about mpacuk dossier

8/8/2019 About MPACUK Dossier

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MPACUK! is! a!non"profit!making!organisation!working!with! the! community,!helping!

Muslims!to!help!themselves.!We!are!not!a!charity!but!a!unique!Empowerment!System;!

the! first! of! it#s! kind! for!Muslims! in!Europe.!A! system! of!media!monitoring,! political!

lobbying!and!grass"roots!community!and! institutional!activism! to!allow!the! individual!

and! the! community! the! ability! to! change! their! own! situation! and! the! situation! for!

Muslims!at!large.!!

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Political!participation!is!vital!for!a!healthy!and!truly!representative!democracy!which!is!

why! MPACUK! encourages! as! many! Muslims! to! vote! as! possible.! In! fact! we! have!

worked!with! the!Department!of!Constitutional!Affairs! to! increase!voter!registration! in!

the!Muslim!community.![1]!!

!

Many!people! in! the!Muslim!community!mistakenly!believe! that!they!are!prohibited! to!

vote!by!their!religion!and!we!provide!information!to!counter!this!misconception.![2]!!

!

MPACUK! is!almost!unique!amongst!Muslim!groups! in!taking! the!message!of!political!

participation!to!the!streets,!distributing!leaflets!informing!the!public!of!their!MPs!voting!

record!and!statements!on!key!issues.![3]!

!

The!efforts!of!two!of!our!activists!in!the!2005!General!Election!were!documented!in!the!

Channel!4!documentary,!#Operation!Muslim!Vote#.!

!

MPACUK! has! also! tried! to! encourage!people! to!join! the!main! three!political!parties.!

Here!is!an!excerpt!of!an!article!on!our!website!profiling!these!parties:!

!

!It"is"important"for"the"Islamic"community"to"get"in3ol3ed"in"mainstream"politics."Without"an"effecti3e"

political"3oice"based"on"e8uality9"ci3il"liberties"and"mutual"respect"for"all"communities9"the"future"loo:s"

grim."Whilst"the"information"pro3ided"is"only"a"fraction"of"what"each"party"stands"for9"it"is"the"duty"of"

e3ery"indi3idual

"to

"find

"out

"more

"about

"their

"policies

"and

"selection

"processes.

"We

"as

"Muslims

"ha3e

"a"duty

"

to"our"community9"society"in"general9"as"well"as"to"the"nation"and"the"UK"has"a"duty"to"protect"our"ci3il"

liberties"and"religious"rights."We"cannot"shape"?o3ernment"policy"on"the"e@ternal"margins9"though"we"can"

play"a"pro#acti3e9"inclusi3e"and"positi3e"role"within"it."Ours"must"be"an"informed"message"of"peace"and"

positi3ism.!![4]!

!

We!aspire! to! contribute! to!wider!efforts! to! fight!political!apathy!and! reinvigorate!our!

democratic!process.![5]!


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MPACUK!deal!with!a!wide!variety!of!issues!ranging!from!encouraging!people!to!vote,!

to!getting!people!to!co"operate!with!the!police,!and!give!back!to!the!NHS!(for!instance!as!

bone!marrow!donors).!Amongst!these!we! include!the!environment.!We!are!well!aware!

of!the!detrimental!affect! that!human!society! is!currently!having!on!the!planet!and!as!a!Muslim! organisation!we!believe! that! it! is!our!duty! to!highlight! the! sacredness! of! the!

planet! that!has!been!given! to!us!by!God.!We! therefore!encourage!our! fellow!Muslims!

and!non"Muslims! to!actively!partake! in! Green! issues!as! they!are!affecting!us!all.!We!

believe!that!Muslims!can!make!a!sure!difference!to!our!environment.![6]!

!!

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!

We!encourage!Muslims!to!contribute!to!wider!society![7],!for!instance!through!becoming!

police!officers,!teachers!or!school!governors!or!through!actions!such!as!joining!the!Bone!

Marrow!Registry.

![8]

!!

