social cohesion report 2007

Social Cohesion: the Oxford Paradigm

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Social Cohesion:The Oxford Paradigm

St Antony’s College, OxfordJuly 7th, 2007

2008 Oxford Asian Cultural Association / New Dawn Enterprises

Published by New Dawn Enterprises in conjunction with Oxford Asian CulturalAssociationDesigned and edited by Chad Frischmann, The EuropaeumPrinted by Alden Press

Extracts from this publication may be reproduced for noncommercial educational ortraining purposes on condition that the source is acknowledged and the findings arenot misrepresented.

The publication is available in electronic form on The Europaeum website:www.europaeum.org

If you require this publication in an alternative format, please contact:

New Dawn Enterprises49 Wilkins RoadCowley, Oxford OX4 2HZUnited Kingdom

Tel. +44 (0) 7710 561499

Front cover: Picture of Faiths in Friendship Walk2007, Oxford, courtesy of Jawaid Malik


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Conference Report

SOCIAL COHESION:THE OXFORD PARADIGM

ST ANTONY’S COLLEGE, OXFORD

JULY 7TH, 2007

Oxford Asian Cultural AssociationDepartment of Communities and Local Government

New Dawn EnterprisesThe Europaeum

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Mission Statement

to cultivate an appreciation of the diversity and richness ofcultural, religious and ethnic expression in the City ofOxford;

develop a shared sense of community; encourage collaboration between Oxford’s communities

through the medium of arts, interfaith activities, sports andcultural events;

provide opportunities for conversation, discussion anddebate through engaging the public, academics andcommunity activists as a means to realising our vision of‘one community’ of many faiths and cultures;

provide a specialised ‘pool of talent’ to carry out projectsinquiring into social problems and questions confrontingBritain today and in the future;

serve as a medium of exploring new ideas, developingfresh insight, and creating sustainable solutions forcommunities in the modern, ‘global’ society;

challenge the forces of extremism by promoting culturaland religious understanding and developing connectednessbetween all our communities as a force for lasting socialcohesion;

develop educational programmes for schools and othereducational institutions aimed at deepening and enhancingunderstanding of and between faiths.

The Social Cohesion: the Oxford Paradigm Programme began in2006 as an idea amongst a small group of dedicated communitycohesion advocates, with a mission to:


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Contents

Mission Statement...................................................................................2

Foreword..................................................................................................5

Conference Programme.........................................................................6

Welcome.................................................................................................9

Tackling Extremism in a Globalised Society......................................13

The Role of Faith in Contemporary Britain.......................................21

Art as a Vehicle for Cultural Exchange..............................................33

Engaging the Youth..............................................................................50

Conclusions............................................................................................69

Outcomes...............................................................................................74

Future Initiatives...................................................................................76

List of Speakers......................................................................................78

List of Participants................................................................................84

Benefactors and Supporters.................................................................86

Notes.......................................................................................................87

Contact Details.......................................................................................89

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Foreword

by Jawaid Malik,CommuniktyDevelopment AreaManager, OxfordCity Council,Conference Co-Organiser

Oxford has a long legacy as a city at the forefront of multiculturalinitiatives. Dating from its inception, it has been a centre of culturalpreservation and dialogue, with such institutions as the AshmoleanMuseum, the Bodleian Library and the University of Oxford. As a citywith such a legacy, people around the world come here each year towork, live, study and visit.

In a country increasingly fearful of dangerous extremist beliefs, Oxfordstands out as a place where people of diverse backgrounds cometogether in relative peace. In order to promote this idea, explore ways toimprove and expand further initiatives, and develop Oxford as a modelfor social cohesion, we organised a one-day conference on 7th July, 2007,bringing together academics, policy-makers, community, religious, andcultural leaders, students, and young people in open dialogue aboutissues that effect everyone living in Britain.

The goals of this Conference were to initiate a sense of action and driveamongst Oxford’s diverse communities to work together in building apeaceful, cooperative, fruitful multicultural society; to explore differentideas for initiatives to engage our youth and young adults in order toprovide alternatives to extremism; and to provide a vehicle forchallenging cultural misconceptions and ignorance.

Key to the success of this Conference has been the support of a numberof organisations and individuals, including the Department ofCommunities and Local Government, the Oxford Asian CulturalAssociation, The Europaeum (an association of 10 Europeanuniversities), the European Studies Centre (Oxford University), StAntony’s College, and New Dawn Enterprises; with special thanks toImam Monawar Hussain, Paul Flather, Chad Frischmann, Zohra Fatima,and Pat Thomas, for all their work organising this event.

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Conference Programme

SOCIAL COHESION – THE OXFORD PARADIGM

St Antony’s College, University of Oxford7 July 2007

09.30 – 09.35 WELCOME:Cllr John Tanner, The Lord Mayor of Oxford

09.35 – 10.00 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Dr Iftikhar Haider Malik, Professor ofInternational Relations, Bath Spa University

MORNING SESSIONCHAIR: Dr Paul Flather, Secretary-General, The Europaeum

PANEL I: TACKLING EXTREMISM IN A GLOBALIZED SOCIETY

10.00 – 10.15 1. Supt Jim Trotman, Oxford LPA Commander TVP

10.15 – 10.30 2. Mia Flores-Bórquez, Founder, Justicia10.30 – 10.45 3. Imam Irfan Chishti, Director Citizenship, Sufi Muslim

Council

10.45 – 11.15 Discussion

PANEL II: THE ROLE OF FAITH IN CONTEMPORARY BRITAIN

11.30 – 11.45 1. Sheikh Mohammad Shahid Raza, Director, Imams andMosques Council UK; and, Founder Trustee, British MuslimForum

11.45 – 12.00 2. Rev. Dr Marcus Braybrooke , President, World Congress ofFaiths; and, Co- Founder, Three Faiths Forum

12.00 – 12.15 3. Judith Kramer, Act for Change12.15 – 12.45 Discussion


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12.45 – 13.00 Concluding Remarks by the Chair of the Morning Session

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch

AFTERNOON SESSION

Chair: Imam Monawar Hussain, Muslim Tutor, Eton College

PANEL III: ARTS AS A VEHICLE FOR CULTURAL EXCHANGE

14.00 – 14.15 1. Dr Christopher Brown, Director, Ashmolean Museum

14.15 – 14.30 2. Dr Peggy Morgan, Honorary President, British Associationfor the Study of Religions; and Lecturer in World Religions,Mansfield College

14.30 – 14.45 3. Malcolm Atkins, local musician & Lecturer, Open University

14.45 – 15.15 Discussion

PANEL IV: ENGAGING THE YOUTH: EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY

PROGRAMMES

15.30 – 15.45 1. Nisha Prakash, Community Cohesion Officer,Oxford City Council

15.45 – 16.00 2. Dr M Hussain Mirza, Thames Valley University

16.00 – 16.15 3. Saddique Abbasi, Muslim Youth Worker16.15 – 16.45 Discussion

16.45 – 17.00 Concluding Remarks by the Chair of the Afternoon Session

18.30 Dinner

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Hugo Brunner, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire

The morning session began with a Welcome Address from Cllr John Tanner, the Lord Mayor of Oxford, aswell as an impromptu message from Lord Hugo Brunner, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire

Cllr John Tanner, Lord Mayor of Oxford


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Welcome

The conference was formally opened by Cllr. John Tanner,the Lord Mayor of Oxford, who said a few words oncommunity harmony in Oxford.

“Thank you very much, ladies and gentleman, sisters and brothers,good morning and thank you for coming at this conference. I amabsolutely thrilled to be opening this conference. I would like tocongratulate the Asian Cultural Association, New Dawn Enterprises,and the Europaeum for organizing this event, and hope that it willproduce even better things in Oxford than we have already.

I would just like to say a few words about my own thoughts on whatsocial cohesion means in Oxford. Firstly, I think we need to recognisethat social cohesion is not about flowers, white doves, and singingkumbaya – it will not come simply through wishful thinking; but it canbe achieved through hard work, everyday. It is about working andgetting along with those neighbours who have such seemingly foreignviews about life. We can all get on with the people from relativelysimilar backgrounds – that’s easy, we all do that. But with people fromdifferent cultures, who outwardly appear so exotic to our senses, andheaven knows there are lots of them here in Oxford, we must endeavourto understand their cultures, their backgrounds, in order to live andwork as true neighbours.

Oxford has a strong tradition of tolerance, internationalism, andwelcoming newcomers. I very much welcome Oxford’s Europeancommunities, the Polish, the French, and so on; I applaud thecontributions of the South and East Asian communities; and I value ourlongstanding engagement with the African and Caribbean communities.But we should not take this special tradition of acceptance for granted.Strong community relations require a positive, constructive

By Cllr JohnTanner, LordMayor of Oxford

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commitment, without which a society can fracture. Once a society hasbroken apart, as we’ve seen in Iraq and Palestine, it’s a monumental taskto put the pieces together again. So, we must all maintain that positivecommitment to building strong community relations.

Now, we hear so much about bombings, and so far Oxford has beenlucky. It seems to me, however, that these hate-filled, murderingbombers can strike here as much as anywhere else. I do not use theword ‘terrorist’, anymore than I like to use the phrase ‘war on terror’, asI don’t think it’s helpful. If someone’s dropping a bomb on you, itdoesn’t matter if it’s an American bomb, a British bomb, or a self-made

bomb – the pain and suffering and death are still as veryreal. So while Oxford is certainly a wonderful example ofpeace and harmony to the world, there remains manyproblems facing our city that could potentially leave it avictim like London two years ago.

The wealth gap between rich Oxford and some of ourdeprived estates is one such problem. We need to remindourselves that some of the estates in Oxford are part of

these new ‘super-output areas’, which are in the bottom 10%deprivation in this country however you measure it – whether byincome or education. Yet we have here some of the richest 10% of peopleliving in Britain, because Oxford is such a lovely place to live in. We aretold that these divisions are widening, and this will inevitably bringtensions in our society; the kind of tensions that can feed extremism,and has been shown to be a motivating factor in other cities here inBritain.

This is just an example of one problem facing Oxford where divisions,cultural or economic (which unfortunately often go hand-in-hand), can

“Social cohesion is notabout flowers, whitedoves, and singingkumbaya – it will notcome simply throughwishful thinking; but itcan be achieved throughhard work, everyday.”


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threaten our ideal status. So in conclusion ladies and gentleman, weneed to work hard everyday to bring all our Oxford communitiestogether, to narrow divisions through dialogue and understanding. AndI think this will be one of those days.”

– Cllr. John Tanner, Lord Mayor of Oxford

Following the Lord Mayor’s opening, the Lord Lieutenant ofOxfordshire, Hugo Brunner, a participant in the audience,asked to make a few comments of his own before the firstsession began:

“Well I begin by strongly endorsing everything that the Lord Mayor hassaid. I have no speech for you, and I suppose that I am here because Iam the representative of the Queen in Oxfordshire. Sometimes myduties are seen as purely ceremonial, but I would say that Her Majestyexpects me, more than anything else, to associate the Crown, the Headof State, with the community life of this area, Oxfordshire. I know noteveryone here will be a monarchist – I would describe myself as aconstitutional monarchist – but I see considerable virtue in having anindependent Head of State, as a symbol for national unity; and, I dobelieve the Queen is just that.

I experience that sense of national unity very regularly, along with myDeputy Lieutenants, during the citizenship ceremonies that are carriedout virtually every week throughout the year in County Hall. It is awonderful gathering of people whose roots are from all around theworld; and they come to publicly become citizens, and associatethemselves with the life of this country, to join our community. These

By Lord HugoBrunner, LordLieutenant ofOxfordshie

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ceremonies are very good for the country, and for Oxfordshire, as asnapshot of our growing community.

Finally, I would just like to congratulate all those who brought thisconference about, a very timely conference and something that is verymuch needed. I would also like to congratulate those, and many arehere today, who do spend a lot of time working on this area of socialcohesion in this city and the wider county. You work incredibly hardand imaginatively, and sometimes, no doubt, frustratingly. But I hope,from this conference, you will take heart to continue with your excellentwork. Thank you for inviting me to be present with you today.”

– Lord Lieutenant Hugo Brunner

Lord Brunner with Dr Christopher Brown, Director of the Ashmolean Museum


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Session I: Panel I

Tackling Extremism in a Globalized WorldChair:Dr Paul Flather, Secretary-General of The Europaeum

Speakers:Supt Jim Trotman, Oxford LPA Commander TVPMia Flores-Bórquez, Founder, JusticiaImam Irfan Chishti, Director Citizenship, Sufi MuslimCouncil

The theme of the first panel was on Tackling Extremism in a GlobalizedWorld . The increasing use of the internet and other ‘global’communications media in distributing ideas and information fromevery corner of the world to every corner of the world, hasfundamentally transformed society. The benefits of this freedom ofthought are multifarious, but along with the positives come thenegatives. Extremist groups, which represent only a very small minorityof the population, are able, at an unprecedented level, to interact withand influence society. This is the globalized world, the globalizedsociety, in which we live in.

The panellists each sought to present different perspectives onidentifying potential sources of extremism, and ways in whichcommunities can counteract the negative influence of extremist groups.The panel began with Superintendent Jim Trotman, an Oxford LPAcommander well-known throughout the Oxford community for hisdedication to improving neighbourhood cohesion.

Dr Paul Flather,Secretary-Generalof The Europaeum,and Fellow ofMansield College,Oxford

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Supt Trotman outlined the role of the police in not only tacklingextremism where it arises, but in soothing tensions between differentcultural or religious groups. He identified several key points which hesaw as essential for not only the local policing force, but for the widercommunity.

Of prime importance is to “know your community”, to learn about thediversity within the city directly from the source, and to increase theknowledge base of the police force. From this will come a more intimateunderstanding of the needs of the people that the police are serving, andhow the needs of one segment of the population can differ substantiallyfrom others.

