as he did not understand either holy book and "hated" all religion.

"I'm not against the people, just their religion," he said.

James Bide-Thomas, prosecuting, said: "The real issue is whether Crawford was insulting and whether it was a crime that we say he committed.

"It's tradition in this country of freedom of speech and people are entitled to say what they want, as long as it's not illegal in relation to the law, which prevents people going out to cause harassment, alarm or distress by insulting behaviour, basically upsetting people.

"It's for you to decide whether what he did was insulting or whether it was a legitimate piece of freedom of speech being exercised or if what he did was deliberately calculated to upset the people from the Islamic Information Centre."

The trial continues.

AS MUSLIMS WE WILL SHOW LOVE FOR JESUS

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

As Muslims we will show love for Jesus

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community wishes all the people of Leicestershire and Rutland a merry Christmas and happy new year.

Although we may not put up stockings and Christmas lights in our houses during the holiday season, make no mistake, as members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, we celebrate the life of Jesus – and all prophets – all year.

Although our views diverge from Christians regarding the divinity of Jesus, Muslims hold a deep reverence for the Prophet Jesus who we, too, regard as the Messiah and whose name is mentioned no fewer than 25 times in the Holy Qu'ran.

As a Muslim, I invoke God's blessings every single day on Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

But I also choose to show my love for the Prophet Jesus, not with Christmas decorations and frantic holiday shopping trips, but by invoking blessings on him on a regular basis as well. In our five daily prayers, we beseech God to bless us as he did Abraham and his people, which included Jesus.

As we all attempt to navigate another stressful holiday season, may we all remember his patience, steadfastness and unconditional love for humanity and make that a part our faith and lives.

Amen.

Dr Habib Akram, president, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Leicester

FEDERATION OF MUSLIM ORGANISATIONS RADIO SHOW ON EAVA FM

This morning I'm presenting the Interfaith Hour on Ramadan Radio, going out live on 102.5 FM and online at www.eava.com between 1000 and 1100. This is part of the schedule of programmes run by the Federation of Muslim Organisations during the Muslim month of fasting.

The hours in which FMO broadcast during Ramadan are donated by EAVA FM  Multilingual Radio. EAVA FM broadcasts in a variety of community languages including Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Ndebele, Punjabi, Shona, Somali and Urdu. English content is definitely a minority interest for the station and its listeners. I've been on EAVA FM once before, in April 2009, when I was a guest on the Andy Cooke Show (which I blogged here). The station is located in the Leicester Business Centre on Ross Walk, which runs parallel to Melton Road. The front of the Leicester Business Centre has been demolished and rebuilt since then, so I spend several minutes going back and forth on Ross Walk, looking for something that isn't there any more. By the time I give up and phone the studio for directions, it turns out I'm so close, someone in the Leicester Business Centre could have leant out of a window and waved me in! Some of the Radio Ramadan programmes are broadcast from the offices of the FMO in Highfields. I was originally told to ge ther, but the equipment at their offices isn't quite good enough to do programmes with a lot of speech content, so the venue was switched to permit a better quality broadcast.

I'm in the studio half an hour before the start of the show, which gives me time to chat with Dee, (Manager at EAVA FM), Ashokhbhai (who is presenting a Hindi programme which finishes just before 1000) and Ismael Bin-Sulaiman (AKA Izzy), producer of the Interfaith Hour. Dee dangles before me the possibility of the Council of Faiths having a weekly hour-long show on the station (dependent on us obtaining sponsorship for it). That's something worth following up. During this conversation, I learn that typical listening figures for the FMO's Ramadan broadcasts are around the 300,000 mark. Most of those listeners access the show online, through the FMO website. The largest concentration of listeners is in  Chicago. Who'd have guessed?

Luman Ali at the the FMO invited me to do this programme a couple of weeks ago. I've been given carte blanche to fill the hour with my choice of content (within reason), so I've put together a programme about how the other seven communities represented on Leicester Council of Faiths approach fasting. I've recorded five short interviews with a Buddhist, a Christian, a Hindu, a Jew and a Sikh, each one of them responding to my questions about how they think about and practise fasting. Following a belt-and-braces approach, I've brought those recordings to the studio in a variety of formats: one CD with the interviews saved as MP3 files; another CD with the interviews saved as data files; a memory stick with MP3 files; my laptop with MP3 and data files; even the handheld digital recorder that I used for the original interviews. I'm not taking any chances! Thankfully, the first of these formats works without any problems.

