Book Launch: The Battle for Public Opinion in Europe
The Middle East Monitor & the Cordoba Foundation cordially invite you to:
Book Launch – The Battle for Public Opinion in Europe
Speakers:
Tim Llewellyn, former BBC Middle East Correspondent
Seamus Milne, Guardian Columnist and Associate Editor
Jackie Rowland, Al Jazeera Correspondent
Chaired by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (The Independent)
Date: Thursday 18th October 2012
Time: Start 6.45pm (Light refreshments and registration at 6.15pm)
Venue: Senate House, Chancellor’s Hall, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU
REGISTER NOW – Email: events@memonitor.org.uk
Summary Note: ODI-TCF High Level Roundtable on the Crisis in Rakhine State, Myanmar
The recent outbreak of deadly communal violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar on 3 June 2012 and the on-going tensions between the Buddhist Rakhine and the Muslim Rohingya communities have left, according to official figures, more than 70 people dead, and more than 80,000 displaced. There are continued humanitarian needs among the displaced and affected populations and tensions between the communities remain high.
While the Government of Myanmar has been cooperating with the United Nations and humanitarian agencies to deliver humanitarian assistance to displaced communities, there are continuing humanitarian challenges in Rakhine State that need to be addressed. At the same time, a national dialogue on durable solutions for the situation in Rakhine is needed, in the context of the Government’s wider reform agenda, which includes a peace process and commitments to national reconciliation with ethnic nationalities.
The Overseas Development Institute’s Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) and The Cordoba Foundation (TCF) convened a closed-door High-Level Roundtable on national, regional and international responses to the crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State on 13 September at the Overseas Development Institute’s offices in London.
The roundtable was held in accordance with the Chatham House Rule. The roundtable aimed to facilitate a high-level policy dialogue among representatives of the Government of Myanmar, regional organizations (namely OIC and ASEAN), humanitarian agencies currently working in Rakhine State as well as those planning relief responses, and representatives of the donor community.
Invited speakers included:
* H.E. U Kyaw Myo Htut, Ambassador of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the United Kingdom
* H.E. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
* H.E. Ambassador Atta Manane. Bakhit, Assistance Secretary-General and Head of Humanitarian Department, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
* Mr. Ashok Nigam, United Nations Resident Coordinator, Myanmar
* Mr. Oliver Lacey-Hall, Head of Regional Office for Asia-Pacific, UNOCHA
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Roundtable: Free Speech or Islamophobia
Following the insulting and provocative American film, “Innocence of Muslims”, the French media added fuel to the fire of by publishing offensive cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Left-wing alt-weekly Charlie Hebdo ran cartoons that depicted a naked, turbaned Prophet in profoundly racist and offensive ways. To make matters worse, French interior minister Manuel Valls announced that demonstrations against Islamophobia would be officially banned and that “any incitement to hatred must be fought with the greatest firmness”.
The discussion will focus on the current surge in anti-Muslim propaganda in the media in Europe and beyond.
Date and time: Wednesday 3rd October, 2012 – 6pm
Venue: London Muslim Centre, 46 Whitechapel Road, London E1. (Nearest tube: Aldgate East/ Whitechapel)
ALL WELCOME
Speaker:
Marwan Muhammad is a member of the Collective Against Islamophobia on France, which helps victims of Islamophobic crimes as well as monitors and collates information on Islamophobia and racism. Muhammad is a statistician by profession and author of ‘Foul Express’. He recently appeared on a CNN debate, following nude cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published by the French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
info@enoughcoalition.org.uk – www.enoughcoalition.org.uk
Supported by London Muslim Centre and The Cordoba Foundation
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Enough Coalition Against Islamophobia is a network of groups and individuals who came together to campaign against Muslim racism in Britain.
Cordoba Seminars – 25th September 2012
The Cordoba Foundation invites you to its Cordoba Seminars series:
Title – Citizenship and the Accountability of Governments
Speaker – Professor Hashim Kamali, CEO of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies.
Prof Kamali will be speaking on his latest book ‘Citizenship and Accountability of Government: An Islamic Perspective’ which is the final volume in a series on fundamental rights and liberties in Islam.
Copies of the book will be available on the night to purchase.
Venue: The Seminar Suite, Level 4, The London Muslim Centre
Date and time: 25th September 2012, 5.45pm
Entrance is Free. Limited spaces
Staging the Ummah: An Evening with Wajahat Ali
A Provocative Look at the State of Muslim Culture Today
Rumi’s Cave
26 Willesden Lane
Kilburn, London
NW6 7ST
7.00 pm – 9:30 pm
Nearest Stations (Kilburn, Kilburn Park, Kilburn High Road)
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/Rs5KL
What is the state of Muslim arts and culture – cutting edge and innovative, or boring and dull?
Is there a need to define to a British or American Islam? How do we represent Islam on screen, on stage, through novels and in poetry?
Doesn’t staging the ummah mean we are just selling a “safe” version Islam to the chattering classes?
Join us as we talk to award-winning playwright and author Wajahat Ali about the state of Muslim arts and culture today – and whether the project of defining a culturally relevant Islam for our times is even worth pursing.
FREE – but space is limited, so let us know you are coming!
Supported by the Radical Middle Way, The Leaf Network, The Cordoba Foundation and Rumi’s Cave.