He also highlighted the need to understand how local communitiesvulnerable to outside tensions, tensions not directly associated with thelocality of Oxford, can dramatically affect local cohesion, and could leadto the proliferation of extremism even in Oxford. He said that knowinghow to respond to tensions, how to communicate with members of thecommunity in open dialogue, and when to consult others intimatelyworking with the community, such as religious leaders, youth workers,and outreach officers, was key in tackling the influence of extremismfrom the source.

Supt. Jim Trotman,Oxford LPACommanderThames ValleyPolice

“I have a duty as police commander to recognize that police actions may becriticized and respond to that criticism, and to show you that we learn and wechange and that we can adapt. It’s about building trust, it’s about partnership.It’s about my role and your role as conduits of what people are feeling across thecity, so that then we can go out and see how we can make things better…”

– Supt Jim Trotman


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Following Supt. Trotman, Mia Flores-Bórquez, founder of the humanrights organization, Justicia, offered a different perspective as a forcedmigrant escaping the brutal Chilean regime 30 years ago, and assomeone who had dedicated her life to teaching and helping otherforced migrants. Ms Flores-Bórquez talked about her experiences inOxford as someone who had to adjust to a new culture and a newcommunity; how when she arrived here there were few provisions formigrant populations, and many tensions arose between groups, whohad no representation or advocates to intercede on their behalf. Shedescribed an environment where “we simply had to duck [and] learn tolive and cope and adapt”. However, over the 30 years sheremained in Oxford, the City progressively became a placewhere these ‘disenfranchised’ could find acceptance, prosperity,and freedom of expression completely unavailable in theirformer country.

Yet she still saw great tensions, particularly in Oxford, betweenthe “have and the have-nots”, between those who have access topower and those who feel isolated and disenfranchised. Withoutthe belief that one has representation, acceptance, and access tomeans of prosperity, one cannot feel part of the society in whichthey live; and this, according to Ms. Flores-Bórquez, is how extremismfinds ways into communities. She believes that society needs to addressthis first and foremost as a means of preventing extremists from gainingground within these desperate groups.

She called for more well-supported programmes and organisationsdesigned to address these disparities, and provide underrepresented,isolated, and poor communities with not only the feeling, but the actualmeans to be an equal part of British society.

“Without the beliefthat one has

representation,acceptance, and

access to means ofprosperity, one

cannot feel part ofthe society in

which they live”

Mia Flores-Bórquez, Founderof Justicia, a humanrights advocacygroup

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Imam Irfan Chishti, the Director of Citizenship at the Sufi MuslimCouncil, was the final speaker of this panel, and attempted the difficulttask of identifying the true nature of Muslim extremism. He began withthe premise that the only way to tackle the “beast” was to understand it,recognise it, and show how it does not truly represent Islam. Heexplained how difficult it was not only for non-Muslims, but forMuslims themselves to know what Islam requires of its adherents, sincethe extremists claim to be justified under Islamic law. It is thereforeimperative that Muslims and non-Muslims alike clearly understand thebasis of the extremist ideology, and how it fundamentally differs fromtrue Islam.

Imam Chishti identified one source as fundamental to extremism,namely the Wahhabi sect which set itself on a divergent, conflicting pathto traditional Islam, and resulted in the proliferation of new doctrinesand sects, such as the Salafis, which together promote the concept of aglobal jihad – first against the West, then internally against non-Wahhabi-Salafi Muslims, to re-establish the Caliphate, and to instil theirown radical interpretation of sharia law. According to Imam Chishti,this radical version of Islam represents only a tiny percentage of theoverall Muslim population, yet has a powerful impact on youngMuslims, most often in a desperate situation, as described by Ms.Flores-Bórquez, through intensive recruitment strategies.

The success of these small sects in Britain is in large part due, in theopinion of Imam Chishti, to the low level of religious educationamongst British Muslims. He quoted a study, which surveyed 2500young Muslims on a wide range of questions relating to Muslims inBritain. Imam Chishti noted that only 16% of those surveyed thoughtthat they understood Islam; only 25% thought they knew enough about

Imam IrfanChishti, DirectorCitizenship, SufiMuslim Council,and Principle/Imam of the Lightof Islam Academy


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Islam; only 26% believed that mosques inBritain gave a complete Islamic education;and that 83% believed that there were noMuslim role models in the UK. He sawthese numbers as clearly indicating that thevast majority of young Muslims were notbeing sufficiently educated about the truetenets of Islam, and had few if any positivefigures with which to relate to. This scenariocombined with the feeling of beingdisenfranchised from society, is ideal for theWahhabi-Salafi sects’ recruitment strategy,and therefore must be of central importanceto combat and defeat this extremist ideology.

The Imam strongly felt that new initiatives need to be supported toteach Muslim youths the true nature of Islam, one in which theWahhabi-Salafi version of jihad is strictly forbidden by the rules of justwar, where Muslims are required to “recognise the qualities of the hostcommunity…to adhere to open dialogue and positive engagement”, andthat requires Muslims to strive to be good citizens. Key to any drive totackle extremism, therefore, will require significant reform in thestandards of religious education.

“We are wasting a mass resource, we have kids up and down the land whereveryou go having a mosque education, and it is a massive resource we are totallyignoring. We can do so much with trying to instil an understanding of whatIslam does require of you as a citizen in a non-Muslim land.”

– Imam Irfan Chishti

Imam Irfan Chishti in discussion with Dr Martin Conway ofthe Anglo-Asian Association, Oxford

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Discussion:Dr Hojjat Ramzy, Director of Iqra Girls School:Comment to Jim Trotman: The solution to cohesion and integration liesin the jurisprudence of Islam. If you want to employ Muslims as a policeforce, you must look within the Islamic law for the right answer.

Jim Trotman:

My honest response is to say that what I would need to do is go and seeyou personally Dr Ramzy, and see what exactly you see as important. Iwouldn’t profess to be an expert on Sharia law, or the wider issues yourcomment raises, so to answer your question requires further dialogue.

Nadir Cheema, Teacher at SOAS:Question to Imam Chishti: I see most of the recruitment of the Wahhabisects coming from the Barelvi sect. What is the main issue of how theyare so easily able to recruit from Barelvi children?

Imam Irfan Chishti:This goes back to the question of imams. For the past 20-30 years, theeducation system in our mosques has been a little bit out of touch, andthat is why we have a young generation being attracted to other sects.But there is still a huge potential for development within the mosquesand amongst the imams; and it is a credit to the various institutions wedo have now, like the Muslim College in London, which have Islamictheological teaching in English, and from good sources that are not onlyengaging these youths, but preparing for the challenges around them ina modern context.

Riaz Ahmed, Secretary of Medina Mosque:Question to Panel: Are all the terrorist activities, the war, etc. not aboutthe New World Order being enforced, and people responding to it?

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Mia Flores-Bórquez:In the 1970s in Latin America, there were great conflicts happening allover. Bombings were happening all the time, what were the bombingsall about? They were designed to disrupt, to stop, to slow down, butthey have taken place throughout history; we have just not been part ofit, affected or been aware of it, because the media kept us somehowisolated from it. I don’t know whether anyone can answer yourquestion, but in reference to the extent of the bombings happening now,I would argue that it has historically been taking place for quite sometime in other parts of the world for different reasons; terrorism hasalways been carried out in the name of politics, religion, economics, andenvironment.

Patrick Tolani, Director of Oxford Racial Equality Council:Question to Panel: I have not seen how you have addressed issues ofeconomy. The role of economy is crucial, which is not necessarily relatedto religious issues.

Dr Iftikhar Malik:The whole debate that maybe if the Muslim societies graduated intosome kind of middle-class dispensation, there would be more stability,doesn’t really explain the situation. I think if you look at the phenomenaof neo-conservatism in America, ultra-right forces in Europe, orhindutwa in India, these are middle-class forces where religion refusesto accept a kind of marginalised role. In Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, orPalestine economic factors play a crucial role. If you were an Afghan,you would be in a cul-de-sac, you wouldn’t see any light at the end ofthe tunnel. This is where the suicide-bombings, killings, supporting theTaliban – the ideology of self-emulation comes from. Economy, politics,alienation, all play a role. The war against terror has alienated morepeople, and we are not only alienating ordinary people, but alienatingmiddle-class, educated professionals.


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The Role of Faith in Contemporary BritainChair:Dr Paul Flather, Secretary-General of The Europaeum

Speakers:Sheikh Mohammad Shahid Raza, Director, Imams andMosques Council UK; Trustee, British Muslim ForumRev. Dr Marcus Braybrooke, President, World Congressof Faiths; and, Co- Founder, Three Faiths ForumJudith Kramer, Act for Change

Session I: Panel II

The second panel tried to explore the role of faith groups in theprimarily secular society of contemporary Britain. Extremist groups useinaccurate interpretations of religious arguments as the basis of theiragenda, as a means of recruiting followers who feel disenfranchised inthe society in which they live. As such, religious communities, nowmore than ever, need to explore their own identity in this modern,secular society, and how to coexist alongside other faiths and other waysof thinking, without falling into the trap of inaccurate extremist dogma.

The three speakers sought to address a) the position of Muslims inBritain, b) the role of the inter-faith dialogue movement in promotingsocial cohesion, and c) how personal commitment and dedication on anindividual basis can lead to improved social cohesion among religiousand cultural communities within Britain. The panel began with SheikhMohammad Shahid Raza, a prominent leader of the Muslim communityin Britain, and an outspoken advocate of interfaith and culturaldialogue.

Dr Paul Flather,Secretary-Generalof The Europaeum,and Fellow ofMansield College,Oxford

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Sheikh Raza began by reiterating the central role religion plays for thosewho have a faith; a role which is a crucial part of the social, political,and personal lives of people of all faiths. In a secular, modern society, toprofess to have a faith becomes a strong statement of one’s identity, andis integral to one’s behaviour, attitudes, and world-view. However, forpeople of faiths living in such a secular, multicultural, industrial society,there are often significant pressures to abandon such religious identity,which, according to Sheikh Raza, would be disastrous.

He identified several roles of faith, such as through education, trust-building, and self-examination, which are crucial to further integrationwithin the wider British society. The Sheikh first noted that Muslimswithin Britain generally lacked a proper Islamic education, which has

led to confusions and problems for the Muslim community.He believed that by educating themselves about their ownfaith, Muslims would inevitably be able to betterunderstand others, be able to interact intelligently andcompassionately within society, and be more secure withintheir own communities.

Education would thus also lead to internal integrationwithin the Muslim community, which the Sheikh saw asessential for wider societal integration. He noted that innon-Muslim countries, the various denominational pathswithin Islam – Sunni, Shia, Wahhabi/Salafis, Sufi, etc. –

were simply not important; and that a minority Muslim populationneeded to be as one, not composed of a collection of smaller, divergentminorities.

Of primary importance to achieving this level of internal and ultimatelygeneral integration, is the active participation of mosques and imams

“In order to establishour identity, we do notneed to demonizeothers, we can establishand maintain ouridentity in amulticultural society,while respecting,accepting andtolerating all otherhuman beings.”

Sheikh MohammadShahid Raza,Director, Imamsand MosquesCouncil UK;Founding Trustee,British MuslimForum


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“Language is important, but not everything. If we can speak the language ofOxford and Cambridge, but the ideologies and emotions are coming from othercountries, the language is not going to help us at all. So we need to live heregeographically as well as ideologically and emotionally. That is the mostimportant and challenging role for the Muslim community to take.”

- Sheikh Mohammad Shahid Raza

throughout Britain to be educators and unifiers, who can deliver thetrue message of Islam. This will require imams with ability, charisma,and authority; who not only speak English, but are ideologically andemotionally tied to Britain. These imams would thus be in the bestsituation to be training the community, particularly the youth, in sharedethical and moral values, such as universal human rights, tolerance, andpeace.

Qualified imams educating an internally integrated Muslim communitywill, according to the Sheikh, deepen the level of trust held betweendifferent Muslim groups, between young and old generations, betweendifferent faith groups, and between Muslims and society as a whole.Trust thus becomes the key component in becoming truly integrated,and building lasting social cohesion.

Finally, one of the most important roles of Islam is the promotion ofindividual self-examination, which comes with education and trust. Asa result of this self-examination, Muslims can move from barriers tobridges, to open and constructive dialogue; which should be, accordingto Sheikh Raza, the role of faith in contemporary Britain.

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The Reverend Dr Marcus Braybrooke spoke on the role of interfaithdialogue in promoting social cohesion. Faith being only one factor in acomplex situation, it is important to remember that religion is as much amatter of identity, as about a belief in God – it can be about what peoplewear, what food people eat, etc. – and society needs to affirm peoples’right to practise and believe what they want, so long as they do not hurtanyone else. On the other hand, those of different faiths need to affirmthe values that are shared between them; and the aim of interfaithdialogue, and indeed any social cohesion initiative in Britain, is to build,as the Chief Rabbi has described it, a ‘Community of communities’.

To this end, interfaith work is essential at all levels – local, national andinternational – and since 2000 such initiatives have nearly doubled; yetthere remains much work to be done. Central to any interfaith work, isaddressing the most difficult challenges to social cohesion: bitternessand prejudice. Bitterness relating to memories of past and currentconflicts, results in continued mistrust and scepticism. Dr Braybrookbelieved that most communities needed to repent for past behavioursand seek mutual forgiveness through explicitly acknowledging pastwrongs and injustices.

Prejudices arise from inherited factors, from false images relating to pastmisconceptions. People are still ignorant of those who belong to otherreligions. Again, the role of education was raised as means of dispellingthese false images.

Rev. Dr Braybrooke called on Christians to stand with other faiths,particularly Muslims at this time, to affirm shared values, make vitalcontributions to mutual understanding, to seek reconciliation ratherthan revenge, and share the riches of our different cultures.

