text: Muhammad Abdul Bari 2015-10-10T01:58:59-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=muhammad-abdul-bari Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Muhammad Abdul Bari Good old fashioned elbow grease. Safeguarding School Children From Extremism Without 'Policing' Their Free Thought tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2015:/theblog//3.8069020 2015-09-01T03:14:15-04:00 2015-09-02T11:59:01-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ But seeing the Muslim glass as half empty - particularly by the political and media establishment - is unhelpful; it is alienating Muslims and has a negative impact on community relations. Sadly, the alienation started during the Blair government's post-7/7 Prevent agenda, under the wider CONTEST counter-terrorism strategy which conflated community cohesion with security; this, in turn, put Muslims under pressure in spite of numerous polls showing them to be more loyal to Britain than others. The Tory-led Coalition revived the Prevent agenda after coming to power in 2010, with new criteria such as 'non-violent extremism' at its heart. Such is the reach of the Prevent strategy that even pre-school children can be deemed to be at risk of radicalisation! A society that has prided itself on radical ideas over centuries appears to be ostracising a whole community for the radical views of some, or extreme views of a tiny minority, in its midst. The CTSA 2015 is now putting a stronger emphasis on its multi-agency Channel Programme. The expectation would be for local authorities, nurseries, schools, universities, social services, healthcare services, the criminal justice system and the police - more or less anyone involved in the care and development of young people - to monitor people for signs of extremism and refer them to the relevant panels. For such a diverse Muslim community the impact of the Channel Programme, since its inception, has been disproportionately high. This has already been creating a sticky situation in the education sector. One east London school was said to have used 'anti-radicalisation software' in the last summer to monitor pupils and offered workshops for parents on spotting signs of radicalisation amongst small children. In another case, five primary schools with large numbers of Muslim pupils in a London Borough asked pupils to complete surveys designed to provide clues as to who is most susceptible to radicalisation. Many, including some head teachers, expressed concern at this bizarre methodology. As a parent and ex-teacher, I would imagine that parents of four year olds would be most concerned about their children's overall growth through playing and learning - to communicate, socialise and enjoy their childhood - or about their children's safety and potential harms such as bullying etc. Most teachers are amazing professionals who come to teaching to share their talents and help prepare future generations of innovators and entrepreneurs from our schools. The question is how well-equipped teachers are, and how much time they have, to deal with the extra burden of monitoring early radicalisation of pre-adolescent or even teenage children who have begun to explore their lives at school? This is the task of the established education welfare service and, on more serious matters, the police. Diverting a teacher's time and energy on something that they are not particularly trained for can drain school resources and also be off-putting to many teachers. A school is a place to promote critical thinking and creative expression of young ones in their formative period. Schools are also for supporting children from communities or groups that suffer from inequality of opportunity such that each child is given the best chance to lead a successful life. The growing emphasis on security in the education sector may hamper the huge progress made by some, otherwise deprived, communities - such as the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities - over the last two decades. The politics behind the new counter-terrorism measures may jeopardise the progress of some of these communities. We talk of safeguarding and wellbeing of our young children. Let us put this in practice by leaving politics outside the school premises. Another big contradiction is that the Government's statement in the guidance paper that the protection of freedom of speech is of paramount importance does not match with its policy of ostracising those who appear to possess extremist ideas. The elephant in the room is how extremism is defined. What causes young people, typically from stable families and backgrounds, to leave everything behind and join a barbaric cult that defies religious principles and basic human rights? What roles do issues such as adolescence in a commercialised society, identity in a plural environment, general grievances, a lack of trust in the political class, some of the Government's domestic and foreign policies, ideology, social conditions, etc, play for some people to jump over the other side of the civilised world? We need to understand that there are multiple factors for young people falling prey to nihilistic terrorism. Our political and media establishments have to appreciate that not all problems related with Muslims are ideological. We need an intellectually sound and evidence-based approach to defeat the vulgarity of Daesh (ISIS)-inspired terrorism. We need a robust strategy and meaningful discussion across communities to properly understand why some people, albeit a small number, feel so alienated in their land of birth and upbringing. Working with and using communities wisely, rather than selectively with a few and ostracising the majority, works better - as the London Met Police appear to be doing of late. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, author and parenting consultant.]]> Be Watchful of Your Child's Online Activities tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2015:/theblog//3.7930620 2015-08-04T03:11:25-04:00 2015-08-04T10:59:02-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ One of the greatest inventions of our time has been the World Wide Web. The very ability to share information instantly in a number of ways across the globe is truly astonishing. One is able to use the internet for both personal fulfilments, for example, to ascertain their ancestry dating back several centuries. For many children, the internet gives them the ability to do anything under the sun. The possibilities are endless - and it is this very fact which makes the internet a potentially dangerous tool. On one hand, the internet can be a wonderful educational tool that children are increasingly expected to use to support their learning. But on the other, it gives them the access to engage in a multitude of harmful or even dangerous activities such as watching pornography and cyber bullying; more recently the worry is that children could even be groomed for sexual exploitation or radicalisation. It is for this very reason that parents, as role models for their beloved ones, must be extremely wary of how their children use the internet, what they watch and with whom they communicate. Mobile phones, watches and tablets may be a fashion statement but they carry health hazards. Teenagers and children today are being brought up in an environment where there is less emphasis on social interaction with their friends in the playgrounds or parks. It is becoming part of a school child's nature to now spend more time on social media platforms. This clearly does have benefits as it enables friends to stay in regular contact with one another, often with people that are difficult to access due to geographical constraints or other reasons. There is also other benefit from having open communications - a fantastic example would be LinkedIn which, although aimed at older students, enables aspiring young professionals to connect with one another to further and fulfil their career ambitions. However, there are many big issues and potential dangers associated with social media platforms. The likes of Facebook and Twitter, despite their numerous benefits, are a potential breeding ground for hatred and bullying. There have been many tragic stories of how cyber bullying can lead to stress, problems at school and even cases of suicide among teenagers. Another danger involved with the web is the use of pornography and online dating. We live in an over-sexualised era where children are exposed to the opposite gender at an early age in a sexualised way. The adult industry is continuing to thrive and is growing to the extent that our children are, to a degree, feeling obliged to have physical relations with the opposite gender before they are ready. Rather than being considered for what they are, the opposite gender is constantly objectified - not least through online pornography and the profit-seeking advertisement industry. Children are often impressionable and inexperienced in life; they can be further manipulated by the allure of 'online dating' - often taking the chance of meeting people they have never seen before. There have been far too many horror stories of how innocently planned dates have led to traumatic experiences, loss of innocence and even loss of life. Most poignantly in this day and age, one of the greatest dangers that comes with this interconnected World Wide Web is that of radicalisation. Unlike the other dangers discussed earlier, the threat of radicalisation is not only harmful to single individuals and their families but to whole communities across the globe. What makes this especially worrying is that young children seem to find the appeal of terrorist groups - such as ISIL - more attractive, because of their slick propaganda of glamourising violence. Vulnerable children who may feel out of place in a society, having little knowledge of their religion, disenchanted with the government's policy or for many of the other factors might be allured to 'fight back' as a means of expressing their disillusionment. In almost all instances of young children being radicalised online, the parents and families had no idea of what was happening to their loved ones. That this has been happening in front of our own very eyes behind a computer screen is a damning indictment of the threat we face. As parents, we cannot simply sit back and let this narrative take its course; it must be within our disposition to do our best in protecting our children. First and foremost, we need to foster deeper and lasting relationships with our children that are built on love, respect and mutual trust. In doing so we must ensure that they feel comfortable in discussing any feelings and problems they may face at school or online. Parents should make their best judgment, depending on the intellectual and emotional maturity of their children, when they should buy for them certain gadgets. Another useful tip at home may be to keep laptops or computers in communal areas so that children are subconsciously more wary of the pages they visit and click on. The use of parental controls to block certain content is another option that should be on the table. But the most important thing for parents to do is to continuously and lovingly talk with their child, individually and in a family setting, on all the issues that are relevant to them. This will not only help them grow with maturity and a strong sense of responsibility, it will also give them a sense of belonging to their own families. Ultimately, we must acknowledge that in an ever-growing technological world we cannot and should not try to insulate our children from the world of technology. But we must be aware of the dangers that come with such a remarkable tool in order to make sure that our children make use of its myriad of benefits to develop into well-rounded adults, albeit without harm. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, author and parenting consultant. Follow him on Twitter @MAbdulBari]]> Ramadan Spirit Can Heal Our Fractured World tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2015:/theblog//3.7582952 2015-06-15T03:05:39-04:00 2015-06-17T08:59:01-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ Taqwa has a deeper meaning of incessant introspection of one's inner thoughts and behaviours; that is, to always be on the religious 'middle way' and social 'centre-ground', away from extremism in all aspects. This 24/7 soul-searching has the potential to guide and propel believers towards living a morally upright life and developing key inner qualities, such as integrity and self-discipline as well as good manners. It has the ability to shape their lives and transform their character towards one with a positive drive for action, for the good of all. Behind the disciplining of natural thirst, hunger and base desires, fasting prepares believers to contemplate the mystery of our life - our fleeting existence on earth, connection with God, relationships with fellow human beings and obligation to the well-being of our environment. This has a direct impact on our behaviour - humility, patience, fortitude, care and love. Ramadan teaches Muslims the ethos of sharing and caring, extra generosity, respect and giving preference to fellow human beings; these are the values that are greatly needed now, more than ever, in our unequal society and fractured world. The physically challenging and spiritually intense fasting from dawn to dusk is thus a divine gift to Muslims so they can become harbingers of good to all mankind. The question is how real is this now? When it comes to the public expression of religious rituals, Muslims are one of the strongest amongst others in faith communities. Whether practicing or cultural, They have a special affinity for fasting during Ramadan; many thoroughly transform their attitude, behaviour and lifestyle for a whole month, according to a Prophetic tradition that says 'Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving food and drink.' Ramadan also harvests a unique festivity in Muslim life. Many multiply their charity giving during Ramadan (British Muslims are known as the 'top charity givers'). Recitation and memorisation of the Qur'an are commonplace and some strive to gain an understanding of the text and context. Being true to Islam means being a good citizen and human being. In fact, the essence of Muslim morality is to be good to others, without being judgemental. It demands from them positive and ethical action, a unilateral undertaking to create a better society. While other Islamic rituals are noticeable to people around, fasting is not; it represents a unique self-surrender to God. Fasting 'burns out' one's desires and helps to conquer base instincts, such as self-gratification and arrogance. Apart from health and other benefits, it is the most effective way for one's inner purification. In this unprecedented commercialisation and sexualisation of our world today it is easier to fatten our egos, nurture our greed, increase our impatience and succumb to intolerance and hatred of others. The easy accessibility of social media that shrinks the world can make us 'slaves' to our ever-new technological gadgets. We have very little time to think, reflect and relax; still less time to spend with our near and dear ones - even the treasured children and beloved elders in our own families. We live fast-paced lives; we want to be in life's fastest lane and beat others, yet we do not foresee the possibility of a potential crash. Much of the modern way of life is eating away at our souls; we are involuntarily turning into human robots. We avoid discussing tough issues such as morality and ethics - lest we are seen as 'dogmatic' or 'extremist' by others. We have become too rights-based, but expect a higher level of responsibility from others - our elected representatives, governments, the police and public servants. Fasting is thus antidote to selfishness and the extreme materialism in our lives. It is a 'shield against evil' to survive and succeed in our highly asymmetric world; it reminds believers that real success is not just in our wealth, power and fame but in striving for a better world for all. A society needs people who strongly feel a sense of duty to all people, a natural civic responsibility - not just for political and social unity but to address our human cravings for peace. Every year Ramadan brings this unique opportunity to 'train' Muslims to find their inner selves, recharge their energy, revitalise their lives and work for common good. Alas, many amongst them have big contradictions in real life. In these turbulent days of materialism and individual self gratification, with religious extremism and secular-irreligious backlash in our public life, we need a spiritual regeneration to make our world safer and more humane. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, author and parenting consultant.]]