Each of the interviewees has something interesting and distinctive to say about their religious beliefs and practices on this topic, as well as their personal experience. I invited a Jain friend to contribute too but we couldn't arrange a recording session in the time we had available. Not for the first time, I present the Jain perspective (reading a brief extract from a published source), as well as speaking briefly on my own behalf as a Bahá'í. The recorded interviews are linked by a brief chat between me and Izzy, whom I prompt for a Muslim's response to some of the points raised in the recordings. I think it goes alright, though it's a little rushed toward the end. I fit in everything that I'd wanted to get in, which is good. And thanks to Suleman Nagdi, who sent an SMS to the station, wishing me luck, from a train en route to Manchester.

As I'm leaving the studio, two chaps are setting up for the next programme, which I'm told is a "requests show". What that means in this case is that listeners send in their requests (by email or SMS) for one of the presenters to chant verses from the Qur’án, Hadith or another Islamic source, to heighten the devotional experience during Ramadan. This is one of those moments where I'm grateful for the work I do, and how permits me insights into ways of living that would otherwise not be visible to me.

JESUS THE "MIGHTY PROPHET"

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Jesus the "mighty prophet"

A mosque is to stage a play about the lives of Jesus and Mary.

Worshippers from Leicester's Muslim Khoja Shia Ithna Asheri Community are to stage the interfaith production to highlight the similarities between Islam and Christianity.

Jesus is a central figure in the Koran, in which he is known as Isa, and is revered as a major prophet fabled for his miracles, just as he is in the Bible.

The play will be performed at mosque in Duxbury Road, New Humberstone, Leicester.

The religious production is being put on as part of an inter-faith day of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

People wanting to attend the event from 7pm on Saturday, August 4, can either give up food and water during daylight hours, as most Muslims do, or just give up a treat.

Secretary of the organising group Ali Abbas Panju said: "Along with being the month of prayer, fasting and other benefits, Ramadan is also the month of unity.

"We are requesting that all attendees keep a one-day fast for the purpose of attaining closeness to God.

"The fast may be a fruit fast, a water fast, simply keeping away from something enjoyable for one day, or giving up a bad habit consciously for just one day."

The 40-minute play, called The Fast of Maryam and Isa, will be shown twice and focus on Jesus fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights.

Suleman Nagdi, of the Federation of Muslim Organisations in Leicestershire, said: "Christianity, Islam and Judaism are all based on the same early texts and the only real difference between Christians and Muslims is that Jesus is not seen as the literal son of God in Islam, but as a mighty prophet who performed miracles.

"There are 24 mentions of Jesus in the Koran and a whole passage about his mother Mary.

"A lot of people are unaware of how important they are.

"The play has been chosen as it highlights these similarities and a devout Christian would be comfortable with the play.

"There are parts of the world where there are difficulties but there are also parts where Muslims and Christians work very closely together.

Christians and Jews are all considered 'people of the book' within Islam, following religions with the same message."

Manjula Sood, chair of the Leicester Council of Faiths, will be attending the event.

She said: "I think it's very helpful to celebrate the commonalities as well as the differences between the faiths.

"Judaism, Christianity and Islam have so many similarities and it's good to get together and remember the goodness of all faiths and the message of peace and harmony they share.

"Our ability to celebrate one another's faiths is a great strength of our city."

To reserve a place at the event, e-mail: secretary.mksi@gmail.com

SEWA DAY

Today is the second annual Sewa Day. Here's some information from the Sewa Day website. There's lots more of interest and inspiration to be found there.

Sewa is a universal concept, which involves performing an act of kindness without expectation of reward. It is performed selflessly and without ulterior motive.

As a concept, Sewa in embedded in Indian traditions, and is actively promoted by different cultures and faiths - as the core belief is the same - to sacrifice your time and resources for the benefit of others without wanting anything in return. 

On Sewa Day, thousands of good-hearted people across the world come together to perform Sewa and experience the joy of giving in its truest sense. By participating in this collective endeavour, we hope that the seeds of Sewa are watered so that acts of kindness and public service are performed more often. Sewa Day is a catalyst in making this happen. 

Previously, participating groups have organised Sewa Day volunteering projects in old people’s homes, homeless shelters, schools in disadvantaged areas, hospitals and hospices, country parks, conservation areas and city farms – all with an aim of making a positive difference to someone else’s happiness and prosperity. Join us this year to make our dream a reality.We’re all concerned about disadvantage, deprivation and ignorance. Sewa day provides an opportunity to do something positive that makes a meaningful difference to someone else’s quality of life. 