Rev. Dr MarcusBraybrooke,President, WorldCongress of Faiths;and, Co- Founder,Three Faiths Forum


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Judith Kramer followed with a personal talk about her own backgroundas a Jewish woman dedicated to helping others, building bridgesbetween communities, and expanding her own learning about othercultures, as an example of how her faith has contributed to her life, andthus as a model for how faith acts as a vehicle for who we are.

She believed that in many ways we chose the strand of our faith becauseof who we are as individuals; and one of the great benefits of acontemporary Western society such as Britain, is that many morechoices that are available, which offer a variety of acceptable paths forindividuals to take according to who they are. The only realrequirement is to be open and accepting of other people’s choices, and toactively attempt to learn about who people are – to learn with theassumption that “I know that I do not know”.

She went on to recount a story attributed to Rabbi Hillel, who taught inJerusalem around the time of Jesus, where a Roman soldier came to theRabbi and asked to be taught the Torah. Hillel simply said: “Do not untoothers what is hateful for you.” The soldier asked: “Does that mean theTorah says all men are brothers, heathen and Jew, and that we have tobe kind to one another as if we are brothers?” Hillel replied: “Yes, therest is all commentary.” Ms Kramer described this as a central tenet ofher own life within a family of many different religious and politicalbeliefs, and which reflected a traditional Jewish perspective.

Ms Kramer felt that at heart all people are good; that the doer of anaction sees themselves as doing something good, even if we cannotunderstand why or how they can act so. We need to be learners andteachers to understand and share our different backgrounds andperspectives in order to work towards social cohesion.

Judith Kramer,CompanySecretary, Act forChange

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Discussion:Sauban Rafi, Treasurer of Oxford Asian Cultural Association:Question to Panel: How do you promote religious harmony amongmainstream religions, when the second largest religion in the world,Islam, is associated with terrorism?

Rev. Dr Marcus Braybrooke:I don’t myself equate Islam with terrorism, and I am sad if that is whatMuslims are now feeling; because I accept there is a lot ofmisrepresentation, and we have to tackle with that, but if we allowourselves to feel alienated and become victims, it actuallyundermines what we can do. So I think it is a matter of thoseoutside the Muslim community affirming and trying to encouragea fairer representation; and a lot of the work in interfaithorganisations is challenging such misrepresentation. What Iwelcome recently is the amount of initiatives the Muslimcommunity are now making to encourage others to get to knowthem. We all have to get away from this labelling.

What I am concerned about, relating to your [Judith Kramer] remarksabout everyone being good at heart, is our language in denouncing‘those who throw bombs’. The political reaction is that these are evil,worse than animals; but how do we distinguish genuine rejection ofcertain behaviour without rejecting the person? There is also theconcern that the American government has used the blanket word‘terrorist’ to almost anyone with whom they disagree, and I think this isrelates particularly to the situation in Palestine. I can remember as achild the French resistance movement against the Nazis were held up tome as heroes; where do you move from legitimate freedom fighters, tothose committing terrorism? I follow a Christian path, and therefore donot advocate violence in any situation, but I accept, for example, that

“...a lot of ourlanguage about

terrorism isactually blinding

us to the issuesthat have to be

tackled.”

...............................................................................................................28

Nelson Mandela felt at one stage that violence was the only way inwhich change can happen. So it seems to me that a lot of our languageabout terrorism is actually blinding us to the issues that have to betackled.

Sauban Rafi, Treasurer of Oxford Asian Cultural Association:Question to Panel: Is what is happening to the Muslims similar to whathappened with Jews during the Holocaust?

Judith Kramer:It is different. Jews did not have a home; there was no Jewish country,perhaps not since 1492. My ancestors have been on the run, occasionallyfinding a safe place for a few generations before having to move on.And in the 1930s, Hitler’s gradual process of dispossession continuedthis, and ultimately ending in a policy of mass extermination. First thereisn’t really a process of dispossession going on today, certainly not in thesame way. Second, there isn’t really a parallel with the Holocaust goingon – there is no one trying to wipe Muslims off the face of the Earth; andif there was, they would be very hard put to do it. However, there issome commonality of experience, and it would be really valuable to beable share how we as Muslims and Jews can encourage ourselves whenwe are discriminated against; how do we deal with that in a positiveway that will give us good results; there are internal educational aspectsthat we can help each other with.

Patrick Tolani, Director of Oxford Racial Equality Council:Question to Panel: Many members of different cultural communitiesdo not have access to an infrastructure or support systems, and oftenrely on their religious institutions. To what extent to do you as religiousleaders feel competent to be able to signpost them to organisations thatcan help them?


29...............................................................................................................

Sheikh Mohammad Shahid Raza:In regard to infrastructure, yes there are mosques who have alreadystarted facilities for extra tuition in secular subjects. That service needsto be extended. Mosques offer students lessons in Maths, English, andComputer Science; and mosques are places to go to seek advice. But thisis a service that should be extended, and not only extended to Muslims,but to all so that it can help in the process of cohesion and integration.We should also be providing facilities for advice for women, youth,community initiatives, sports, etc. and for that we need resources. But itis also important to remember that Muslims are a comparatively youngcommunity in this country; so as a young community we should beallowed some time so that we can achieve a gradual, organic growth inthis country. In principle, though, I would very much like to see allmosques extending facilities with secular dimensions, and there ispotential for capacity building in this respect.

Rev. Dr David Partridge, Interfaith worker:Comment to Sheikh Raza: I got disturbed when you talked aboutintrafaith, as well as interfaith dialogue. As a parish priest for 40 years, Ibecame distrustful of the signs of ‘cleaning your own house first, inorder to be ready for the world’. I don’t think it works that way. I believeI understand what drives a lot of Islam, and I have infinite sympathy,but I wonder whether part of the future is outreaching Islam, which canbe really prophetic in UK 2007, and God knows we need it.

Sheikh Mohammad Shahid Raza:Muslims have a responsibility towards outreaching the widercommunity, in presenting the core values of Islam, which are of greatvalue to anybody in a wide variety of contexts, and for that we needintegration. Yet, for integration, we need an environment. There isprecedence in this country that previous migrant communities were

...............................................................................................................30

provided an environment which was free from intimidation,harassment, and insecurity; and these groups have well integrated intothe society. Perhaps Muslims also deserve the same environment.However, as long as a community is being intimidated and harassed,they are forced to look somewhere else, and that is the greatest barrierto integration.

Altaf Hussain, Chairman of Central Oxford Mosque:Question to Sheikh Raza: A recent study of imams in Britain stated thata vast majority of imams in this country cannot speak English properly.Do you believe only 6% of Imams actually do speak English?

Sheikh Mohammad Shahid Raza:That survey has been done only for 300 mosques, it is not a nationalsurvey, it primarily represents the Yorkshire and Lancashire area, andperhaps it is a reality that in those areas, the imams cannot speak goodEnglish. But I think more generally, all the mosques have realised theneed to employ at least one imam who speaks good English, and we arein the process of fulfilling that requirement. But it takes time; as I said,we are a young community, we have so many on our shoulders, butthere is a general consensus that our pattern of communication mustchange, and I am hopeful that another survey in a couple of years willshow an entirely different result.

Fatimah Ramzy, student in Oxford:Question to Panel: How do you propose to further the efforts topromote understanding between faiths in terms of education among theyounger generation, particularly with the diminishing status of religiouseducation from personal experience in local schools?


31...............................................................................................................

Rev. Dr Marcus Braybrooke:I think perhaps even more important than learning about religion, islearning about spiritual values. A movement I have a link with inAmerica is about spiritual parenthood, trying to encourage people, evenas children, not to necessarily adopt religion, but to be aware of spiritualvalues, to appreciate the beauty of nature, and so on. We also need morerole models to promote understand. I have written a little book called365 Meditations , where I tried to take all sorts of inspiring stories fromdifferent cultures and different religions; but it is not aboutreligion, it about trying to allow a culture to be impregnated bythe variety of good role models and examples. I think this isanother way to promote better understanding, particularly for theyoung generation.

Imam Monawar Hussain, Muslim Tutor, Eton College:Question to Panel: In many ways, this conference is about avision for the future; what is your vision for Great Britain in the21st century?

Rev. Dr Marcus Braybrooke:My real longing is that we gain the status among the internationalcommunity when we are clearly on the side of international law andhuman rights. There was a period about 20 years ago that I could take acertain pride in the British role in peace keeping operations in differentparts of the world – I thought we were really on the side of trying tostruggle for a better world. This is why I feel the last few yearsundermined the stages we had got to in the United Nations, the wholedignity of human rights, so I would like to see us regain an internationalrole worthy of respect of people outside Britain and the people withinBritain itself. And I would like to see a society that we can really value

“It is not aboutreligion, it abouttrying to allow a

culture to beimpregnated by

the variety of goodrole models and

examples.”

...............................................................................................................32

and see the differences and varieties as an enrichment we can learn fromeach other.

Judith Kramer:We need, as communities, to know each other as best as we possiblycan. With Act for Change, we brought a Holocaust survivor to a schoolwhere Muslims consisted of 65% student body, and primarily from thesame part of Pakistan. They had never seen a Jew before. In the smallworkshops we conducted, they talked very openly about their need formore knowledge, more interaction. I believe as communities, we

actually need to make this happen together, knowing each otherbetter, and not having preconceptions. There needs to be muchmore knowledge both ways.

Rev. Dr Marcus Braybrooke :And just to follow-up on what Judith said, I wish we can do moremeeting in each others’ homes, rather than in so many conferencecentres, because that is where real friendships develop, and itseems to me an initiative we can all take.

Sheikh Mohammad Shahid Raza:My vision is of having a properly structured, integrated society, where,as a Muslim, I would like my children to see a British Islam flourish inthis country. When I say British Islam, I mean a local Islam, itsfundamental beliefs and practises rooted here. I have travelled a lot, andI have seen and experienced that Britain has historically been the mosttolerant Western society. I would love to see in the future that that faceof tolerant Britain remains intact.

“Britain hashistorically beenthe most tolerantWestern society. Iwould love to seein the future thatthat face oftolerant Britainremains intact.”


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Art as a Vehicle for Cultural ExchangeChair:Imam Monawar Hussain, Muslim Tutor, Eton College;Chair, New Dawn Enterprises

Speakers:Dr Christopher Brown, Director, Ashmolean MuseumDr Peggy Morgan, Honorary President, BritishAssociation for the Study of Religions; and Lecturer inWorld Religions, Mansfield CollegeMalcolm Atkins, local musician & Lecturer in Music,Open University

Session II: Panel I

The third panel explored the role of the arts in contributing to greatercultural awareness and understanding. One of the primary and mostpleasing outputs of different cultures can be found in their art andmusic. These outputs act as mediums of communication in waysinaccessible to just words or writings, and can be powerful, expressivetools in building social cohesion. Britain has come to represent a placewhere freedom of artistic expression from across the globe is welcomedand encouraged, and therefore has one of the most diverse and richartistic communities in the world.

The three panellists presented different means of reaching out to peopleof many cultures and faiths through a) practical museum policies andprogrammes designed to facilitate greater exposure to art, b) educationprogrammes to show the strong historical connections and influencesacross cultures, and c) community outreach initiatives which focus onstimulating and supporting local artists and workshops.

by Imam MonawarHussain, MuslimTutor of EtonCollege; and Chairand FoundingTrustee, NewDawn Enterprises

...............................................................................................................34

Dr ChristopherBrown, Director,AshmoleanMuseum

Dr. Christopher Brown, Director of the Ashmolean Museum, was thefirst panellist to discuss the arts as a vehicle for cultural exchange. Hedescribed how the Ashmolean currently contributes to the community,and the ways in which the museum is trying to bring its culturalresources to communities that are underrepresented in the Ashmolean’susual patronage.

The Ashmolean houses collections from almost all of the world’scultures, and always has since the opening of the Museum in 1683. TheMuseum boasts a great width of curatorial expertise, offering experienceand knowledge to visitors through exhibitions, seminars, and symposia.Such cultural representation has the ability to help people understandeach other’s traditions, celebrate the value of those communities, and, inthis way, create a degree of desirable cohesion within the community.Museums are a particularly good resource for cultural exchangebecause they are neutral spaces; they are non-denominational and, insome way, safe spaces for people to engage in cultural dialogue.Museums are meant to collect, interpret, and conserve objects from avery wide variety of cultures and traditions in an entirely non-judgemental and unbiased way.

The Ashmolean is very consciously identifying, working with, anddrawing out communities who have not previously used the Museum.The Museum coordinates activities targeted at particular communities,and also shapes their programmes very specifically based on carefulconsultation from these communities. This entails going into schoolsand community halls throughout Oxford, and actually talking to andencouraging people to utilize the resources of the Museum. TheAshmolean takes some of its collections out as well as encouragingpeople to come in, and has made partnerships with community groups.


35...............................................................................................................

According to Dr Brown, getting people to enter and spend time in theMuseum is the key to its mission of engaging with the community andcontributing to social cohesion. By drawing communities in to look attheir own cultural traditions, or to certain areas they might already beinterested in, they become introduced to the cultural traditions ofothers, traditions they have never encountered or understood before, bysimple virtue of having a neutral, unbiased institution hosting objectsand information from across the world. So one of the primary aims ofthe Museum is to integrate and embed these cultural traditions withinthe Museum, and open the doors to the public to view and learn fromthem.

The Ashmolean is at its core, a cultural commitment by the University,the City, and its patrons, freely provided to the community, and anextraordinary cultural resource which we all should use.

“We have here, in Oxford, in this small midlands town, the most importantmuseum of art and archaeology in this country outside London. Such amuseum is not in Birmingham, it’s not in Manchester, it’s not in the greatmetropolitan centres of this country, but it’s in Oxford. It’s an extraordinarycultural resource which is on your doorstep and we must all use it.”

