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Taji Mustafa address Muslim professionals in Whitechapel |
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Thursday, 12 October 2006 |
Whitechapel London, UK, 13th October 2006 – approximately one hundred Muslim professionals attended an Iftar gathering on Friday 13th October 2006 organised by members of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain. The event took place in ‘Café Grill’ located on London’s Brick Lane and was titled ‘the breaking of the Ramadan fast’.
The guest speakers included Taji Mustafa, media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, and Shamim Ghani, presenter of the discussion show “Real Talk” on Bangla TV.
Taji Mustafa highlighted in his talk the challenges faced by the Muslim community locally, nationally and internationally. The recent provocative comments by Jack Straw regarding Muslim women’s veil was discussed, which he said was one in a list of many issues being deliberately raised by Cabinet ministers to deflect attention from the real causes of injustice perpetrated by the Government’s foreign policy in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the Muslim world.
In fact, comments such as Straw’s, purporting to be benign, seek to create tension and alienation between the Muslim and non-Muslim population in this country, as exemplified by the latest case of Aishah Azmi, a Muslim support teacher, who was suspended for wearing her veil in class at Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury.
Taji Mustafa urged Muslim professionals to adopt a proactive role in “demystifying the fog” that is descending upon the community, thanks to the sensationalist media coverage of Islam and the Muslims daily portraying a false image.
Shamim Ghani in his talk encouraged the guests to get involved both in the mainstream and the ethnic media. He said that Muslim professionals not only had a duty but also the capability to engage with the media and the wider population to remove the many misconceptions that exist about Islam and the Muslim community.
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