The Muslim News

Speech by the Home Secretary, the Rt Honourable Alan Johnson, MP
It’s a pleasure to be here at the 10th Muslim News Awards – an occasion in the year where we acknowledge the incredible achievements of people in Muslim communities across the UK.
As well as marking these achievements, we are celebrating the enormous contribution that Muslims make in every aspect of British life - whether that’s in politics, academia, law, sport, the arts, healthcare, humanitarian aid, the military, business and finance, or indeed, cuisine
Shortly, I will be presenting the Al Biruni Award for Excellence in community relations. There is nobody more appropriate to name this award after.
Al Biruni is not only celebrated as one of the fathers of modern mathematics –he was also an outspoken campaigner against intolerance and prejudice between Muslims and Hindus in 11th century India.
His extensive study of leading Hindu scholars led him to believe that no race or religion could claim to be superior and that shared scientific endeavour was more important than any difference in culture or belief.
Each of the nominees exemplifies this spirit – whether it’s by building bridges between faiths, improving relationships between Muslim communities and the police, or promoting understanding and awareness of Islam through important cultural events such as the Edinburgh festival.
What the nominees for all tonight’s awards remind us of is that this country is undoubtedly culturally richer and more prosperous because of its diversity,
Our history and our values are deeply entwined – Muslim communities have been part of British life for many centuries, long before the waves of emigration from the Commonwealth in the 50s and 60s. There are references to Islamic scholarship in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and there have been sizeable Muslim communities in this country since at least the 17th century.
The UK’s first purpose-built mosque was constructed in Woking in 1889, for the Muslim students and teachers working at the Oriental Institute in nearby Maybury, which soon drew international acclaim as a centre of Muslim scholarship.
Just as we have a shared history, so we also have shared values. The key principles of Islam – the right to life, the right to worship, freedom of expression, justice and tolerance – are universal.
They are echoed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights drawn up in 1948
They are integral to every community and every democracy. They unite both Muslims and non-Muslims – people of all faiths and of no faith at all.
And what also unites us is our collective determination to uphold and protect these values from those who seek to attack and undermine them – whether that’s the extremists on the far right, or those who distort Islam to justify violence.
But tackling extremism does not define the relationship between government and Muslim communities. Nor does it mean that the responsibility for tackling extremism lies only with the Muslim community. Like the threat from far right racists, it affects us all and it requires a united response.
By far the biggest threat to these groups is the resilience and confidence of the communities they claim to represent.
There is a responsibility on government to tackle social exclusion, deprivation and discrimination in all its forms – we know that in our schools and universities, only a fraction of the potential of young Pakistanis and Bangladeshis is realised, despite significant improvements in recent years. And we know that there are Muslim communities in the UK which are disproportionately affected by poverty and unemployment, who struggle to access services or face discrimination and harassment because of their faith or ethnicity.
So when we talk about resilience and confidence, you can take that to embrace access to excellent education, good employment opportunities, making our streets and homes safer through tough action on crime and antisocial behaviour – the things that underpin not just the safety and security of our citizens but also whether each individual can fulfil their potential.
Tonight’s award winners and nominees exemplify the talent, passion and commitment among Muslim communities to making the UK a fairer, more tolerant and safer place and I’d like to thank all of them for their contribution to the wellbeing and prosperity of this country and its citizens.

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