Wajahat Ali – playwright, author, journalist and attorney – is a Muslim American of Pakistani descent and is the author of the acclaimed play, The Domestic Crusaders, which premiered in 2005 at the Thrust Stage of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and San Jose University Theatre, broke box office records in New York in 2009, was published by McSweeney’s in December 2010 and went on to be performed at Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
Ali’s essays and interviews on contemporary affairs, politics, the media, popular culture and religion frequently appear in the Washington Post, The Guardian , Salon , Slate , McSweeney’s , Wall Street Journal Blog , Huffington Post , CNN.com , CounterPunch and Chowk, among other on-line sites. His blog, “Goatmilk: An Intellectual Playground ” is ranked in the top 7% of all political blogs by blogged.com. Wajahat is the recipient of Muslim Public Affairs Council’s prestigious “Emerging Muslim American Artist” recognition of 2009 and was given the 2011 Otto Award for Political Theatre.
In 2011, he was the lead author and researcher of “Fear Inc., The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America” published by The Center for American Progress. Ali is the co-editor of the anthology “All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim” published this June 2012 by White Cloud Press. Wajahat is currently writing a TV pilot with Dave Eggers about a Muslim American cop in the Bay Area, California, and he is working on his first movie screenplay
Press Release: Embracing the International Day of Peace
On the International Day of Peace, 21 September, The Cordoba Foundation (TCF) will be joining other organisations and faith institutions to express solidarity with all efforts intended to make this world more peaceful.
As the day falls on a Friday when Muslims gather for their weekly afternoon Friday Prayers, Salatul-Jumu’a, this year’s celebration will be particularly poignant as mosques and Islamic centres in the UK will open their doors to visitors wishing to join them during or after Friday prayers. People of different faiths and none will exchange messages of peace, celebrate local peace-building and share hospitality. They will be joined by others overseas, some as far as Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Abdullah Faliq, Head of Research at TCF, which has been working on this campaign from the outset, explained: “Unlike launching into war, establishing peace requires a lot of determination and continuous effort. We are delighted that people of all faith and none have come together to mark the International Day of Peace this year with so much vigor and passion.”
In such a turbulent period of global history, TCF Chief Executive, Anas Altikriti, stressed that “peace is not the absence of conflict and violence, but rather the establishment of justice through mutual respect, understanding and acceptance”.
Thus the International Peace Day is a reminder to all of us to find alternatives to what threatens peace and harmony and to provide a space for people to realise their own destinies.
TCF is particularly delighted to release a special edition of its Occasional Papers series, in commemoration of the International Day of Peace. Titled, Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future, it features an article by the Grand Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and messages of support from Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury; Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Corporation (OIC); Jeremy Gilley, Founder of Peace One Day; Catriona Robertson from London Peace Network. The Occasional Papers will be released at a ceremony hosted by Lord Bates to mark the official launch of International Peace Day at Westminister Hall, Houses of Parliament (UK) on Friday 21st September at 11am.
TCF commends London Peace Network (and its partners), for undertaking such an unprecedented initiative of linking UK Islamic centres with other institutions.
Commenting further on this Anas Altikriti, said “We are taught that we do not inherit the earth from our forefathers but we borrow it from our grandchildren. We need to all collectively work towards the promotion of peace and understanding between cultures and civilisations. This initiative is the right and first step and needs all our support”.
[Ends]
Notes to editors:
1. For a full list of participating mosques and Islamic centres, see
http://londonpeacenetwork.wordpress.com
2. Media / general enquiries about International Peace Day:
Catriona Robertson, London Peace Network, 07903 682 142, convener@lbfn.org
Julian Bond, Christian Muslim Forum, 07813 018 450, info@christianmuslimforum.org
Abdullah Faliq, The Cordoba Foundation, 0208 991 3372, abdullah@thecordobafoundation.com
Ali Abbas Razawi, Majlis-e-Ulama Europe, 07894 277 658, sayed.a.r@hotmail.co.uk
3. Link to introductory film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrF7vSOBSbM&feature=youtu.be
4. For anyother enquries, please contact Amjad Saleem, Head of Communications, The Cordoba Foundation, 020 8991 3370 / media @thecordobafoundation.com
Celebrating International Day of Peace
This year the International Day of Peace, which is marked each year on 21 September, falls on a Friday. Islamic centres and mosques across the UK and overseas will be leading their local communities in marking the day. They will invite visitors to join them during or after Friday Prayers (Salaatul-Jumu’a) to exchange messages of peace, to celebrate local peace-building activities and to enjoy the hospitality offered.
Local schools, churches, synagogues, temples, gurdwaras and community organisations will be invited to observe the day by accepting these invitations.
Some Islamic centres in the UK are pairing up with a nearby church, religious community or school and linking their observance of the International Day of Peace to similar pairs overseas.
For more information, please click here
Lecture: How to Engage With Politics – 21st September 2012
In a democratic system like ours, citizens have multiple avenues to influence the policies and laws that govern our society. Yet, many Muslims continue to live on the fringe of politics and do not engage in public matters. The only way for us to ensure our voices are heard is to make the most of the opportunities for involvement and to become engaged citizens.
In this talk, Anas Altikriti, the CEO of The Cordoba Foundation will discuss a variety of paths for engagement in public life and share stories from his own engagement.
Hosted by The City Circle
Venue: Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, W1H 4LP
Date and Time: 21st September 2012, 18:45
Free entrance. All welcome. No reservation needed. Prayer space available. Street parking free from 18:30
For more information, please check: www.thecitycircle.com/events