We discourage all projects that involve fund-raising; as the purpose is to give your time. So, let’s focus on that. 

It really doesn’t matter if you’re a pensioner or a young child, whether you’re physically able or not, or whether you black, brown or blue. 

All that matters is that you commit to doing a good deed on Sewa Day, which takes place on Sunday, 25th September 2011. 

Sewa UK is a secular, non-political UK registered charity.

While Leicester Council of Faiths is not, itself, participating in or promoting any particular activity for Sewa Day 2011, I couldn't let the occasion go by without reflecting on how selfless service is treated in the scripture or inspirational texts of our eight member faith communities.

In the extract from the Sewa Day website above, it states, "As a concept, Sewa in embedded in Indian traditions, and is actively promoted by different cultures and faiths - as the core belief is the same - to sacrifice your time and resources for the benefit of others without wanting anything in return." This does not suggest (indeed, it counters the suggestion) that such a concept and practice is the domain of the faiths, religions or philosophies of Indian origin alone. They can surely be said to be common to all religions, sometimes being expressed in more general terms as "The Golden Rule"). But whether it is called sewa, service, charity, caritas - or some other term - it is one of the core principles, central practices and essential virtues of the spiritual life. It may be expressed in a myriad forms and practices, but its presence enriches the world and its absence devalues religion itself.

Here are some quotations from each of our eight member faiths that I have found myself. No doubt you could come up with many more, faithful reader.

Bahá'í

"This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer." ('Abdu'l-Bahá)

Buddhist

"The greatest quality is seeking to serve others." (Atisha)

Christian

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:9-11)

Hindu

“Give. Give with faith. Do not give without faith. Give with sensitivity. Give with a feeling of abundance. Give with right understanding.” (Taittiriya Upanishad)

Jain

"In making a gift one gets over greed, which is a form of Himsa, and hence gifts made to the worthy recipients amount to a renunciation of Himsa (i.e., amount to observance of Ahimsa)." (Purusharthasiddhi-upaya)

Jewish

"He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing." (Deuteronomy10:17-19)

Muslim

"Worship God, and join not aught with Him in worship. Be good to parents, and to kindred, and to orphans, and to the poor, and to a neighbour, whether kinsman or new-comer, and to a fellow traveller, and to the wayfarer, and to the slaves whom your right hands hold; verily, God loveth not the proud, the vain boaster" (Qur’án, 4:40)

Sikh

"A place in God's court can only be attained if we do service to others in this world." (Guru Granth Sahib)

INTER-FAITH WORK SHOWS THE BIG SOCIETY IN ACTION

Suleman Nagdi has written the First Person column in today's Leicester Mercury:

Inter-faith work shows the Big Society in action 

Suleman Nagdi reflects on projects that help to make our city stand out from the rest 

Riaz Ravat's first person article (Mercury, September 15) was an excellent description of his efforts through St Philip's Centre at working with people of diverse backgrounds. I say this by virtue of my association with Riaz, whom I hold in high regard, and the article truly represents his honest views about how we can build a city which stands out from the rest. 

The Sewa Day effort to help elderly people from the African Caribbean community who are often forgotten and helped build key services we now take for granted, is a project which is rooted in the best traditions and values of Britain. 

There are those voices out there who may throw doubt on inter-faith work but we need to convince them that their doubts should be put aside so that they can witness the immense confidence-building work which communities do for vulnerable individuals every day of the week. This is the Big Society at its best. It is alive and kicking. Last year I had the pleasure of working with Riaz and our Jewish friends for Mitzvah Day. 

As a Muslim representing the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) it was poignant for me to stand with volunteers from all faiths and none, outside supermarkets collecting toiletries for people suffering domestic violence. 

I fondly recall our gathering in the Jewish communal hall to assess our collections which were staggering. I am proud to say that already this year, even before the Mitzvah Day campaign has been launched, that the FMO and the Islamic Society of Britain whose "Eat n Meet" campaign was endorsed by the imams and Bishop of Leicester, have offered their support. 

Last October when our relations were tested, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and those of other faiths and beliefs stood shoulder to shoulder with Muslims on a day when our city was challenged. The recent riots highlighted just how vital it is for us to renew our commitment to British values. In these most testing of economic times, when many members of our local community have fallen on hard times due to the cuts made by the Government, strong community and inter-faith work is needed more than ever so that we may all support each other to face the many and varied challenges that we all face in today's society. 