- Dr Christopher Brown

...............................................................................................................36

Dr Peggy Morgan’s talk was more personal, which she titled Turquoise,Tiles and Tulips. She started with 1976, the year of the World of Islamfestival. It was also the year that she happened to move house withinOxford and found that she had a sitting room carpet which was thecolour of sand, and furniture of blue and green, which seemingly didnot fit together. After discovering a book that had come out of the Worldof Islam festival, she realized that she had the ideal colour scheme oftraditional Islamic Art.

Dr Morgan felt that in all parts of life one can actually find reminders ofsuch influences. For example, the ‘paradise of life’ designs, so prevalentin Islamic art, can be found in many of the objects we take for grantedhere in the West. The inspiration for many gardens, with fountains andrivulets of water and paving into compartments, is actually inspired bythe great Islamic garden art meant to represent the gardens of paradise.One of the extracted floral designs that is so often found in tiles usedacross the world is the tulip, which in Islamic art contains a specialpreciousness as a representation as a reminder of God and the FivePillars of Wisdom.

The influence of these motifs can be found throughout England.Kelmscott Manor, the beloved summer retreat of William Morris whowas one of the key figures in the arts and crafts movement and much ofwhose work is here in Oxford, contains not only many original fabrics,but also tiles, designed by William de Morgan, which are inspired byIslamic art, all preserved in Oxford.

We see such artistic blending even now with the design of the newIslamic Centre in Oxford, which shows just how very well a classicIslamic architectural design fits within a city of many domes, towers,and dreaming spires.

Dr Peggy Morgan,HonoraryPresident, BritishAssociation for theStudy of Religions;and Lecturer inWorld Religions,Mansfield College


37...............................................................................................................

Malcolm Atkins, a local musician and lecturer at the Open University,challenged the idea of music as a single universal language. Hehighlighted the reasons that all artistic cultures in all communitiesshould be evaluated on their own terms, rather than using a very‘Western, high art’ viewpoint which can sometimes take away from thevalue of other cultural music. He described music as a set of agreedmethods of communication by a particular community, rather thannecessarily some universally understood standards defined by adominant culture. As members of a wider community such as Oxford,therefore, we should aim to understand, appreciate, and support therange of cultural expression found within the diversity of ourcommunity for a number of reasons.

Firstly, arts express so much that is personal to a culture, that tounderstand the cultures around us, we need to understand their artforms. By understanding culture’s films, music, and visual arts, weinevitably gain an understanding of the multiplicity of values withinthat culture, and the way our common humanity is expressed andsignified. Music, in particular, is crucial to the identity of a culture,especially to youth culture. To understand the music that portrays theidentity of a group, one is halfway to understanding the values of thatgroup, which would be enormously beneficial in engaging with youngpeople.

Further, if we deny or discourage opportunities to learn about differentforms of expression, than we are limiting our own life choices andability to communicate. There is a wealth of beauty and knowledge tobe found through the wide variety of music and art from the constituentcommunities of this country, which represent the whole world. MrAtkins likened one’s breadth of understanding of the arts to one’svocabulary: just as we would be ashamed if the vocabulary of our youth

Malcolm Atkins,local musician &Lecturer in Music,Open University

...............................................................................................................38

was limited through poor education, similarly we should be ashamed ifthe understanding of the arts is as limited.

Finally, artistic movements are fluid and require constant renewal. Oneof the most common forms of renewal is the integration of new culturalelements, frequently gained from the approaches of differentcommunities and the assimilation of new techniques. Understanding thevarious artistic expressions within one’s community enriches andprevents stagnation. To facilitate greater understanding of the artisticexpression of various communities, we thus need to welcome andactively support these new approaches and techniques of incorporation,adaptation and renewal. We need to set up a forum for the expression ofall communities as equals to encourage local talent to share anddiversify the artistic scene within Oxford. Oxford can and should be thegreatest ‘city of culture’ outside of London; but, according to Mr Atkins,the way things are now, it is not surprising that we have not receivedthat distinction yet.

One of the problems with the commercially-oriented musical culturewithin the UK, as well as with the arts world, is that many cultures getmarketed as ‘exotic’, and serve to perpetuate the myths and themisconceptions more at home in the nineteenth century. The differentcultural groups in Oxford have been marginalized within thiscommercial world, which in Oxford is dominated by the Classicalmusical tradition, which corresponds with the ‘Romantic’ vision ofOxford, and the indy-pop scene, which has apparent commercial appealto the university student populations. There have been some attempts towiden this scope, but again he sees these as perpetuating the exotic.According to Mr Atkins, we need more platforms for understandingcultures, more venues and arts centres that are dedicated to supportinglocal artists from the diverse communities in Oxford.


39...............................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................40

Discussion:Cllr. Niaz Abbasi, Oxford City Council:Question to Dr Brown: Last year you had the Pilgrimage exhibition,and I think that was a very successful programme, and was a good stepforward to bring communities together. Do you have another project inmind?

Dr Christopher Brown:We created a body called the Ashmolean Interfaith Exhibition Service,and the Pilgrimage exhibition was the first of a series of exhibitions. ButI am afraid there has to be a lapse in time, because most of the Museumhas been knocked down, and we don’t have the space to do temporaryexhibitions at the moment. When we reopen, however, there will bemore than 600 sq/m of space, which is very much larger than, frankly,most London museums have. So we will be able to put on veryambitious temporary exhibitions, and we certainly intend to have otherexhibitions of a similar character. We consider it to have been a hugesuccess, and very pleased with the response to it.

Hiroki Yamasi, Visiting Academic, St Antony’s College, Oxford:Question to Panel: Where do we stand on the creative side, as opposedto just the appreciation side? What initiatives are going on in Oxfordusing artistic channels?

Dr Christopher Brown:I cannot comment on that too much, as it is not something that amuseum of the character of the Ashmolean produces, but we cancertainly provide a venue. One of the key things about the new buildingis that can be used in the evening by community groups, for all sorts ofcommunity arts activities. There is also a whole education centre


41...............................................................................................................

planned as part of this scheme, which will provide educationprogrammes for the young. So there will be spaces that can be used forcommunity arts groups.

Rev. Dr David Partridge, Interfaith Worker:Question of Malcolm Atkins: You mentioned a lack of an appropriatevenue; but what about the Pegasus Theatre, which is always full ofinter-faith things?

Malcolm Atkins :Yes, I think the Pegasus Theatre is a good example of the type of placethat could be turned into a community venue. Another good examplewas the Old Firestation Arts Centre. I think having a subsidised artscentre for the city this size supporting all the arts is essential. It was adisaster when the Old Firestation was given over to private concern,because what you want isn’t a pub-orientated place, you want a placethat encourages people to perform and different groups to meet whomay not want to be in a pub situation. Although the Pegasus is a goodexample, in my experience it tends to have a very high quality output,which means it doesn’t always have a strong community involvement.You need more grassroots development of the arts, and a subsidisedcentre that really supports community artists, and the Old Firestationdid that. It had subsidised practice rooms, it would put events on, and itwas open to everybody to be involved.

And I think the examples of the venues of the Cowley Road tend to begeared to certain forms of music, and I would say again, you need activeencouragement of the different groups in Oxford to play music. Most ofthe Indian musicians I know go to London to perform, because theresimply aren’t available venues; everything is so geared towards indie-rock music or the classical/baroque tradition, which is so marketed in

...............................................................................................................42

the centre of Oxford, that other forms of music have no outlets. And thesame can be said of black musicians, there are no outlets for that form ofmusic, despite the fact that there were plenty of practitioners. I havealways thought it ironic how many good acts come into Oxford, yet howlittle support there is for local musicians – there are loads of local talentin Oxford which is just unrecognised and undeveloped.

Dr Christopher Brown:I thought Malcolm was a little bit hard on our ‘city of culture’ bid, whichI was in some way involved in; the idea that we didn’t get it because weweren’t a city of culture is rather tough. It was always, like all thesethings, eventually a political decision. So I think to get into the last six,we did extremely well and I was rather encouraged by that. It was aninteresting process, and I think it is a process that in the evolving citycampaign has left a real legacy.

I do think though that the lack of a satisfactory music venue is anextraordinary lacuna in Oxford. There was talk some years ago of amajor concert hall on the Castle side of town, and it was a great missedopportunity that that didn’t happen. It is a remarkable lack in a city thisside with as much musical activity that there is no satisfactory venue ona large scale.

Dr Taj Hargy, Director, Muslim Educational Centre (MECO), Oxford:Comment to the Panel: I am rather curious that this is the only panel ofthe four that we do not have a Muslim representative speaking aboutarts and culture. I think that is really indicative of the lack of Musliminvolvement in this field. We at MECO are the only group in Oxford thathave an annual Muslim music festival, which brings musicians togetherfrom all over the Muslim world, including the UK. This is a festival ofsacred music, liturgical music, devotional music, and the reason why we


43...............................................................................................................

have not been successful in the past, is because the mosques here inOxford say that music is haram, that music is totally prohibited. In thelast two years when we hand out our leaflets outside the mosque, ourpeople were attacked. They were attacked by Muslims coming out of themosque on a Friday. But the point I am trying to make, is that it is rightand well to talk about social cohesion, tolerance, pluralism, and so on,but within the Muslim community here in Oxford, there is a great dealof intolerance, and that is the issue we are not reallydealing with here. For example, I do not see anyrepresentatives of the Bangladeshi Mosque, which is one ofthe three mosques here in Oxford, I only seerepresentatives of the other two mosques.

On the issue of arts and culture, we have a very legitimateeffort by a Muslim group to present music, and to showthrough music you come together, you celebrate whatunites you. And what we need to do really is to see howand why these things happen. I think the whole idea of social cohesionwithout looking at the difficulties within the Muslim community needsto be addressed.

Imam Monawar Hussain:Just four weeks ago we welcomed over 600 people at the Central OxfordMosque from a diversity of faiths and cultures, it was a really wonderfulevent and the children from the mosque sang a moving song towelcome everyone. There is a representative present from the StanleyRoad Mosque, and we are all working extremely hard to create a realsense of understanding and community; there has been a lot of workgoing on for the last twenty years. As to the point about attacks onpeople distributing leaflets about music, I am somewhat surprised as Icannot recall seeing or hearing about this. You will understand that the

“...there is a strongdrive in Oxford to work

together and deal withreal cohesion-building,in making connections

and synergies, notsimply further

exoticising groups...”

...............................................................................................................44

Central Oxford Mosque is the largest mosque here in Oxford and mostpeople, I would say the vast majority, listen to Sufi qawwali music; ifyou go to their homes, you will notice they have satellite television andoften listen to music. Music is not such a big issue among most Muslimshere; but like any group, there are a few members that have differentopinions, which do not necessarily represent the majority, but we haveto respect that.

Chad Frischmann:I would also just like to point out that representatives from all themosques here in Oxford were invited to join us, as were representativesof non-faith based groups – but many simply had other obligationstoday and regretfully declined. All, however, have expressed theirsupport of this initiative, and their desire to be included in futureevents. This also includes the Pegasus Theatre, and a dozen other suchinstitutions in Oxford, which would like to support this work. Similarly,we have a number of Muslim artists and musicians involved with thisproject. So I think there is a strong drive in Oxford to work together anddeal with real cohesion-building, in making connections and synergies,not simply further exoticising groups within the community.

Dr Martin Conway, Anglo-Asian Association, Oxford :Comment to Panel: It is difficult to bring together the elite end ofthings, and the very popular, fresh, young side of things. I think thatwould be a difficulty in Britain in any city, but bigger places with morefreedom, and more audiences would find it a bit easier than a relativesmall place, where you have a very good audience for the elite end ofthings, and then you turn out to have not such good audiences on theother end of the spectrum. I think that is something Oxford needs towork on harder, and I can’t help thinking that Magdalen Road with both


45...............................................................................................................

the Bingo Hall and the Pegasus Theatre, is probably a better place forwhat Malcolm is after than the things in the middle of town, which arevery much the upper bracket; you are a good deal freer if you’re onMagdalen Road to just be yourself.

Dr Peggy Morgan:I am a bit worried about definitions what is elite and what is not. I thinkoriginal music can be very elitist, rather than just reproducingyet more performances of Beethoven.

Malcolm Atkins :I would look for a broader range of things. I feel the problemin Oxford in terms of venue, is the narrowness around thetraditional idea of the European music elite and basically‘white-student’ focused indie-rock music. I think those are thetwo dominant forms of music being supported here: theZodiac, the Bullingdon Arms, etc., all those venues cater to‘white-rock’; and then the Sheldonian, Jacqueline du Pré Room,Holywell Music Room, etc. are more for Baroque and Classical forms ofmusic. So I think there are gaps, but whether you describe traditionalforms of music from other cultures as elite or not, I don’t know.

Imam Monawar Hussain:Well one of the events we are organising as part of this project, is amusic event. We are trying to create a fusion of music from diversecultures and in many ways it will be an experiment to see howsuccessful it can be as a medium for bringing our communities togetherand cultivating cohesiveness.

“...the problem inOxford is the

narrowness aroundthe traditional idea

of the Europeanmusic elite and

basically ‘white-student’ focused

indie-rock music.”

...............................................................................................................46

Dr Paul Flather, Secretary-General of the Europaeum:Comment to the Panel: I wanted to make a suggestion. I was involvedwith an amazing project in London, which involved a hundred schools,some 10,000 students, but also leading artists, costume makers,musicians, and theatre people. That was a project to stage theRamayana, which is an Indian epic. We got all these schools toparticipate in different aspects of the story as the epic, some school weregoing to perform, some were going to sing, some to make puppets, etc.and in the end 100 schools and 10,000 children came together in BasiPark to perform a fantastic staging of the epic, which was absolutelymore interesting actually than many of the performance you get on theIndian Subcontinent, because it was infused with fresh perspectives. Iam suggesting this because it seems to me that this is the kind of projectthat might be very manageable in Oxford. It would be very importantthat state and private schools were involved to bridge one gap, it wouldbe important to have the Ashmolean and the Pegasus Theatre involved,the use some of the skilled musicians around, and so. Obviously youneed a packet of money, but not a huge amount. So I offer that as a kindof more ambitious visionary project, which could link huge numbers ofinstitutions and individuals in something that would be quite exciting.