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The!failure!of!Muslim!Leaders!in!creating!a!positive!British!identity!for!Muslims!cannot!

be!over!stated.!Leaving!a!crisis!of!identity!in!young!Muslim!minds!is!a!recipe!for!disaster!

and!alienation.!Therefore!MPACUK!uses!all!means!available!to!us!"!whether!that!is!our!

popular!website,!public!events!or!internal!training!"!to!promote!an!understanding!of!the!

fact!that!there!is!no!contradiction!between!being!Muslim!and!being!British,!and!it!is!our!

Islamic!duty!to!contribute!to!our!society.!We!try!to!dispel!the!myth!that!disagreeing!with!

certain! government! policies! means! you! cannot! identify! as! British.! [9]!

!!

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Speaking!Out!

MPACUK!sees!the!extremists!on!the!fringe!of!the!Muslim!community!as!a!real!threat!to!

ordinary!Muslims! and!we! have! always! spoken! out! against! extremists! such! as!Omar!

Bakri.!(When!he!left!the!UK!the!headline!on!our!website!was,!!We"say"don$t"come"bac:B!)!

[10]!!

!

Following!the!protests!by!extremists!during!the!Danish!cartoons!controversy!MPACUK!

appeared!on!the!BBC!to!call!for!the!arrest!of!those!responsible:![11]!!!

We!also!vocally!supported!the!campaign!for!Norman!Kember#s!release.![12]

!!

!

!

!
http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/1218/39/http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/1218/39/


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Tackling!anti"Semitism!

We!openly! condemn! examples!of! anti"Semitism!perpetrated!by!Muslims.! [13]!We! also!

strive!to!educate!the!community!that!Israel!and!its!supporters!do!not!represent!all!Jews,!

and!highlight! the!good!work!being!done!by!many!Jews! fighting! for!Palestinian!rights.!

[14]!!

!

As!everyone!is!aware!anti!"!Zionism!does!not!equate!with!anti!"!Semitism,!which!is!even!

acknowledged! by! the! staunch! Zionist,! Prof.! Dershowitz! in! a! 2005! lecture! at! SOAS!

(London).!We!have!highlighted! the! importance!of! standing! together! to! fight!prejudice!

and!discrimination!Jews!stand!with!Muslims.![15]!

!!

Building!good!Community"Police!relations!

MPACUK!constantly!strive!to!get!better!relations!between!the!Muslim!community!and!

the! police.! In! a! climate! where! groups! are! losing! respect! and! trust! for! the! police,!

MPACUK! have! had!banners! on! our!website! encouraging!Muslims! to!join! the! police!

force!and

!have

!invited

!members

!of

!the

!police

!force

!to

!speak

!at

!our

!open

!days.

!For

!

instance!Ch.!Insp.!Mick!Gillick!(Head!of!Diversity)!at!West!Midlands!Police!spoke!at!the!

MPACUK!Birmingham!Open!day!on!7/8/06!and!Bob!Lambert!of!Scotland!Yard#s!Muslim!

Contact!group!spoke!at!the!MPACUK!Ilford!Open!Day!on!16/7/06.!

!

Whilst! other! groups! and! parties! may! call! for! Muslims! to! end! cooperation! with! the!

police,!MPACUK!believe! that!no!matter!how!upset!or!angered!Muslims!may!be,!non"

cooperation! is!not!the!way.!Even! though! this!stance! led! to!MPACUK!being!vilified!by!

certain! sections! of! the!Muslim! community,!MPACUK!maintain! that! the! only!way! to!

address!the!problems!that!face!the!Muslim!community!is!to!cooperate!and!get!involved.!

[16]!

!!

Our!5!point!anti"terror!plan!

Not!only!are!we!aware!of!the!social!issues!facing!British!society,!but!we!are!also!aware!of!

the!wider! issues!currently!facing!the!whole!world"terrorism.!In!our!aim!to!combat!this!

we!have!detailed!a!5!point!anti"terror!plan.!It!highlights!the!ways!in!which!the!Muslim!

community! can! work! to! fight! terrorism! and! further! to! encourage! Muslims! active!

involvement! in!society.!We!believe!that! it! is!essential!that!Muslims!are! involved! in! the!

fight!against!terrorism,!as!allies!and!not!as!the!enemy.!Further,!we!believe!that!it!is!the!