> Religious Middle Way Is the Antidote to Extremism tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2015:/theblog//3.7483840 2015-06-01T09:49:58-04:00 2015-06-03T07:59:01-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ In response, it is the instinctive habit of some Muslims to point fingers at others for their misery, offering frustrating chatter but doing little; this is one way of abdicating responsibility. Others, the majority of Muslims, are struggling to cope with the challenges; some are probably expecting the storm to pass by. The unfortunate fact in much of the Muslim world today is that criminal incompetence and moral bankruptcy has, for decades, become the hall mark of political leadership. Terrorism that has suddenly appeared in the beginning of 21st century from amongst some Muslims has much to do with the bad governance of weak states in combination with imposed wars. Muslim communities living as minorities elsewhere are caught in the middle; overall they are not doing better either. Some cynics would gleefully argue that this state of affairs is down to the faith itself. This may be partially true, as faith belongs to the heart and has more emphasis on spirituality and 'feelings', whereas the physical world is empirical and requires focus from our conscious mind and thoughts. But we should not forget that head and heart are intricately linked and this was not the case with Muslims in their better period. The Muslim community now faces complex challenges and, in my opinion, they are more internal than external. There are excellent examples in many places, but overall the community must look around their mosques and institutions to check if they are welcoming and inclusive enough; if their governance system is fit for purpose; if their attitude and approaches towards their youth and women are inadvertently alienating them. They must also ask themselves if much of their disjointed activities are not just legacy tasks. This introspection is vital for the still evolving community to know why some of their own youth are disenchanted with the community leadership; why some are losing their bond with their religious roots; why a small section are being indoctrinated with extreme ideas from sources unknown to them; and a group, although tiny, is ending up committing terrorism in faraway lands and putting all in the dock as a result. It is widely acknowledged that extremism and terrorism germinate and flourish in the crevices of our society, in the gaps that we generally ignore, and are exacerbated by the extremists' creative use of digital media. There has been extremism for as long as humans have been on this planet. The young are particularly vulnerable, especially where idealism crosses over into action. Lacking the wisdom that comes with deeper and contextual knowledge and life's experience, they are impressionable and vulnerable to being groomed by older, more cynical minds. Extremism has also existed within all religions, often under the cover of dogma or righteousness. In Islam both the Qur'an and the Prophet warned against the lure of the extreme. Islam also argues against excessiveness, as this can lead to rigidity, bigotry and extremism. Extremism is also exacerbated by ignorance, personal weaknesses, one's upbringing and social pressures, unsympathetic educational and cultural environments, and a lack of understanding of the moral principles and the wisdom underlying religious teachings. External factors such as prejudice, discrimination, undignified or inhuman treatment or oppression also contribute to this potentially potent mix of trouble. Contextually relevant knowledge is the antidote to extremism. Such teachings, if imparted with empathy and relevance for our time, increases belief in human goodness, patience and wisdom, and a belief in God's mercy. Knowledgeable believers are often happy and confident members of society. Religious teachings tell adherents to stay in the Middle Way; this keeps them away from extremism on either side; for them faith has intricate links with their social attitudes, too, and with the political and economic centre-ground. The majority of electorates in countries such as ours, and other developed and stable democracies, detest extreme political left or right. In the economy too, people feel safe in the middle way between over-regulated and unregulated industries. The middle way is the best approach in our individual and collective life, especially in Britain where practicing one's faith is not only socially acceptable but also enshrined in law. If a serious intellectual, social and political leadership is to arise among faith groups, Muslims in particular, then it will need to remain true to these "middle way" teachings and action. Human beings are generally pragmatic: we can and have learned to live with difference many, many times ... and in this, like other faith communities, Muslims are no exception. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, author and parenting consultant. He is former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (2006-10). The views expressed in this article are the author's own.]]> The Importance of Civil Society Organisations in National Conversation tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2015:/theblog//3.7212068 2015-05-05T08:03:49-04:00 2015-05-06T06:59:01-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ hosted a large assembly in Westminster Central Hall recently ahead of the general election on May 7. In the presence of over 2,200 representatives from across the country, leaders from the three main Westminster parties answered a series of questions pertaining to four key areas of the CUK Manifesto. This year's general election, with a very uncertain electoral outcome, has made Britain worried, but remarkably lively. Many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), up and down the country, have done their best in urging people to register to vote; political hustings are still going on with various parliamentary candidates up and down the country. This has proved vital for the encouragement of political debates on important national