Chad Frischmann, The Europaeum:Question to Panel: I just recently attended an event in London at aSynagogue, which brought together a Jewish, Christian, and Muslimspeaker to talk about the future of religious leadership training. Inoticed quickly that I was perhaps the youngest person at that event byat least 20 years, and that raises a point. There are a lot of outreachprogrammes at the Ashmolean, the Natural History Museum and so on,but they cater almost always to the youngest generation. But how do weengage with that middle of the line? Not just the teenager, but the youngadult – those in their twenties, my own generation. When we talk about


47...............................................................................................................

community programmes, and involving communities, there seems to bea dichotomy here, there is one end of the spectrum and the other. I takethe point of Dr Morgan very much that there is a lot of influence fromthe Islamic tradition with, for example, gardening; but how many youngpeople are engaged in gardening where they can appreciate thatinfluence? So how do we bridge this, and how can we have programmesthat bring together not just the oldest and the youngest generations,which are is extremely important, but also provide alternatives to mygeneration?

Dr Christopher Brown:I think that is an extremely important point, and a very, very difficultone for museums. Of course, children come in because they come inwith school groups, which is, on the whole, how one attracts children tomuseums; and we can very easily provide activities at the weekends forparents and children – and teenagers fall into this category to someextent as well. You can also get undergraduates in by offering them adrink, which has worked. But to attract people in their twenties andthirties, when they are often busy with their careers and families, isextremely difficult. If you look at the demographic of this, this is exactlythe pattern you see, that people use museums as children and in theirteens, then there is a falling off, and they come back to use them lateron. And I absolutely take that point, to create events that will attractthose age groups effectively is very hard, and no doubt part of it isgetting these age groups engaged with this debate.

Chad Frischmann:The importance of this question, when talking about social cohesion,relates as well to the first Panel on tackling extremism. What age groupare we finding these fundamentalist terrorists who are blowingthemselves up? They are not the youngest generation, they are not

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teenagers, or the elderly; they are, for the most part, my generation – intheir twenties and thirties. So when we talk about social cohesion andtackling extremism by providing alternatives – through art and music,for example – I think that is one of the most important age groups to betargeting, and the one that gets the least attention.

Dr Peggy Morgan:From my knowledge of my own family, my children were brought updoing all sorts things and they remain interested. But now they areyoung professionals and their work commitments are such that they donot have flexible time. I think young professionals now are 150-200%taken up by what they have to do for their jobs properly, which seems tobe across the board.

Dr Christopher Brown:But the issue also, as far as museums are concerned, can be as simple asopening hours. The idea that you are open between 10am-5pm, whichthe Ashmolean does, is simply not a time when people who are workingcan use museums. Clearly we need to think more intelligently aboutwhen we open up museums and other cultural institutions, so that wecan offer some alternatives to working adults. The Pompidou Centre inParis, for example, is open until 8-10pm, and if you want people to usethe museum, that is actually the time to have them open.

Nisha Prakash:I think this is such an important point about engagement, and we reallyneed to provide more for young adults. One such event delivered by theCity Council recently, in partnership with Oxford Brookes University,called the Oxford Mela, and lots of local community groups cametogether for this festival. This was an event where we successfullyengaged young people in various forms, some were volunteering, some


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performing, some were doing dance, and others offering drumsworkshops for young people, so bridges were built. And although it canlook like a one-day event, there are other things going on all the time.Individually it is difficult, but through partnerships these types of theprojects can be successful, so I think partnership is the way forward.

Chad Frischmann:I agree with Dr Morgan completely, but how many of the terrorists wereyoung doctors and engineers who found the time here in Britain to planbombings? Part of the problem is that so many of us spend 200% of ourtime focused on work, and forget that there are other things in the worldthat are important in a balanced life; and those ‘other things’ are thealternatives we need to encourage.

Yes we need to work with our youngsters and with parents, but Istrongly believe that we also need to develop strategies to engage withyoung professionals in, as Dr Brown and Malcolm pointed out, neutralspaces; places where people of all faiths and cultures can freely andcomfortably go, without feeling marginalised. It seems to me that thearts and music are excellent mediums to promote engagement,particularly for my generation; but it will require a strong commitmentof support from the community and government (both local andnational), venues other than pubs and clubs that are open in the eveningand late at night, and programmes designed to get people interested inthese initiatives. And the added benefit of this approach is that it willinevitably have a spill over effect on the younger generation by showingthem that there are alternatives; and let us not forget that these youngprofessionals will soon be the future parents of a new generation ofyoungsters.

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Session II: Panel II

Engaging the Youth: Education andCommunity ProgrammesChair:Imam Monawar Hussain, Muslim Tutor, Eton College;Chair and Founding Trustee, New Dawn Enterprises

Speakers:Nisha Prakash, Community Cohesion Officer,Oxford City CouncilDr M Hussain Mirza, Thames Valley UniversitySidiq Abbasi, Muslim Youth Worker

The final panel focused on how education and community initiativesdirected at engaging the youth are essential in building social cohesion.With extremist groups targeting youths who feel disenfranchised,hopeless, and isolated from the rest of society, it is imperative thatprogrammes designed to engage these youths be offered as attractivealternatives that provide such youths a means of being a constructivepart of society.

Each panellist is actively engaged in community service, either on anofficial or voluntary basis, and described their motivations andfrustrations in their work. Many suggestions were made on how toimprove a) the funding and commitment of local government to theseprogrammes, b) participation among the youth and young adults incommunity initiatives, c) the commitment of volunteers to run theseprogrammes, and d) several specific programmes, such as town sportsleagues, festivals, music and art workshops, inter-school field trips, etc.

by Imam MonawarHussain, MuslimTutor of EtonCollege; and Chairand FoundingTrustee, NewDawn Enterprises


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Nisha Prakash,CommunityCohesion Officer,Oxford CityCouncil

Nisha Prakash spoke on behalf of the Oxford City Council about thechallenges of engaging youth in Oxford, the opportunities forimproving cohesion among the city’s youth.

Oxford’s needs are sometimes diluted among the needs of the County,as many of the government sponsored youth and educational servicesare housed with the County Council. For example, the black populationin 2001 was 12.89%, if one dilutes that to Oxfordshire County, thatcomes to about 4.5%, and this is where the difference about how themoney is being invested, and how the strategies are being written anddelivered. The City Council is in unfortunate situation wherethey deal with the day-to-day life of the city, but do notnecessarily have the resources or the infrastructure to make ahuge difference.

There is also a need for engaging youth at the grassroots level;although there are policies and services designed around youth,there is very little engagement with them to explain the servicesor to get feedback. Youth leadership and mentoring programsare needed, again at the grassroots level, to show people first-hand the successes of their peers. Issues of identity need to beexplored. The City Council needs to work with key stakeholders inOxford to collaborate with the private and corporate sectors to get themactively supporting such initiatives.

The City Council has had a number of successes which they are tryingto build on. There is the Youth Council, a council of students from localarea schools who provide feedback on services and policies. There isKEEN, an organization that encourages youth to volunteer, andMOTOR, which helps children use their hands and develop skills byrecycling used mechanical parts. There are also specific areas for

“It is the CityCouncil’s role to

enable and supportpeople to interact

with each otherand move from a

multicultural cityto an inter-

cultural city.”

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programs which are facing multiple deprivation, such as in BlackbirdLeys. There is a new project with funding from Sport England which isworking with young people, especially black and ethnic minoritypeople, because research shows that there are very few are engaging inleisure activities or using sports facilities; this is an example where theCity Council is specially targeting key youth groups to outreach.

The City Council also organises various multi-cultural events, such asthe Oxford Mela. But Ms Prakash stressed that it is not about putting ona one day event to “see that people are enjoying diversity”. The Councilworked for over 9 months to get people together. It is aboutpartnerships, and working closely with those partners. For example,Oxford Brookes University was working with local primary schoolsdirectly to make young people understand the importance ofvolunteering, and local musicians were working with local communitieswith whom they have not had an opportunity to interact. All the workthat goes on in the preparatory stages to put on events like the Melacannot be underestimated, and has huge impact on people actuallytalking and having those relationships.

Oxford has many opportunities to engage youth in cultural cohesion.There is a healthy voluntary sector, which is funded by Oxford CityCouncil as well as other regional and national grants. It is the CityCouncil’s role to enable and support people to interact with each otherand move from a multicultural city to an inter-cultural city, but we needto work together with the community to make these things happen.


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Dr Hussain Mirza,Thames ValleyUniversity

Dr Hussain Mirza, from Thames Valley University, highlighted how theeducation process is not just for youth, but begins at a very young age.It is a continuous process that needs to be developed and reinforcedthroughout life, starting at a young age, in the home from parents, andcontinuing after compulsory education.

One of the reasons so many young people find themselves feelingdisenfranchised and sometimes so hopeless that they turn to extremism,whether that is fundamental religion or radical political ideas, isbecause they are completing their secondary education, and expectingto carry on with a professional career, but finding that they simplycannot get work. This is because in our modern society, good jobsincreasingly require a higher education, and unfortunately youngstersfrom migrant families think that university or post-secondary schooltraining are somehow inaccessible to them. They start to feelmarginalised and angry, and become susceptible to extremist groups.

Youth need to be encouraged to carry on in education and training afterthey leave compulsory education. We must have campaigns that areactively instilling the notion that higher education and training inadvanced skills are accessible to our first or second generation migrantyouths, and this needs to be done throughout their young lives. One ofthe ways to do this is to work with primary and secondary schoolsdirectly; and another way is through community institutions, such asmosques, youth centres, etc. Sometimes this involves modifyingteaching styles to provide experience-based methods of education.

In 1994, the UK Education and Advisory Council stated that the mostsuccessful nations in the future will be those which develop a highlyskilled and motivated work force, and those that make the most of thetalents of their young people, and this remains true today.

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Siddique Abbasi,Muslim YouthWorker

Siddique Abbasi noted that the challenge of engaging youth in culturalcohesion is not just for the Muslim community, but for the integration ofall of the world communities that live in this country, and that EastOxford was a perfect representation of that diversity found across theUK. He went on to describe the difficulties this posed to social cohesion,focusing on the Muslim community from his extensive experience as aMuslim Youth Worker in the East Oxford area. He identified several keypoints for the community as a whole to consider and work towards:

Parenting: we need to realize that we are building a community for ourchildren of tomorrow, and as a community, have raised young men andyoung women who have no direction or aims in life. Muslim parents’focus should be looking towards the long-term, rather than remainingmired in short-term thinking, dominated by their memory of life inanother country.

Education: very few people who were born in Oxford have graduatedfrom Oxford University. Why are the Oxford youth underachieving?Part of the answer is related again to parents’ own lack of education, aswell as not providing enough encouragement and motivation for theirchildren.

Identity crisis: Mr Abbasi noted that in his estimation, 98% of PakistaniBritish citizens would cite Pakistan as their home – even those who havenever resided there. Muslim youth inevitably identify with theirparents, and they certainly do not call themselves British, let aloneEnglish. He recalled often meeting young adults in their 20’s or 30’s whostill referred to their home as a village 5,000 miles away. Non-Englishyouth need a sense of belonging and purpose in this country.

Facilities: the sports and recreational facilities in East Oxford are verypoor and this is a vital tool for engaging youngsters. The University ofOxford owns some of the best sports facilities in England; but


55...............................................................................................................

unfortunately these come at a high cost, and the use of the groundsswallows up the bulk of the grant money received for the wholeprogramme. There needs to be a community campaign for our ownfields and grounds, as well as more youth centres open to all cultures,because this is how we as a community can provide alternatives for ouryouth.

Empowering our youth: we need to nurture and train a proactive youthwho will participate in society. Of crucial importance is identifying keyindividuals in our communities and getting them together with keyyoungsters, or the so-called ‘cool guys of the pack’. Once these peopleare seen to follow suit, the entourage usually follows.

Engaging with the police: there is some engagement with the police inOxford, yet more joint activities with youth need to be provided beforeyoungsters encounter institutions or getting arrested.

Prisons: for those youngsters who unfortunately do fall down, we needsomething to help them once they return from these institutions. Younginmates, especially Asians, feel very vulnerable once they return fromprison, usually with no education and a criminal record. Abbasistrongly felt that as a community, we need volunteers to go in and workin the prisons, helping these youths to rehabilitate. Unfortunatelyprisons are not as helpful as they should be to accommodate volunteers.

“These are just some of the issues we face and it certainly would be a testingand challenging time ahead but by working together we can work to defeat therogue elements among us no matter what their background, faith or belief, tobuild a better country. Our country - and a country we can all call home.”

- Siddique Abbasi

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Discussion:

Mike Smyth, Deputy Chief Fire Officer:Comment to Panel: I am involved with the County Council, and theyhave a huge commitment to education; and within Fire and Safety, wehave community safety advocates who work with the elderly, ethnicminorities, and with children; and again the focus for us is on education.We work with junior citizens, which teach the ‘safer-citizen’ concept toyoung people. All of this is a direct read-across to what you are trying todo here. What I would like to do is make a commitment that we willengage with you, we want to engage with you. As a member of the Fireand Rescue Service, our ability to recruit black and ethnic minorities isextremely poor, and I want to know why. The door is open, but I do notwhy people are not coming through the threshold. So please come in,we need to have that link with the community. And we need to havethese discussions with key leaders within the communities who canhelp. And I would also like to have a link with children, becauseeducation is critical to this; and making those links are essential to ourservice, because we are committed to the community, so let us in.