Muslim! communitys! duty! to! understand! and! take! an! active! role! in!both,! the! fight!

against!terrorism,!and!on!a!wider!scale,!the!community.![17]!

!

MPACUK! believe! the! only! way! to! defeat! violence! and! extremism,! and!

build! community! cohesion,! is! by! encouraging! Muslims! to! engage! with! the!

political! process! in! Britain! and! get! their! voices! heard! as! British!

citizens.!

!

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Active!Community!Centres!!

In! MPACUK! we! encourage! mosques! to! become! the! hub! and! nerve! centre! of! our!

community,! rather! than!just!a!place! for!prayer.!We!have! recognised! that! the!mosques!

can!act!as!central!foci!for!communities!and,!on!that!basis,!can!become!the!centre!for!the!development! of! the! community.!At!MPACUK,!we!devised! a! 15!point!plan! that!gave!

Mosques!clear!objectives,!and!examples!of!how!to!work!within!the!community.!The!15!

point!plan! outlines! issues! from! education,! to!welfare!work! and!political!participation!

and!more.!Further!we!do!not!simply!hand!these!leaflets!out!in!full!knowledge!that!they!

may!then!be!discarded,!rather!we!offer!that!we!will!give!practical!aid!and!presentations!

in!the!manner!of!how!to!actually!implement!these!plans.![18]!

!

English!Speaking!Imams!

MPACUK!not!only! recognise! that! the!youth! are! the! fabric!of! tomorrows! society,!but!

actively!encourages

!their

!development

!as

!British

!citizens

!who

!should

!participate

!fully

!in

!

society.! In! our! 15! point! plan! we! outline! that! mosques! should! provide! facilities! for!

educational!development!and!welfare!officers!to!deal!with!family!issues,!which!would!

include!dealing!with!youth!issues.!In!order!to!develop!youth!which!are!actively!engaged!

in! society,!we! recognise! that! they! are! in! need! of! clear! guidance! from! their!mosque.!

Within,! mosque! reform! we! recognise,! that! one! of! the! more! important! aspects! in!

improving! our!mosques,! is! our! leaders! ability! to! communicate! and!work.!We! have!

suggested!that!our!leaders!are!democratically!elected!and!further!are!the!best!leaders!for!

our!community!not!just!successor!as!appointed!via!hierarchy.!Furthermore,!we!have!also!

suggested!that!our!Mosque!leaders!are!able!to!communicate!in!English,!and!deliver!the!

Friday! sermons! in!English.!This!would! then! encourage! the!youth! in! to!mosques! and!

further,! outreach! to! the!wider! community!who!would!be! able! to! communicate!much!

more! easily!with! the! leaders.!We! recognise! that! the!mosques! can! act! as! an! effective!

outreach!branch! for!community! relation! for!Muslims!and!non"Muslims!and! therefore,!

we!encourage! the! idea! that!Mosques! should!hold!open!days! for! the! local! community!

and!schools;!making!the!mosques!a!beacon!of!openness.!They!should!also!make!social,!

educational!and!welfare!services!available!to!all!Muslims!and!non"Muslims.!!

!!

Women#s!Rights!

Within! our! community,! we! run! many! campaigns! for! the! betterment! of! all! society.!

Recently,!we!have!taken!on!a!campaign!to! improve!Womens!Rights,!particularly!their!

rights!within!Mosques!(documented!in!the!Channel!4!Dispatches!#Women!Only!Jihad#).!Whilst!we!hope! to! further! this!campaign!we!have!currently!managed! to!highlight! the!

fact!that!many!Mosques!cannot!provide!facilities!for!women!and!that!they,!as!necessity,!

should!be!doing!so.!We!have!encouraged!many!women!in!their!local!areas!to!take!up!the!

campaign! and! have! e! also!managed! to! gather! a! large! number! of! signatures! for! our!

petitions!highlighting!the!importance!of!faculties!for!women.![19]!

!!


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