and local issues. In this animated atmosphere some well-known CSOs and minority ethnic or religious communities have played noteworthy roles. Their activities have multiplied in the last few months to improve the health of Britain's politics. CUK made its name in the last decade for their success in persuading many local government authorities, institutions and businesses to introduce a minimum Living Wage for low-paid workers. CUK is composed of faith groups (churches, mosques and synagogues), schools, colleges, universities, student groups and unions. Through direct civic action it energises grass-root civil society activists in local neighbourhoods to do small but powerful and necessary things - such as preventing factories from contaminating the area with noxious smells, stopping drug dealing in school neighbourhoods and getting safe road-crossings established. It came to national prominence during the last general election in 2010 when all three national leaders of the UK's three largest political parties addressed a large meeting in the same Westminster venue. Another example, Operation Black Vote (OBV), has been raising awareness of civic responsibilities amongst Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities through various projects for decades. The OBV undertakes mentoring schemes, lobbying political parties and civic institutions on the benefits of representative bodies and increasing the awareness of equality and human rights. It wants to improve political engagement of disadvantaged communities with the national democratic process through voter registration and other civic campaigns. The voluntary sector for the diverse Muslim community has always been vibrant, but the ethos of philanthropy and social activism always gets an enormous boost during the month of Ramadan which is arriving in a few weeks time. One such group, the Muslim Agency for Development Education (MADE) in Europe, is a youth-led movement that works on environmental issues. Its social action is about justice and environmental stewardship by being smart, ethical and green in the way we all live. Over the centuries Britain has embraced, and made itself the home of, many races, cultures and religions. Every people have brought their distinct cultures to make it economically and culturally richer. Some communities arrived here with a lower level playing field compared to others and as such there were inevitable hiccups with social inclusion in the beginning. Britain, in spite of occasional hiccups, has now become a good model of a pluralist country. One premier example of success was the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games that showcased the 'Best of Britain'. It was possible due to a prolonged cross-party consensus (since the bid in 2005) and civic participation from citizens with their energy, activism and creative humour. As a member of the Organising Committee I witnessed the amazingly high level of civic engagement, with heightened social activism for the common good from all our communities before and during the summer of 2012. A government alone, however efficient, cannot run a country effectively and harness all its potentials; citizen involvement and people power work in tandem in elected democracy to shape a nation and take it forward. A vibrant civil society, including a strong voluntary sector, is the eyes and ears of any country where public representatives in the national and local governments are accountable to its citizens. After coming to power, the Coalition Government made a renewed Compact with civil society organisations (CSO) in England in 2010 to "improve the partnership between the Government and civil society organisations, for the benefit of citizens and communities." In charity sector, one vital ingredient of civil society, Britain is acknowledged as the best in the developed world, thanks to its faith communities that have excelled others in philanthropy. 164,097 charities in England and Wales, registered with the Charity Commission, have a staggering total annual income of £64bn! Charity and philanthropy depend on citizens' concern and proactive activism for the good of humanity, at home and abroad, in areas such as poverty alleviation, social justice, equality, clean environment and healthy politics. Dedicated volunteering from under-performing communities can lift them up which also enhances better community relations. A vibrant civil society is the anchor for moral and ethical public life. Half a century ago, the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. made his remarkable observation about our journey on earth, "Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men". Since then our life has become more complex; we must keep pace in addressing them with wholesome public discourse. We need a 21st century solution for 21st century challenges where strong civil societies, guided by universal human values, across the world will not only enhance our material well-being but also keep us rooted to ethics and spirituality. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is the former Secretary General of Muslim Council of Britain (2006-10). The views expressed in this article are the author's own.]]