Judith Kramer, Act for Change:Question to Panel: In Act for Change, we work briefly with youngpeople in schools; and, because of how we work, we hear theirfrustrations, things they don’t say to their teachers. Much of what we dois listening, and what we hear is how bored kids are with education.That includes my grandchildren as much as it does children whoseparents’ first language isn’t English. This suggests that there issomething wrong with the way we are teaching. What the kids say isthat they need to be listened to. Now there are places like this inOxfordshire, where it is very clear the kids get listened to. There mustbe a way of taking the learning of schools that can do this to those that

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apparently cannot. Any suggestions you have, anyway that people withexperience could help, anything that people can offer, all would bebeneficial. My main question, then, is how we get the wider communityhelp, because we all need to be in this together.

Siddique Abbasi:Dialogue is the key, such as seminars like this. Workshops, conferences,seminars, initiatives, this is what we need. But it is really important thatwhat we discuss and work out at these events, gets carried on inpractise. So often after these sorts of events, it seems like people leavefeeling the job done. Well no, the answer is the job isn’t done just bythese seminars. We are all youth and community workers by virtue ofhaving families and being situated in communities – we are inevitablypart of the community. So we need dialogue, and we need to take thisfurther, to set targets, and work towards them together; and by doingso, you will gain the respect of the youth, because they will see youworking for them.

Imam Irfan Chishti, Director Citizenship, Sufi Muslim Council:Comment to Panel: I just wanted to reiterate this resounding questionthat seems to keep coming back: how do we engage the youth? For quiteawhile I have been engaging in various programmes directed towardsthe youth, and one of the things that really frustrates me is that we seemto be trying to do it on a ‘grand scale’ now, on a sort of corporate andofficial level. But it doesn’t seem to be reflected on a grassroots levelwith youngsters in schools, in mosques, in synagogues, in communities.There will be many youth organisations here locally, and I thinksometimes we need to push them to get a little bit more, and perhapsthey would be more productive than we can ever be. So we need toensure that this kind of dialogue we have had today is translated at ayouth level.


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Altaf Hussain, Chairman, Central Oxford Mosque:Question to Nisha Prakash: What exactly is the City Council doing toengage the youth? How are they reaching out to the community?

Nisha Prakash :In regard to what the City Council is doing to engage the community,there simply isn’t enough time to go through all the many capacity-building projects, but generally you can check about everything that isgoing on in the city on our website which is always kept up-to-date withall the events going on inside and outside the City. Different wards aredivided into six different area committees, which is oneforum how people can be informed and get involved.There is also a ‘people’s panel’ called Talk Back Survey,which is made up on different communities here inOxford, and we talk to them very regularly on differentissues. Perhaps most importantly, we have officers thatwork with communities directly at the grassroots level,including community development teams, as well asstreet wardens. So these are some of the different ways weengage with communities.

Zohra Fahtima, Hon. Secretary, Oxford Asian Cultural Association:Question to Panel: We have a different culture at home than what ourchildren are exposed to in school. How do we marry two differentcultures together? Quite often I have had fruitful discussions withyoung people, but there is a dichotomy in our lives. How do weovercome this?

Dr Hussain Mirza:I think this has been expressed many times before, but how do we dothis? Things have changed dramatically in the past 20 years, and we

“...we need to take thisfurther, to set targets,

and work towards themtogether; and by doing

so, you will gain therespect of the youth,

because they will see youworking for them.”

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have a new generation of British Muslims growing up in a very differentenvironment. We need to think differently, the older generation have tobe trained to be good parents and change their expectations of theiryoungsters. We live in a vastly different country than Pakistan, andwhile parents should certainly maintain connections with their culture,they need to change their ways to correspond to the country they live in.There can be voluntary ways to teach parents how to communicate withtheir children. The focus, therefore, needs to be directed to a largedegree towards the parents, in order to bring home the message thattimes have moved on, and they have to think differently.

Dr Martin Conway, Anglo-Asian Association, Oxford:Comment to Panel: There are two slightly different questions we arediscussing here. One is what we do with young people themselves; andthe other is the very strong point made by the speakers about what wecan do with the parents to help them open dialogue with their ownchildren. And I think that can begin much earlier with their goals andobjectives in life. I think this business of feeling of ‘belonging toPakistan’ is really overhearing the parents forever saying their real homeis in Pakistan.

I speak as on outsider, but I would have thought the really key meetingto take place would be between parents and teachers. Most schools havea parents-teachers’ association, and from my experience in primaryschools in East Oxford, Muslim parents seem particularly bad at turningup to meetings with teachers. Yet I think the teachers who are dealingday-to-day with their children are precisely the people to work with.The majority of them will be of British origin, and they could actuallywork with groups of parents and talk over how we get children thinkingabout their goals and objectives as British citizens, both at home and inthe classroom.


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Riaz Ahmed, Secretary, Madina Mosque:Comment to Panel : It seems to me that we are talking about a group ofpeople who operate their lives within vicious cycles. We are talkingabout parents who do not have an education; they may have achievedeconomically, but in the home environment there aren’t any educatedstalwarts for the children to look at. Because the parents themselvesnever went through the educational system, they never realised thepotential riches, usefulness of the community. Therefore they can onlydirect their children in a similar manner. I am wondering then whetherour approach needs to be a little bit more draconian and more drastic,maybe reward and punishment based for parents and children. Forexample, those children who unfortunately end up in our institutions,when they are taken out, they should be forced to learn a skill, and thenreleased into the society. This should form part of their punishment, tospend 2 years after their release at a training college for meaningfulskills. And then they will be earning money, realising the value of a skill,and then may be able to pass it on to their children.

I am probably the first graduate of my generation in Oxfordshire, and Ibecame a graduate accidentally; but the result of that is my entireextended family are producing graduates at a very high rate. They areinfluenced by seeing me carrying my briefcase, flying off to New Yorkor Saudi Arabia for one thing or another; they visibly see the wealth,and perhaps that is how we need to be thinking.

Imam Monawar Hussain:Isn’t that a fantastic example that things are not so bad? We seem tofocus so much on negative things, but you know within fifty years wehave achieved so much, and I think it is about building on thatfoundation.

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Mumtaz Fareed, Local Area Policing Board:Comment to Panel: Just to follow on what Martin Conway said, when itcome to parents meetings even in the mosques not a lot turn up; andwhen I go to parents meetings at the school, I find myself not onlylooking after my kid, but about four or five others because their parentsjust can’t turn up. And perhaps in the mosques, the management canencourage the parents to go along to these meetings in the schools.

I would also just like to say how I appreciate all the work Sidiq has donefor the community for the past twenty years, and what we really needare a lot more people like Sidiq who are willing to volunteer their time

and energy to helping their communities. I do not knowhow to encourage people to dedicate so much to others, butperhaps the Panel can offer some suggestions.

Dr Hussain Mirza:I had the experience of being a governor of a girl’s school,which consisted primarily of Asians. From what I rememberin my time as governor, only one family would come to ourparent-teacher meetings; no other parents came. So we tried

to understand what the reasons were: was it communication? Was itlanguage problems? Travel expenses? Or a lack or interest, or evenembarrassment? Was it anything that we could list, and try to address?The school was prepared to pay to have special classes, outreachprogrammes to bring people – but the parents simply wouldn’t come. Soit is difficult to tackle this problem, and as yet I do not know how toconvince parents to come; perhaps you are right that we need to havethe mosque elders, and other community leaders encourage peopledirectly.

“There needs to be acampaign to promotevolunteering in ourcommunity throughthe Council, mosques,churches, schools, etc.and this should bedirected towardsparents.”


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The thrill you get out of volunteering and contributing whatever giftyou have to others is the reward for your service. But parents feel theydo not have enough time to give, nor do they even seem to have theinterest. This is because they do not know what the reward is, the ‘buzz’you get out of helping others in this way. I think there needs to be acampaign to promote volunteering in our community through theCouncil, mosques, churches, schools, etc. And this should be directedtowards parents, to show them they can have the time and interest togive to their children and neighbours.

Rev. Dr David Partridge, Inter-faith worker:Comment to Panel: One of the things we identified way back at the startof our inter-faith dialogue initiative in Oxford was the lack of vision forkids after school for football, cricket, basketball, whatever; but at somepoint it was dropped out of our agenda. I wonder whether the answermay party lie, not in the provision of more fields, but the missing linkseems to be volunteers from the community, from the mosques, from thechurches, and so on, to work with the kids on the field.

Nisha Prakash :I share the sentiment here. We are available, and happy to volunteer ona variety of projects. We are also available just to talk, dialogue is thekey. So many times when people stop talking, they develop these mythsand assumptions about different cultures or communities, which getbroken up so nicely when you just start talking, because half of thethings you are thinking are virtually not there at all.

Imam Monawar Hussain:Volunteering seems to have come up a lot in these discussions. I am aCommissioner on the Commission for the Future of Volunteering, andwe are going to publish a report sometime later this year. We have been

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looking at universities, colleges, and other institutions, as well asindividual volunteering; and it is about creating a culture ofvolunteering. Training seems to be very important. For example, one ofthe ideas I am very passionate about is creating recognisedqualifications that enable young people, who have either no formalqualifications or have a criminal record, to volunteer and throughvolunteer training, they are equipped with the requisite qualifications orskills that empower them to find employment. Other programmes likethis can be offered in schools, universities, and even to employers, to getchildren and young adults involved with their communities.

Chad Frischmann, The Europaeum:Question to Panel: We have talked a lot about East Oxford, and theproblems with the communities there; but what about communityprogrammes that are wider in scope, bringing youths from all overOxford together. For example, I am thinking of sports programmes. Inthe USA, I was a volunteer football coach for nine years at the onecommunity-wide youth football association in town, which consisted ofyouths randomly assigned to teams, coached by volunteers. Teams thusconsisted of children from a wide range of backgrounds andneighbourhoods, all working and playing together. And when Icoached, I made sure to hold practices where both the children and theirparents would participate, and it was really an amazing thing to seehow many parents eventually realised they actually did have 2 hoursper week to kick a football around with their children and neighbours.So here is an example of a perfectly achievable initiative that can spanOxford, bring parents and children together, provide a positivealternative to extremism, cross the rich-poor divide, breakmisconceptions, and generally be a lot of fun. Are there anyprogrammes like this in Oxford? If not, what is preventing thecommunity from establishing them?


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Siddique Abbasi :Unfortunately we do have a lot of problems in East Oxford, and in thatone can class Blackbird Leys, Greater Leys, Littlemore, Rose Hill, etc.,however I am specifically concentrating on the Cowley area. You havelack of education, health care problems, housing problems, it is verydifficult, and we always seem to be left out as far as facilities. We reallyhave nothing.

East Oxford Youth Centre has shrunk and shrunk over the years. Wehave an outdoor football pitch, but it is a death trap, that is why we areusing the University sports facilities on Iffley Road. We found sports tobe the best way of engaging youth, a vital and necessary tool to engagethese children. It was working; we had 150 children coming on a Sundayafternoon to play at the University Sports Centre, all nationalities, allfaith-groups, because at the end of the day the word got out on thestreets that something was happening down the Iffley Road. We wouldlove to travel to different areas, but England is not America, we areOxford, England, and our problems are different. We took a group ofchildren to Rose Hill two and half years ago, and were chased outbecause they were so-called ‘Blackies’ or ‘Pakis’. I know work is beingdone to improve these problems, but at the end of the day I dovoluntary Muslim youth work and can only really speak for EastOxford.

But what I have learned is that the only other way you are going toengage children, if they are not interested in education, is throughsports and training. And then you can direct them, because we havevolunteers who are lawyers, accountants, and other professionals, whotalk to the kids after the games, who talk to them about problems atschool and home – so this is what we really have to use.

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Nisha Prakash:I think it is a very good suggestion. Though Oxford Mela, for example,is in East Oxford because that happens to be the most diverse place inOxford. But Oxford is diverse in many more ways than just what we seein East Oxford. The City has changed drastically over the past four yearsbecause of Eastern European migrants, and there are a lot of minoritygroups which have come up in Oxford. There is also a large rich-poordivide in this City, there are seventeen super-output and multipledeprivation areas, so this all makes Oxford a unique place, and verydifferent than America.

Chad Frischmann:I understand and very much support targeted community initiatives in,for example, East Oxford, and I take your point that that is where themost diversity is concentrated. I didn’t mean to do away with thesetargeted programmes, but only to also think about projects with a largerscope, such as a city-wide youth football league, which could take thatdiversity of East Oxford, and co-mingle it with the apparenthomogeneity of the rest of Oxford. And other projects as well, like apublicly-funded youth arts or music centre, where we are activelyencouraging youths from all over Oxford to come, learn about art – toprovide a place where that white kid from North Oxford can come withhis guitar and jam with that Pakistani kid from East Oxford playing histabla. I think these big projects need to be considered alongside themore specific, targeted initiatives, because when we talk about socialcohesion, we should be thinking about how to integrate that diversityinto a wider spectrum, rather than keeping diversity marginalised to acertain ‘part of town’.


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Bushan Rafique, Pakistani Community Association, London :Comment to Panel: Talking of children and of getting parents involved,from my own experience this needs to come in the schools. I rememberdropping my children off at their school, and feeling like an outsider inmy sari amongst the English mothers, who wouldn’t talk to me becauseI was different. I decided to tackle this by going to school meetings, andvolunteering at my children’s school. And every time we had a newmother after that, I brought her in, invited her for coffee, and we had themost amazing relationships from then on. So I think the work needs tobe done at the school level, where the children are, the mosques cannotdo it. This is where Asian parents are missing out; Asian women arevery shy, they won’t come out, they won’t speak, they stay in thebackground, but they are amazing women, and if they had theopportunity and encouragement to volunteer, I am sure they would be abetter help to the community, to the schools, and to their children.

Dr Hussain Mirza:I think we have to address the husbands somehow to assure them thatthey are not going to lose their wives if they go out volunteering in thecommunity.

