The Muslim News

Home Secretary Alan Johnson, Communities Secretary John Denham, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling, distinguished guests, ministers and friends,

Assalamu ‘alaykum (peace be with you).

Thank you all for attending The Muslim News Awards for Excellence. A very hearty welcome to you all.

I would like to extend an especially big welcome to those who have been nominated for an award tonight; and to all those among our loyal readers who took the time and trouble to nominate men, women and children for an award of distinction.

Tonight, marks the 10 year anniversary of The Muslim News Awards for Excellence. During the course of the last ten years we have, every year, in a ceremony such
as this, shone light on the many worthy endeavours and good news stories emanating from Britain’s Muslim community.

The Awards for Excellence initiative began in order to mark another great achievement: the tenth anniversary of The Muslim News newspaper. At the time we wanted to look forward to what the next ten years would bring, and decided to acknowledge the noble accomplishments and displays of distinction within the British Muslim community.

Our purpose was to showcase all the brilliant work and tremendous contributions British Muslims make to Britain. And to identify Muslim role models for the
future.

I wrote then that the contributions of British Muslims to our society and economy, was not readily acknowledged and that Islam and Muslims suffered under the glare of an excessively negative media. I said then too that ‘I look forward to the day when
Islamophobic stereotypes will become an anachronism and as unacceptable as racism is now.’ Sadly, things haven’t moved on much since then.

On the contrary, Islamophobia has considerably worsened and stories reflecting positively on Muslims and Islam are a rare thing indeed.

This is an unfortunate state of affairs because there are enormous contributions being made by British Muslims in all sectors of our society. Yet, in the face of our many visible successes, there are those who refuse to relent and insist that Muslims are in ‘need of integration’.

A decade ago Muslims were in the main observed and viewed through the lens of fundamentalism. A decade on they’ve come to be observed and seen through the
prism of extremism and terrorism. The preoccupation with the actions of a tiny violent extremist minority and a small vocal provocative fringe has come to eclipse the everyday achievements of the British Muslim majority.

This awards ceremony has come to showcase the enormous contributions Muslims are making in diverse areas of life. We are here to celebrate the hugely impressive array of talented Muslim men, women, and youth who are contributing not only to the enhancement and development of their own community, but also to the improvement of wider society.

I feel deeply honoured and incredibly proud to be in the company of so many gifted and hard-working individuals. The wide spectrum of people and professions attending these awards offers, not only a unique opportunity to network, but an insight and appreciation of just how well integrated British Muslims truly are.

It is inevitable as the Editor of the largest circulating ethnic newspaper, and as we approach a general election, that I should touch upon over a decade of the Government and reflect on how matters have fared for British Muslims, particularly for those of us working in the media.

The incoming Labour government in 1997 was the first time that any Government made Muslims feel that their opinions were sought and valued.

Labour picked the first Muslim for a safe Parliamentary seat and appointed Muslim peers, as well as Muslim advisors for a host of initiatives.

There are now four Muslims in the House of Commons, all of them Labour. And we have the first Muslim minister attending the Cabinet, the Rt Hon Sadiq Khan.

The Government fulfilled many of our longstanding requests: A question on religion to be included in the national census of 2001; funding of Muslim schools; Shari’ah compliant financial products working within UK financial regulations; outlawing of religious discrimination at work place and in service delivery in public institutions and outlawing of incitement to religious hatred.

And the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, led the way in making senior cabinet ministers available for interviews with The Muslim News. His generous gestures ensured that the other parties followed suit.

However, since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and more so since the July 7 2005 bombings in London, relations between the Government and Muslim organisations have suffered from episodes of severe strain.

It is always better for a Government and community organisations to talk to each other notwithstanding differences of opinion on policy issues.

Muslims, especially young men and university students, are predominantly viewed by the Government through the lens of extremism.

This certainly cannot be healthy for nurturing of active citizens for tomorrow’s Britain.

As for The Conservative Party, it is not today the Tory party of old.

William Hague while Leader of the Party, made significant efforts to turn the Party around and began to demonstrate a greater understanding of Britain’s diverse faiths.

It was under William Hague that we saw Britain’s first Muslim member of the European Parliament.

This change has continued under the current leadership of David Cameron.

There are now two Muslim Tory peers and one of them Sayeeda Warsi, is a member of the shadow cabinet.

And the Liberal Democrats too have made strides in supporting Muslim issues and they have one Muslim peer.

They aptly reflected the society’s feeling on war on Iraq by taking a robust stand against it.

Nick Clegg demanded that our Government and the European Union halt arms sales to Israel during Operation Cast Lead in which hundreds of innocent Palestinian civilians, including many children were killed.

Whichever party comes to form the next Government, there is a pressing need for it to re visit policies that improve relations with the Muslim community and help rejuvenate community cohesion.

As devolution and further constitutional reform re-shapes our political landscape and institutions, Muslims and other minorities will in time, I believe, come to be considered as English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish, and not just as British.

Questions like ‘are you a Muslim first or British first’ or ‘are you from Pakistan’ will, such is our hope, no longer feature in the discourses of the future.

My congratulations to all of those who are successful and win here tonight. You have an important role to play in Britain.

I wish you all a very joyous and an inspiring evening.

I am deeply grateful to Faezeh Hashemi, President of the international Islamic Women’s Sport, who has travelled especially for this event from Iran to join us
in celebrating British Muslim contribution to society.

And I would like to invite Home Secretary Alan Johnson to the stage.

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