Dr.
Mozammel Haque
20,000 Muslims attended the Global Peace
& Unity Event organized by Islam Channel, the first
and only English language Islamic television channel, on
Sunday, the 4th of December 2005, at the Excel Conference
Hall in London. The event was the largest gathering of Muslims
and non-Muslims for an event of this caliber in Europe.
Eminent speakers from different parts of
the globe including the Muslim World, Europe, the US and
the UK participated in the Event. Islamic scholars such
as Dr. Zakir Naik from India, Yusuf Estas and Yasir Gadhi
from USA, spoke in the conference. Qazi Hussain Ahmed of
Jamat-e-Islam Party of Pakistan and Ejaz ul Haq, Pakistan’s
Federal Minister of Religious Affairs spoke via satellite
linkup.
Also
speaking were two cabinet ministers, Mike O’Brian,
MP, Lord Falconer, Lord Chancellor and leaders of different
political parties, such as Simon Hughes, MP of Lib-Dem,
George Galloway, MP of Respect, Lord Nazir Ahmed and Sadiq
Khan, MP, also spoke at the Event. Ken Livingstone, Mayor
of London sent his message which was read out. Michael Mansfield,
QC, Judge Khurshid Drabu, Tariq Ghaffour, Assistant Metropolitan
Commissioner, Daoud Abdullah from the Palestinian Return
Centre, London and Imam Ibrahim Mogra also addressed the
gathering..
Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary General of
the Muslim Council of Britain, spoke about anti-terror laws.
“We believe these laws are the draconian laws….,
we tell them that we agree with the objective to bring end
of terror but the methods that are being used are counter-productive;
because they are aimed at the community entirely. You cannot
criminalize the entire community for the criminality that
has been created by a few which has been condemned utterly
and totally.”
Referring
to the consultation paper giving the government the power
to close down the place of worship, Sir Iqbal said, “This
is the most single dangerous piece of legislation if ever
it comes into place; because it will give power to the government
to close down the place of worship, to close down the mosques.
There is no iota of evidence in this country, of the 200
mosques that we have; there is not a single mosque that
has taken out act of violence, promoting violence, promoting
terrorism, and then why the government does has to take
all this legislation to close down the House of Allah.”
Lord Falconer focused on diversity and
social cohesion. “We can disagree and we disagree
much. But we must be able to live together as one community.
We must be able without loss of identity to integrate into
one community Today’s event recognizes we are at our
best. Our society is strengthened by our diverse cultures
like its religious beliefs. We must promote diversity at
every level that we want to remain strong. Unity is the
same as uniformity; it feeds the same, dress the same or
looks the same. Unity is about the common ground, joining
together, respect each other, standing up what we belief
and living together in one community; secure in our society
whether or not we agree with the policy of the government.”
Minister
Mike O’Brian, MP, also spoke on multiculturalism and
common humanity. “To be British today is to be a part
of the multicultural society and we are stronger as a country
because of our diversity. And those like the British National
Party which rejects multicultural Britain are by nature
un-British,” Mike O’Brian said and added, “The
close association of Muslims, Islam and Britain both historically
and today demonstrates to me that there is no incompatibility
between a Muslim identity and a British identity.”
“One of Muslim friends recently quoted
to me the supplication recited by Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) after every prayer said, “Allah, You
are peace and from You comes peace, and to You goes back
peace and cause me to live in peace.” Support for
that message of peace is what I see in this room today.
The Acts of terrorists on the 7th of July and those indeed
in the world are an anathema to this beautiful and indeed
the universal prayer of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him. It is a prayer shared by all the religions
of the world,” said Mike O’Brian.
Lord
Nazir Ahmad of Rotherham, said, “When our government
tells us to speak English in the Mosque, they are right
but they are wrong when the government tells us that they
will close down mosques. They are right to criticize those
who destroyed the Buddha statue in Afghanistan, but they
are wrong to remain silent on the issue of desecration of
the Holy Qur’an. They are right to suggest we should
tackle extremism together, but they must hold a public inquiry
with those who are involved in the Working Groups. We should
thank the government on their policy on Kosovo and Turkey,
but we should be able to criticize their policy on Iraq,
Afghanistan and other foreign issues. We welcome Prime Minister’s
comments in relation to Guantanamo Bay as an anomaly that
needs to be an end, but this should be across other issues
like Abu Ghraib, secret torture in Eastern Europe.”
He also added, “For us the greatest example is when
the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that Hudaibiyah is
the greatest victory for Muslims.”
Yasir Qadhi, said, “They were angry
because of the injustices happened to the Muslims. They
did not have knowledge how to react to that anger. They
did things which they should not have done. They have brought
problems to other Muslims. If they have knowledge they would
know that our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) while
he was living in Makkah, while he was being tortured and
persecuted, our Prophet in the Makkan era never respond
with violence and terror. They did not know what Islam stands
for. O Muslims, Islam is about worship of Allah and not
about the killing of people.”
Tariq Swaidan, an Islamic scholar from Kuwait, said, “Those
few terrorists do not represent the Islamic movement nor
are representative of Islam and Muslims. We totally refused
to be looked upon as terrorists. We totally refused that
these terrorists represent us.”
“We consider these people with the
9/11 or 7/7 or other areas in Muslim world itself as enemy
of Islam because they have hurt the Muslims and Islam and
hurt the Islamic movement more than our enemies have”
he said and added, “Global unity to us is not the
dominance of the West. That is also totally refused and
despite our differences the Muslim community is united in
seeking justice for Palestine.”
Two Pakistani former cricketers also addressed
the Event. Leader of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf Party,
Imran Khan, elaborated his view on the 9/11 conspiracy,
whilst Saeed Anwar spoke about change from inside.
In his concluding speech, Dr. Zakir Naik,
the Islamic scholar of comparative religions, inspired the
audience who were eagerly waiting to hear him all day. Dr.
Naik applauded the initiatives taken by the British Muslims
to propagate the true message of Islam by event such as
this conference. Mohammad Ali, Director of the Islam Channel
expressed his gratitude to the Muslim community for making
the event a great success. Islam Channel was launched 18
months ago in 2004 by Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former
Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom & Ireland at
the Islamic Cultural Centre, London and its popularity is
growing amongst the British Muslims.