Siddique Abbasi :After the 7/7 bombings, we setup a stall about Islam in central Oxford;and it was amazing the amount of women who I tried to convince thatIslam gave women many rights. After awhile I gave up, I used to spendmy entire Sunday afternoon arguing with them that Islam did give themrights, even though there was a brother standing next to me whosebeard was twice as long as mine! So I decided to discuss this with apanel, asking them to make life easy for ourselves by putting women onthese stalls. But one of the scholars, who thankfully is not connected to

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any of the three mosques, though is very active in Oxford, said, I guessit was meant to be a fatwa, that women are not allowed to go to the CityCentre. I thought this must be wrong here, and so I checked with one ofmy teachers, who is a visiting researcher in Oxford, and he made it verysimple to me: spreading information about Islam is one of the mostnoble things a Muslim can do, man or woman, and there are no suchrestrictions about women going to the city. So this is what we aredealing with, we still have people like this scholar with these misguidedmentalities about women in society.

Bushan Rafique:I would just like to say a word about women and Islam. I feel that thereligion of Islam gave woman many rights: to property, to business, towork, it gave women the right to divorce. It was a woman who foundthe Zamzam, it was BB Hadija who was the first person to convert toIslam, and so on. Islam is a religion that gives women many rights, andwe need to help women realise this.

Imam Monawar Hussain:Zohra is a Muslim woman who introduced this event, Mia is a Muslimwoman who so articulated her experiences as a human rights activist,and of course we have Muslim women volunteers without whose helpthe smooth operation of this conference would not have been possible.In another couple of generations the kind of questions we are seeking totackle here today will no longer be relevant. We will have Muslimwomen who will have grown up in this country, and the traditionalobstacles, such as language, will no longer be an issue, because the vastmajority will be third, fourth or even fifth generation Muslims. But I amafraid this issue is big enough for a conference in its own right, and wemust now conclude this conference, and leave this very interestingdiscussion for the future.


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Conclusions

by Dr Paul Flather,Secretary-Generalof The Europaeum,and Fellow ofMansield College,Oxford

“I wanted to sum up a few points from this morning’s debate. First, isthe idea of ‘otherness’. Sheikh Raza put this in beautiful language: wedon’t demonize others, but we must accept, respect and tolerate people.We are representing many, many different faiths and communities, andby coming together in this room, we are learning about each ‘other’.Another ‘otherness’, which we are, in a way, tackling in this room, is theold ‘town and gown’ otherness. We have the best intellectual resourcesin Europe to throw at issues like this here in Oxford, and this conferenceis a good start towards bringing together the University and the town.But we need to strengthen and develop this kind of interaction further.

A second point is that today we have been inevitably focusing on therelationship with Muslims; but when we speak about these issues ofcohesion and communication, it is important to remember that we aretalking about the wider social community, composite of all faiths andethnicities. Let us not leave here targeting one ‘group’, but understandhow all groups are part of the wider community in which we live.

Thirdly, what I have learned is that we all have personal roles in this.The imams, vicars, the community leaders, educators, councillors, police– they have their roles to play, but we all have our own roles to play aswell, as parents, neighbours, friends, citizens. What we can take fromthis conference is that we all are part of the process.

The final point, and what seems to have come out as the most importantpoint, is education. The point was made that we are not utilising ourlocal institutions to the fullest – the mosques, churches, communitycentres, schools, etc. Are we getting the most out of these institutions?These are places where we can educate our youth, and we need to thinkmore about ways in which we can use them in the process of cohesion.”

- Dr Paul Flather

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“For many years now, a number of us have regularly met to share ameal, where we discuss the challenges confronting contemporarysociety. What is immensely enriching for me is that we come fromdiverse religious, ethnic and social backgrounds, but what unites us isour concern for the plight of humanity, and the desire to make a realdifference. This conference is the fruit of those meetings. I would like tonote my gratitude and thanks to my colleagues - Chad Frischmann, forhis extraordinary organisational skills, his persistence and energy,intellectual acumen, and much more; to Pat Thomas, for his creativeideas, innovative music, and dedication to bringing to fruition an eventsymbolising fusion of world music; and, of course, to Jawaid Malik, awonderful colleague and great manager, who worked tirelessly to makethis event a great success. Ladies and gentleman, without these threepeople, this event would not have seen the light of day.

The whole purpose of this intiative was to ask ourselves: How can wemake a real difference? Broadly speaking, I see two major challengesfacing us. On the one hand, how do we deepen understanding betweenall our faiths and cultures, as we discussed during the morningsession; and secondly how we instil a sense of belonging, ofinclusiveness in our society, which was discussed during the secondsession.

There are many ways of cultivating understanding other than formalconferences such as this. We cannot underestimate the importance ofsustained engagement at the grassroots level, whether that is thesharing of meals, interfaith activities or school governorships. So muchcan be achieved by just opening our hearts and homes to sharing andbeing with others, and I think this is so important in everything we do.This is how we can really build a community of many faiths andcultures. All that we have been working for over the last twenty years,

Imam MonawarHussain, MuslimTutor of EtonCollege; and Chairand FoundingTrustee, NewDawn Enterprises


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whether Sufi music events, interfaith meetings, mosque visits, schoolvisits or the recent faiths in friendship walk, all contribute to this capitalof understanding and trust.

Strong local leadership is also absolutely necessary to implementrealistic social cohesion; and Altaf Hussain, for example, has beenabsolutely instrumental in bringing about the opening of the Mosquethrough the ‘open day’ programme, which has brought people of manyfaiths to the Mosque. If we are to realise our vision, each and everymosque in the UK should seek to open their doors to the widercommunity, so that our mosques are no longer ‘mysterious’ buildings atthe heart of our towns and cities.

The second challenge is one of belonging. Through the panels anddiscussions today we have come up with some good ideas on how wemay engage our youth and parents to build a stronger, more cohesivesociety. As an example of how these ideas can be applied, let me sharewith you for a moment the work we are doing at Eton. We were the firsteducational institute to establish a three faiths forum. This now meansthat our Jewish, Christian and Muslim boys have a space within theschool where they are able to discuss and explore issues of concern tothem. And similar to how Judith Kramer described the multipleidentities represented by her family, and how they can coexist with oneanother, because they talk about identity; the students at Eton are ableto share, learn, and accept each other for who they are through thissimple medium of dialogue. Identity is our perception of who we are, itis complex and multifaceted. So engaging the youth, bringing themtogether, allowing them to openly and freely express themselves, isabsolutely an essential component in the process of creating a sense ofbelonging.

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So these challenges are for all of us, to collectively and jointly worktowards addressing. While we must ensure continuity with thecommunity-building work already undertaken, we must build on thatthrough developing further collaboration with one another.

Later in the year, Pat Thomas will lead our music event, the first of itskind in Oxford, with over 25 musicians performing a fusion of musicfrom the variety of cultures represented in Oxford. Our aim is also toarrange school workshops to teach young people how to express theirfaith through art. We will seek to inspire our youth to make art andmusic a passion for the rest of their lives. We shall seek to developeducational programmes for our young people, empowering them witharguments against, and alternatives to extremism; and this is how wewill defeat extremism in all its manifestations. Extremists and terroristshave nothing to offer, nothing but bloodshed, hatred,and division. Whatwe offer is a sense of brotherhood, of sisterhood, to bring peopletogether – so there is no comparison. The Britain we want to see is atolerant Britain, a fair Britain, a Britain that allows people of every faith,every background, the environment to flourish. That is the Britain of the21st century, a paradigm nation that people of the world will look to as amodel of how people of diverse faiths and cultures can live together.

So thank you for you time, and thank you for coming and making thissuch a successful conference. We are going to need your support tomake the other events happen, and continuous engagement, asSaddique Abbasi said, is absolutely necessary. This is not the end, it isjust the beginning.”

– Imam Monawar Hussain


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Outcomes

The goals of this Project are to cultivate an appreciation of the richnessof cultural expression in Oxford; develop a shared sense of community;encourage further collaboration through the arts between Oxford’sCommunities; and, perhaps most importantly, to challenge the forces ofextremism by promoting cultural understanding and connectedness as aforce for lasting social cohesion.

This event sought to bring members of public, officials, communityleaders, religious leaders, intellectuals, activists, and young peopletogether in open dialogue on how to work together to tackle extremismand promote social cohesion. Through the hard work of the conferenceorganisers, we were able to meet our target audience, though we did nothave enough representation from some groups as we had hoped. Youngpeople in particular were lacking in numbers, though several did join inthe discussions; future events need to find better methods in attractingyoung people and youth workers. Also lacking in numbers weremembers of the Jewish faith; this was due to the day of the conference,which was held on the Jewish Sabbath – future events should take thisinto consideration. In contrast, there were many more Muslims inattendance than expected.

The conference successfully initiated vibrant discussion on the sourcesof extremism, tensions within communities, identifying key areas ofimprovement, and how to strengthen bridges within the community orbuild them if not there. The most common problems discussed seemedto be a lack of true understanding of a) one's own identity, b) the manyother cultures represented in a ‘global’, modern society, and c) howsociety can be cohesive in such a multicultural environment. What cameout of the conference most often was the need for more ‘educational’programmes specifically targeting young people, both internally withinspecific communities, as well as in the wider ‘community of

Chad Frischmann,Programme andPublicationsOfficer, TheEuropaeum;Founding Trustee,New DawnEnterprises; andConference Co-Organiser


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communities’. Such ‘educational’ programmes could take the form ofteacher training, inter-school cooperatives, youth cultural festivals,community arts and music workshops/centres, inter-faith forums, ‘firstjob’-placement schemes, youth sports leagues, and community youthrecreational centres. Ultimately, however, it was concluded that the mostimportant requirement for developing true social cohesion was thecommitment of members of the community to give their time andresources to work hard on building and strengthening these bridges,and of local and national government to support such initiatives fully.

The conference received extensive media coverage, with articles inseveral local papers, such as the Oxford Mail , a national radio interviewon Radio 5 Live, and local television interviews with Imam MonawarHussain, Chair of New Dawn Enterprises, following the event. Wereceived several proposals following the conference from participantseager to work together on building stronger community relations. Wehave been asked to advise the Oxford Fire and Rescue on their diversitystrategy, in order to assist in recruiting more police and fire officers fromunderrepresented groups. We have been sent a proposal to develop anOxford Arts and Music Forum designed to promote multicultural musicand arts programmes, youth and adult workshops, and local,underrepresented artists. There has also been support for communitycentres, arts exhibitions, and festivals.

The Oxford Asian Cultural Association, with its co-sponsor New DawnEnterprises, are dedicated to establishing social cohesion in Oxford, andmaking it a model for Britain and the world. We are continuing to workwith the community to make these initiatives happen, and to preparefor our forthcoming events.

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Further Initiatives

Jazz Cohesion 2007Producer / Conductor:Pat Thomas, internationally recognised jazz artist; andFounding Trustee, New Dawn Enterprises

A unique music festival took place, possibly the first of its kind, bringinglocal and international artists together to create groundbreaking newmusic at the prestigious Jacqueline de Pre Room in St Hilda’s College,Oxford. The aim of the event was to show how music may be used as abridge to encourage more participation between ethnic groups socially,and act as a means of breaking down cultural barriers by fusing culturaltraditions into a new, cohesive ‘British sound’, representing the variouscommunities of Oxford.

The event featured local talent from Oxford, the Oxford ImprovisersOrchestra, and special guests from a wide variety of cultural andmusical backgrounds, including Steve Williamson, Orphy Robinson,Tunde Jegede, Vida Kashizadeh, Phillip Wachsmann, Harvir SohataSingh, Ahmed Abdal Rahman, and Abdal-Hafiz Al Karrar.

The performances used ‘conduction’, a system developed by the Afro-American composer and conductor Butch Morris, which uses a series ofhand signals to conduct and create music, instead of written notation.This system enables musicians from diverse cultures to interact, withouthaving to read Western notation, and thus participate in the orchestrathrough unique synergies. The use of ‘conduction’ and the incorporationof non-Western instruments, such as the tabla and kora, which are veryrarely seen in the European orchestras, made this a groundbreakingperformance. It is hoped to create workshops to encourage youngpeople from ethnic backgrounds to play, and there are plans to make theCohesion Musical Festival an annual event in Oxford.

Pat Thomas,internationallyrecognised jazzartist; andFounding Trustee,New DawnEnterprises


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Expressing the Sacred through ArtDirector / Co-ordinator:Imam Monawar Hussain, Muslim Tutor, Eton College;Chair and Founding Trustee, New Dawn Enterprises

The aim of this programme will be to introduce young people to sacredart from a diversity of faiths. We will explore the theological andreligious basis for art, how it has been a medium of religious expression,and its contribution to the richness of culture.

Our aim is to specifically focus upon aspiring young artists within andoutside Oxford to share their work and motivations for using art as anexpression of faith with other young people. There is also a possibilityof funding an artist to engage young pupils at two secondary schoolswithin the City of Oxford, with the aim of training and empowering theyoung through art workshops.

The thrust of the programme is the culmination of two majorexhibitions, side by side, one whose core is sacred art, and the other tofocus upon the use of art as a channel for creative ideas and to expressthe lives and experiences of young people in contemporary Britain.

Key to these exhibitions is the engagement of young people from a widevariety of backgrounds who might not have had opportunities to learnabout art of other cultures, let alone creatively participate in the artisticexpression of their own lives. Thus, similar to the Jazz Cohesion 2007programme, it is hoped to promote and exhibit co-operative synergiesbetween young people and develop these connections through futureschool workshops and annual Cohesion Arts Festivals in Oxfordshire.

Imam MonawarHussain, MuslimTutor of EtonCollege; and Chairand FoundingTrustee, NewDawn Enterprises

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SADDIQUE ABBASI is currently working in IT at the Bodleian Library,Oxford University after reading for an MSc in Software engineeringfrom Oxford University. He has also been engaged in youth andcommunity work in Oxford for over 16 years. He has been involved in awide range of community projects including recreational and educationprojects involving youth. He is also a Prison Chaplain, which involvesvisiting local prisons with respect to the rehabilitation of offenders.

