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Mosques need to stand up and take action
8/ 8/2008
MOSQUES need to take more responsibility if they want to tackle the problems of islamaphobia a leading Muslim civil liberties group has said.
The Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK) which recently opened a branch in Manchester, told a public meeting that mosques need to stand up and take an active role in dispelling myths about Islam and creating a better understanding about the faith to the wider community.
Activist Asghar Bukhari said simple steps, which included a helpline in all mosques and open days for the public where simple measures in reaching out to the masses.
He said: "There are 2000 mosques in the UK. If each mosque held an open day and attracted at least 1,000 visitors, that will be two millions people the mosques can potentially reach out to.
That is two million people who may not have been aware of Islam and its values, who then will.
"It's just simple to do, but they’re not doing it.
"In a climate where there is a growing fear of Muslims, mosques, which are central to the community, need to do something to tackle this."
He went onto say mosques need to either establish a national helpline or set one up in every major city so people can ring up with either their own problems or just to get more information.
He said: "If someone had a query, or if a non-Muslim wanted to know about what Islam had to say on a certain issue, they can easily ring the helpline and just ask.
"When there is a fire we ring the fire brigade, when someone is having personal problems they ring the Samaritans, so when somepne has an issue about Islam or just needs to talk, why not ring a mosque helpline?
"These are practical steps that can make the world a better place."
The aim of the meeting held at the Community Revival in Chorlton was to look at an islamaphobia eradication plan.
Other steps included working better with the media, creating more Muslim journalists, councillors and MPs to better represent the Muslim community.
Said Asghar: "We also need to reach out to the media and politicians and people who are demonising Islam.
"If a journalist has upset the Muslim community with an article, then invite that journalist to your home and build an understanding.
"The chances are they will be willing to listen to us so we need to reach out to them.
"Mosques also need to have a media monitoring unit so that they know what's happening elsewhere in the UK as well as their own town.
"If a Muslim woman is attacked for wearing the hijab, the mosques need to know about it and note it down so we can collate information about incidents throughout the UK."
At the meeting, the audience was also introduced to the representatives of Manchester’s MPACUK branch and given more information about the organisation and it's activities and are looking for more volunteers from the Greater Manchester region.
If you want to get involved or find out more information visit www.mpacuk.org.
MPACUK aim to give power to the community. A system of media monitoring, political lobbying and grass-roots community and institutional activism to allow the individual and the community the ability to change their own situation and the situation for Muslims at large.
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8/08/2008 at 12:00