> We Need a Level-Headed Conversation About Muslim 'Others' tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2015:/theblog//3.7076574 2015-04-16T04:16:13-04:00 2015-06-15T05:59:01-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ The narrative championed by these 'half fullers' is that Muslims are predisposed to all kinds of negative behaviour - grooming, crime, terrorism, mistreatment of women - and how incompatible Islam is in contemporary Britain. The problem arises when the positives of any community are lessened, and the negatives amplified, but not seriously scrutinised by those in government. When challenged by Muslims, accusations of hiding behind a charge of "Islamophobia" and "victim" mentality are thrown about. The Survation for Sky News poll, although finding some very positive aspects of British Muslims, worryingly, finds a huge gap between Muslim perception on themselves and from the wider society on them - "on the issue of integration into UK society, the survey found 58% of non-Muslims believed their Muslim neighbours were not doing enough, with those aged over 55 more likely to be critical. Two thirds of Muslims, however, said they were doing enough." It also discovers an unpleasant feeling from Muslims about our authorities - "some 39% of Muslims who were asked said the authorities, including police and MI5, were a factor in radicalising the younger generation, compared to 29% of Muslims who said they were not." As a mature democracy we must address these gaps; we need to do this with a level-headed debate and mature discussion. Muslims (and others in society) have been trying to bring home the point that an 'unending' Global War on Terror (GWOT), post-the 9/11 atrocities, with its extreme destabilisation and loss of life in countries such as Iraq, has contributed to radicalisation and extremism among a section of Muslims. Of course, no sane person can justify violence in our streets because of this, but ignoring it in discussions on radicalisation has proved disastrous and disingenuous. The GWOT has made our world less safe. It has unleashed sectarian proxy wars in the Middle East, wreaked havoc on infrastructure and caused the death of huge numbers of people in directly-affected countries. These dead are the 'unworthy victims' who will no doubt be forgotten in time. This was highlighted in the first international edition of Body Count: Casualty Figures after 10 Years of the "War on Terror". Sadly for us, a few hundred young British Muslim men and a few dozen girls have entered ISIS-held territories in recent months, thanks to its slick (and sick) online propaganda machine. ISIS may be outpacing us in the digital media stakes, but a terrorist group that can burn to death a captured pilot will inevitably fail; there are reports that "scores of disillusioned foreign jihadists have been imprisoned by Islamic State militants to prevent them fleeing their self-declared caliphate, which is riven with infighting and bitter national rivalries." ISIS has terribly harmed Muslim communities in the West. The fear of radicalisation is now haunting Muslim families with young children. In addition - with the community being continuously pilloried by sections of the media - some right-wing politicians are using Muslims as a 'punch bag' for their short-term political gain. No community is perfect, but if it is only seen through the prism of security it will obviously stand out as a security threat! Nonetheless, it is time for Muslim communities to ask themselves if they fully understand the depth of their predicament with radicalisation and whether they are doing enough to help themselves. Some mosques and institutions have impressive records of serving diverse communities. They cater for not only for the religious needs of Muslims, but also help them in their moral, educational and social needs too - as well as bridge-building with others through interfaith initiatives and wider community work. But how many are they and are they doing enough? How many are able to address the common issues such as poverty, low wages, mental health, social ills, etc? Most importantly, how many are addressing the teenage challenges in a pluralist society? It is also time for the political elite to acknowledge that some of their domestic policies, such as the counter-terrorism strategy, do have a negative impact in alienating Muslim youth. Many Muslims consider this approach condescending, to say the least. And, whether we like (or agree) with this or not, our government's foreign policy - in Palestine, Iraq and Syria - has angered many people. Terrorists abroad and Muslim extremists inside play upon this dissatisfaction, despite the fact that it is unforgivable to use such concerns to glorify violence and plague on young minds. Yet by ignoring mainstream Muslim voices and opinion the Government is hindering rather than helping progress towards a more cohesive society. We can only counter ISIS's propaganda with a successful counter-radicalisation programme that addresses the lives of young Muslim women without securitising them, not by bringing new laws. Too many Muslim young people feel alienated because of the current political climate. Britain has a unique history of accommodating diverse peoples: why should it be any different with Muslims? We need a 'different sort of conversation', a robustly objective approach, to bridge-build among, and between, our peoples. We all need to urgently understand what is radicalising our precious youth, how they are groomed and what we can do to prevent them from entering into a world of nihilism. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, author and parenting consultant. He is former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (2006-10). The views expressed in this article are the author's own.]]