MALCOLM ATKINS is a composer/performer currently working on adoctorate at Oxford Brookes University exploring the boundaries ofimprovisation and composition. He plays violin and keyboards invarious groups which he also writes and arranges for, as well ascomposing for theatre and contemporary groups. He works as a lecturerin music for the Open University, as well as freelance on educationalmusic projects (these have included work for Oxford PhilomusicaOrchestra, United World Youth Council, Cambridge String QuartetAssociation). He is the chair of the Oxford Improvisers Collective, localorganiser for COMA (Contemporary Music for Amateurs) and iscurrently setting up a Composer/Performer network in Oxford whichwill be inclusive of all styles of sonic creation. He is co-founder ofSPARC (Spontaneous Arts Collective) which is dedicated to facilitatingimprovising collaboration across all art forms.

REV. DR MARCUS BRAYBROOKE is a retired Anglican parish priest, and hasbeen involved in interfaith work for over forty years, especially throughthe World Congress of Faiths, which he joined in 1964 and of which heis now President. He was Executive Director of the Council of Christiansand Jews from 1984-8. He is a Co-Founder of the Three Faiths Forum,Patron of the International Interfaith Centre at Oxford and a PeaceCouncillor. He studied for a time in India and in Israel, and inSeptember 2004, was awarded a Lambeth Doctorate of Divinity by the

List of Speakers


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Archbishop of Canterbury ‘in recognition of his contribution to thedevelopment of inter-religious co-operation and understandingthroughout the world.’ Dr. Braybrooke is author of over 40 books onworld religions and Christianity.

DR CHRISTOPHER BROWN has been Director of the Ashmolean Museumsince 1998. Previously, he was Chief Curator of the National Gallery,London. He has lectured and published widely on seventeenth-centuryDutch and Flemish painting, and is particularly interested in contactsand exchanges between Northern and Southern Europe in theseventeenth century and the social history of art in the Dutch GoldenAge. He has organised exhibitions on Dutch landscape art, Dutchhistory painting, Rembrandt, Rubens’s landscapes, Carel Fabritius, andVan Dyck. His numerous publications on the latter artist include thecatalogue of the Van Dyck exhibition held at the Royal Academy in1999, and he is currently preparing a new edition of Van Dyck’s ItalianSketchbook. Dr Brown is also a part-time tutor and supervisor in theDepartment of the History of Art, University of Oxford.

IMAM IRFAN CHISHTI is Director of Citizenship on the Sufi MuslimCouncil. After graduating from Manchester Metropolitan Universitywith an LLB in 1995, he embarked on seven years of traditional Arabicand Islamic Studies in the UK and Egypt, completing an MA in IslamicStudies at Manchester University in 2003. He trained as a teacher inreligious education and since 2004 had been Principle/Imam of the Lightof Islam Academy, a centre for the provision of innovative programmesof community Islamic education for children and adults. Since 2006, hehas also been a part-time prison Imam/Chaplain at HMP Buckley Hallin Rochdale. He regularly appears on TV and radio including on showsdiscussing classical Islamic affairs on Cresent Community Radio and oncable channel DM Islam TV.

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ZOHRA FATIMA is the Honorary Secretary of the Oxford Asian CulturalAssociatiom. She is the Chair of the Oxfordshire Women’s Aid Trustee, aFounder Member of South Asia Forum at Wolfson College, University ofOxford, and a member of the Oxford Independent Advisory Group forThames Valley Police. Zohra works with many different charities,including organising Orinoco (Scrapstore Recycling Project).

DR PAUL FLATHER is Secretary–General of the Europaeum, an associationof leading European universities, and Fellow of Mansfield College,Oxford. He was the founding Secretary-General of the Central EuropeanUniversity (1990-1994), and director of international and external affairsfor Oxford University (1994-1999). Formerly, he worked at the BBC,Times Newspapers, and served as Deputy Editor of the New Statesman.He was an elected member of the London Council in the 1980s (chairingits committee on post-school education 1986-1990). He currently chairsthe Noon Educational Trust, and is on the board of the Roundtable.

MIA FLORES-BÓRQUEZ is the Founder of Justicia, a human rightsorganisation, which represented torture victims during the hearings ofGeneral Pinochet in London. Mia has been a consultant for OxfordBrookes University on a global project on restitution and human rightsand a former research associate at Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford. Shehas been a keynote speaker at various International conferencesincluding The Hague and the United Nations.

IMAM MONAWAR HUSSAIN is the Chaplain and Muslim Tutor at EtonCollege. He read Theology at the University of Oxford and trained as anImam at the Muslim College, London, under the late Sheikh Dr ZakiBadawi KBE. He is also a Commissioner on the Commission for theFuture of Volunteering. Monawar has spoken at numerous educationalinstitutes and forums throughout the UK, and has featured in a number


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of television documentaries about Muslims in Europe and spoken onRadio.

JUDITH KRAMER is Company Secretary for Act for Change, a charitywhich engages young people through educational programme linkinghistorical facts about the Holocaust and other genocides to the socialreality and experiences of living in today’s society. She was studiedpsychology, anthropology, sociology and law; practising employmentlaw. She is active in volunteer work with social workers (mostly inremote rural areas and the jungle), industry and commerce in India andthe UK, confidence building for refugee women, and therapy foraddictions and phobias throughout Europe and India over the past 20years.

PROFESSOR IFTIKHAR HAIDER MALIK teaches International History at BathSpa University, Bath. From 1989 to 1994, he was the Quaid-i-AzamFellow at St. Antony’s College, Oxford. Dr. Malik has published 15books, several monographs, 75 scholarly papers and more than 200review articles. His areas of research are mainly U.S. history, Asianhistory and politics with special reference to Modern South andSouthwest Asia, Muslim communities in the West, and the U.S.-Muslimworld relationship. Recent publications include: Crescent between Crossand Star: Muslims and the West after 9/11, (Oxford University Press, 2006);Culture and Customs of Pakistan , (Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 2006);Islam and Modernity: Muslims in Western Europe and the United States,(London, Pluto, 2004); Islam, Globalisation and Modernity: The Tragedy ofBosnia, (Lahore, Vanguard, 2004).

D R M HUSSAIN MIRZA is a Lecturer in Accounting, Finance andManagement at Thames Valley University. He was formerly Head of Prof.Accountancy Courses at the Management & Professional Studies Unit ofOxford College,, and Director - Accountancy and Management - Al-Omani

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Institute, Oman. Dr Mirza is a Fellow of the Institute of FinancialAccountants, and a member of Chartered Institute of Management.

DR PEGGY MORGAN is currently Honorary President of the BritishAssociation for the Study of Religions and Lecturer in World Religionsat Mansfield College, Oxford, where she convenes a fortnightlyinterdisciplinary seminar series in the study of religions. She hasdegrees in both theology and religious studies and has been involvednot only in education in a variety of arenas, including schools,continuing education and distance learning degrees, but also ininterfaith dialogue at various local, national and international levels. Sheis a former chair of the Shap Working Party on World Religions inEducation and of The Trustees of the International Interfaith centre, ofwhich she is now a patron. Between September 1996 and May 2002 shewas also Director of The Religious Experience Research Centre.

NISHA PRAKASH is the Community Cohesion Officer for the Oxford CityCouncil. Before joining Oxford City Council in 2005, she worked with alocal mental health charity as Information and Advocacy Co-ordinator,engaging local BME communities to develop user friendly and sensitiveservices to suit the changing needs of communities. Her role withinOxford City Council is to work with local communities, statutory andvoluntary partners to develop and support projects to build ‘Cohesivecommunities’ in which people from different backgrounds have similarlife opportunities, as well as to promote cohesion by engaging withfocused groups such as faith communities, young people, women’sgroups, BME groups and socially excluded groups.

SHEIKH MOHAMMAD SHAHID RAZA is the Deputy Director of the MuslimCollege in London and is the President of the World Islamic Mission ofEurope. Born in India, Maulana Raza earned a degree in Biology and


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Chemistry from the University of Agra in 1969. He then embarked uponpost-graduate study at the University of Meerut in 1976. This wasfollowed by an advanced degree in Islamic Studies from Jamia Na’imiaMoradabad, one of the oldest and most prestigious theologicalseminaries in the Indian sub-continent. When Sheikh Raza arrived inEngland in 1978, he joined the Islamic Centre (now Leicester CentralMosque) as the Principal Imam. After 27 years, he is still serving in thisleadership capacity. He has in addition, also taken up a permanentlectureship at the Muslim College in London in 1986 where, for the pasttwo decades, he has worked as Course Director for the training ofBritish Imams. Sheikh Raza is a board member, Executive Secretary andRegistrar of the Muslim Law (Shariah) Council UK since 1988. Morerecently, in October 2004, he has become a founding trustee of theBritish Muslim Forum which represents over 300 mosques and otherMuslim organisations in the United Kingdom.

CLLR JOHN TANNER is currently the Lord Mayor of Oxford. He has been aCouncillor for 17 years - from May 1988-2000, represented the SouthWard in the City, and since May 2002, he has represented the LittlemoreWard. He was Leader of the Council from October 1998 – May 2000,and has in the past held the Performance and Service Quality andEnvironment Portfolios on the Executive Board and Chaired theCouncil’s Highways and Traffic Committee.

SUPT JIM TROTMAN is Thames Valley Police LPA Commander for OxfordCity. A former Royal Marine, Supt Trotman’s focus is on continuing tobuild on the successful performance already being delivered across theCity but with a new emphasis on taking Neighbourhood Policingforward in Oxford. Supt Trotman, a married father-of-two, lives inOxfordshire and has been a police officer for 13 years. He is a schoolgovernor and criminal justice system advisor to the National AutisticSociety.

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Cllr M. Niaz AbbasiOxford City Council

Riaz AhmedMadina Mosque

Cllr Mohammad Altaf-KhanOxford City Council

Dr Ahsan Alvi

Amin Alvi

Syed Izuan Alyahya

Maulana AttaullahMadina Mosque

Farzana AzizAsian Cultural Centre

Rev Charlotte Bannister-ParkerUniversity Church of St Mary

Harith bin RamliSt Cross College, Oxford

Cllr Bill BradshawOxfordshire County Council

Mary Braybrooke

Lord Lt. Hugo BrunnerLord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire

Dr Nadir CheemaSOAS, University of London

Ben CloeteThames Valley Police

Dr Martin ConwayAnglo-Asian Association

Mumtaz Fareed

Zohra FatimaOxford Asian Cultural Association

Chad FrischmannThe Europaeum, Oxford

Chris GriffinThames Valley Police

Haroon HafizSOAS, University of London

Professor Abdul Ali HamidThe Muslim College, London

Dr Taj HargyMuslim Educational Centre, Oxford

Syed Hussain HashimiOxfordshire Afghan Community

Altaf HussainCentral Oxford Mosque

Raja HussainOxford Asian Cultural Association

Sophia Hussain

Zahara HussainAsian Cultural Centre

Kadijah Ilbay

List of Participants


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Shane LachtmanUniversity of Oxford

Victor Lal

Jawaid MalikOxford City Council

Waqaas Malik

Sana Malik

Tahir MansooriUniversity of Oxford

Mughira Mirza

S. H. MirzaPakistan Welfare Association

Teresa MunbyRuskin College

R. Murrell

Mohammed MushtaqSt Antony’s College

Mohammed Naeem

Veera NisonenUniversity of Helsinki

Olli Nurmi

Mehmet Ozikan

Rev Dr David PartridgeInterfaith Dialogue

Lady Padenoch

Zaheer K. QureshiClancy Docwra

Sauban RafiOxford Asian Cultural Association

Mohammed RamzanJustice of the Peace

Dr Hojjat RamzyIqra Girls School

Fatimah Ramzy

Rabia RehmanAsian Cultural Centre

Sam SegaranOxford Tamil Institute

Mike SmythOxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service

Cllr John TannerOxford City Council

Pat Thomas

Sarah ThorntonChief Police Constable TVP

Patrick TolaniOxford Racial Equality Council

Ian TownsendOxford Mail

Hiroki Yamasi StAntony’s College, Oxford

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Benefactors & Supporters

The Social Cohesion - the Oxford Paradigm 2007-2008 Projecthas been made possible through the generous support ofseveral local and national institutions. The institutions

below have assisted in this Project either through funding,organisation, hosting, or distributing information. Please

contact us for more information on regarding theseinstitutions:

Department of Communities and Local GovernmentOxford Asian Cultural Association

New Dawn EnterprisesThe Europaeum

Asian Cultural Centre, OxfordEuropean Studies Centre, University of Oxford

Oxford City CouncilOxfordshire County Council

Oxford Fire and Rescue ServiceThe AshmoleanAct For Change

JusticiaOxford Improvisers OrchestraSt Antony’s College, OxfordSt Hilda’s College, Oxford


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Notes

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Contact Details

For further information of the Social Cohesion: the Oxford ParadigmProject, as well as future intiatives, please contact us below:

Oxford Asian Cultural AssociationOxford Asian Centre

Manzil WayOxford OX4 1GHUnited Kingdom

Tel. +44 (0) 1865 425000Fax +44 (0) 1865 793087

email: [email protected]

The Europaeum99 Banbury RoadOxford OX2 6JXUnited Kingdom

Tel. +44 (0) 1865 284480Fax +44 (0) 1865 284481

email: [email protected]

New Dawn Enterprises49 Wilkins Road

Cowley, Oxford OX4 2HZUnited Kingdom

Tel. +44 (0) 7710 561499email: [email protected]

social cohesion report 2007

Documents

dr david partridge

dr peggy morgan

dr marcus braybrooke

dr paul flather

imam irfan chishti

dr martin conway

dr christopher brown

dr hussain mirza