Let us take a page from Riaz's book to show how our young generation can be great visionaries for our nation. Riaz's vocation brings to mind the Qur'anic verse 49:13 which reads: "O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)." 

Suleman Nagdi is spokesman for the Federation of Muslim Organisations.

Suleman is a long-standing member of Leicester Council of Faiths. I'm sorry to see that he does not mention the Council of Faiths in this article.

QURAN DISPLAY AT LOCAL LIBRARY

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Quran display at city library 

As part of efforts to remove misconceptions about Islam and its holy book, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association is embarking on a series of exhibitions nationwide to showcase the true teachings of the Holy Quran. 

One such exhibition has been set up at Knighton Library, in Clarendon Park Road, for the public to acquaint themselves with the peaceful message carried by the Quran. 

In the exhibition are Qurans with 13 different translations from the world's major languages.
There are also posters depicting Quranic messages such as freedom of religion, equality and the true concept of jihad. 

The exhibition started on Tuesday, August 23, and continues for two weeks. 

The Leicester branch of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, which has set up the exhibition, is located in Avenue Road Extension, Leicester. 

Ibrahim Bonsu, coordinator, Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, Leicester branch.

Knighton Library is my local public library. I must pop in and have a look at this display for myself.

RAMADAN MESSAGE FROM FEDERATION OF MUSLIM ORGANISATIONS

Here's the text of a press release circulated by my friend and colleague Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO).

On behalf of the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO), I would like to extend my sincere and gracious Ramadan greetings to all. This is a time when a fifth of the world's population are united in devotion to their faith and desire to serve and develop a special bond with Alláh. Ramadan is a month of prayer, patience, reflection and generosity, the month in which the Qur’án was revealed as guidance to mankind. The journey of each Muslim during this period is an exceptionally intense, deep and emotional one as they seek to find inner peace and solitude.

Ramadan is not only a mere abstention from food and water between dawn and sunset. Refraining from material earthly desires by virtue of fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and is mandatory for every Muslim. It is a period when we evaluate ourselves and attempt to purify our hearts and minds. It is a time to cleanse the spirit and to forgive, not only ourselves but all others. Islam preaches that we help those that are needy and Ramadan gives us an opportunity to focus our efforts on this with even more commitment. Let us pray that we take this opportunity to foster unity and brotherhood among all our different communities in our city and county. Suleman Nagdi - FMO

BREAK DOWN BARRIERS

This letter is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Break down barriers

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community staged a peace symposium in Leicester bringing together people of all faiths-and-none to promote peace.

We found plenty of common ground, much that we can build upon if only we come together and break down barriers.

As Ahmadis, we follow Islam purely as a religion of peace. It is hardwired into our very constitution and every single member of our community pledges to respect other people's views and beliefs; we pledge loyalty to the country we live in and to contribute positively to the communities in which we live. For us, Islam offers a perfect model for how to live our lives wherever we may be.

It is all so different to the public perception of Islam and the way extremists and some media distort perceptions of the vast majority of peace loving Muslims. Our motto of Love for All, Hatred for None is in stark contrast to messages of hate from extremists.

By getting together, you learn that most people, regardless of their faiths, subscribe to the same values of peace and aspire to a world where, as the Koran stipulates, there is no compulsion in religion.

And far from trying to change the world, you realise that by changing yourself, and taking practical steps to building peaceful communities, you are playing a part in changing the world.

That is why my community regularly engages in charity-giving as part of the faith, in exemplifying through our behaviour and actions that we stand for peace and equity. Even though in a world ravaged by conflict, the hopes of peace lovers almost seem forlorn, I am reminded of the insurmountable odds faced by the Prophets who succeeded even though all stood against them.

Ahmadis hold interfaith peace conferences across Britain to express our understanding of Islam as an inclusive, tolerant and universal faith. This was also cited in a recent Parliamentary debate where MPs extolled the contribution that Ahmadi Muslims had made to the fabric of life in Britain. As one of the oldest Muslim communities in Britain, it was heartening to hear a succession of MPs lauding the work of the Ahmadis.

Much work has been done in Leicester to break down barriers between faiths and this paper has played a major role in building community cohesion. As our peace symposium demonstrated, there are many people who want to build better communities divested of prejudice and strife.

Together, we can work to build on the foundations of peace and tolerance that must weather the storm of hate from zealots and extremists whether they claim to be of a religious or political motivation.

Ghulam Ahmed Khadim, regional missionary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in Leicester