> Safeguarding Our Children From Evil Is Our Collective Responsibility tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2015:/theblog//3.6739414 2015-02-23T18:02:15-05:00 2015-04-25T05:59:01-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ Police have appealed for information and the girls' families besought with their children to come back home. The East London Mosque in Whitechapel made a powerful and emotional appeal to its worshippers during the Friday congregation on 20th February for any information and assistance that could help police in their effort to bring the girls back. It is now known that one of the girls, Shamima Begum, made online contact with a Scottish woman, Aqsa Mahmood, who left Britain to marry an ISIS fighter in 2013. British counter-terrorism officers have come under pressure to explain how they failed to take basic steps to prevent young women from joining the ISIS. Aamer Anwar, lawyer for Mahmood's family, recently said "they were incredulous that the contact could go unnoticed by Scotland Yard and other counter-terror agencies." Questions are also being raised about basic common-sense child safeguarding procedures, such as the effectiveness of Special Branch at the airport and the UK border agencies who failed to notice the fact that three young girls on their own were going on a flight to Turkey, the widely-known staging post to Syria, and they were not stopped. Some are strongly suggesting that the airlines should also be more vigilant in transporting children of this nature. The three girls from one of east London's most successful schools, Bethnal Green Academy, were interviewed by police in last December after one 15-year-old girl from the same school boarded a flight to Turkey in a bid to join ISIS militants. But the police found nothing to suggest at the time that these girls themselves were at risk. Commander Richard Walton of Scotland Yard's counter terrorism unit described the girls as "straight A students" and "normal girls." This is a scary time for Muslim parents of teen-age children that are smart and adventurous. Hiding intentions from the family and then suddenly disappearing would be particularly nerve-racking for any parent. Young people, especially in their secondary years (11-16), are idealistic; but they are also impressionable and vulnerable. In the absence of proper knowledge of religion, and with little experience of life's reality, many may see the world plainly simple. Adolescence can be confusing and young people may suffer from identity issues in a complex pluralist society. Positive parental engagement with a loving home environment, an assertive and caring school environment with robust discipline and behaviour policy, engaging religious centres, safer community surroundings and inspirational role models are what children need during their formative period. They are the positive ingredients in the absence of which some children may fall prey to wrong people or wrong ideals. ISIS appears to have built a powerful propaganda machine with slick online messages that have presented their evil acts with a romanticised vision of a global Caliphate. This is proving too alluring to some young boys and girls living in developed countries like Britain; a few may slip through the net and fall prey to manipulation by criminals or underhand recruiters of terrorist groups. How can we prevent our young people from taking this nihilistic path of ending up with the ISIS or other criminal and terror group? The legalistic and securitised dimension is to prevent them from extremism, violence and terrorism; while this is needed for some young people, but by nature this has a limited scope. What we seriously need is a human dimension in tackling the adolescence issues that can lead to crisis for some. While it is vital we shield our young people from paedophiles and other criminals as well as allurement of online propaganda from ISIS and other terrorist groups, it is absolutely important we impart knowledge and context to young people about our adult world as well as alert them on the dangers and evil nature of terror groups. It is a dreadful reality that 'more than 500 British Muslims might have gone to Syria', so we must work together to make sure no more young life is put at risk. Unfortunately, there exists a huge gap between our government and mainstream Muslims on how best to tackle extremism and violence in our midst; the disagreement on the root and nature of non-violent extremism is wide. The Counter Terrorism and Security Bill that became law on 12th February has put a new strain on this relationship. What we in fact need is grass-root capacity building programmes for our parents and communities to improve engagement and connection with our young people. This can only work better when community groups, religious institutions, various government and non-government agencies bring their heads together. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, community activist and freelance parenting consultant. He is former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (2006-10). The views expressed in this article are the author's own.]]> If Only We Knew What Prophet Muhammad Stood For! tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2015:/theblog//3.6513410 2015-01-21T03:33:17-05:00 2015-03-22T05:59:01-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ Desperate need for an open debate on freedom of expression The Charlie Hebdo murder in Paris last week (7th January 2015), overwhelmingly condemned by Muslims, has laid bare the divisions between the proponents of unlimited freedom of expression (accused of double standards by some) and the vast majority of Muslims (accused of a 'victimhood' attitude by detractors). 'Avenging' the mockery of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the way the murderers mercilessly did in Paris, has nothing to do with the Prophet's noble teachings and the principles of faith. Islam does not allow 'vigilante justice', let alone bloody revenge, for to open this door leads to chaos and bloodshed. Terrorising people goes against the values and character of the great man Muslims adore and gives ammunition to the Islamophobes to vilify Islam itself. This exacerbates an already-established negative image of Islam and its Prophet; ordinary citizens caught in the middle become confused and blinded from the truth. There is another dangerous dimension and this is in the world of murky politics. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy's remark that the attack was "a war declared on civilisation" shrilly reminded us of an impending 'clash of civilisations' theory. I hope other leaders in the West do not believe that the agenda for a global war should be set by some terrorists who are led by stony-faced, medieval hate figures hiding out in caves and mountains faraway from here. Europe is on a war footing against terrorism now. What we need, once the dust settles, is a deep introspection and a robustly objective and open debate on the importance and limits of freedom of expression and dignity of human life. We need to heal our fractured world, not divide it further to make it unlivable. In the aftermath of Charlie Hebdo's new cartoon depicting the Prophet, with a 5m copy circulation, British imams wisely suggested that Muslims should exemplify the Prophet's true ideals. It is also reassuring for Muslims that someone like Pope Francis has, while defending freedom of expression, stressed its limits. He told journalists while travelling to Philippines that his assistant "could expect a punch if he cursed his mother". Indeed, Muslims love their Prophet more than their mothers. We have little control over the reasons and factors of tyranny, war and violence in several Muslim countries; but we better export peace, rather than import war, in our cities here. Love for the Prophet is part of Islamic faith As ordinary Muslims in Britain and Europe, our response to nihilistic terrorism or provocative cartoons should be to spread the love and mercy symbolised by our Prophet; anything other than this will be a betrayal of his teachings. This is a unilateral Islamic obligation for conscientious Muslims to fellow human beings. This is a sacred kind of love and the reason why many Muslims recently took to Twitter to positively reclaim the image of the Prophet with the hashtag, #WhoIsMuhammad. The true response to the mockery of the Prophet is for Muslims to deepen their love for him and act with dignity and wisdom. Some Orientalists in the past made academic criticisms of the Prophet, while others such as Bernard Shaw and Gandhi showered praise on him. The world did not turn upside down in their time. Initiating a peace movement If the Prophet is misunderstood by Muslims themselves, it is their fault. If he is misinformed in the West, it is also the Muslim's failure. Muslims today need to get their own house in order, and reevaluate their relationship with the Prophet, and create a knowledge generation to initiate a knowledge revolution. Islam started with God's command 'read' or 'recite' and it was the power of pen that made Muslims great. In this critical time when some nihilistic criminals misuse the nobility of Islamic faith, it is high time to bring back the spirit of Islamic enlightenment enshrined in those early years of Islam's history: in Baghdad, Cordoba and elsewhere. It is time we, Muslims, wage a war against our own failings through not only loving the Prophet but also practicing what he stood for. Islam, that literally means 'peace', teaches Muslims to work for the common good of all, but this does not come on its own or by just wishful thinking. This needs a planned and joint action with all the 'forces of good' around them. Muslims are the most exposed people in Europe today and some may feel their backs are on the wall, but this may usher in an era of re-inventing their true spirit. A peace movement is what we desperately need today.]]> Stoking Fear of 'Britain's Islamic Republic' Leads to Growing Intolerance Towards Muslims tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2015:/theblog//3.6468182 2015-01-14T03:29:56-05:00 2015-03-15T05:59:01-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ Millions rallied for unity in France on 11 January. A balanced debate on the freedom of expression, liberty and tolerance can only take Europe and our fractured world forward. Sadly, some on the political Right are not helping by shabbily attacking Muslim individuals in this country for all sorts of issues. There is also a flagrant demand that all individual Muslims take responsibility for the criminal acts of others. When all across Europe are worried about the fallout from the Paris killings this can only be music to the ears of Islamophobic hate mongers. Criminals may claim whatever they like, but accusing a whole community over their criminality will lead us nowhere. Why should Muslims be asked to apologise, when it is not expected of others? Did we ever expect all Irish Catholics to apologise for the IRA bombings, or all Christians for Anders Breivik...? One such columnist, who is known for his destructive obsession with the Muslim community, has once again made a broadside against some Muslims, in an article Paris attacks: Why this could happen in Britain (The Telegraph). The article criticises a recent House of Commons meeting on a report about radicalisation and extremism, organised by the Claystone think tank. The author of the report and chairman of the event were renowned individuals of non-Muslim faith. But Andrew Gilligan, the Telegraph journalist, targeted two Muslim individuals from around 100 others in the audience for his diatribe. Mr Gilligan's tirade against many Muslim leaders is not new. Since a Dispatches film he made for Chanel 4 in 2010 ('Britain's Islamic Republic'), done with shoddy research, he has been using his own brand of regurgitation to 'prove' how certain British Muslim individuals and organisations are working to create an 'Islamic Republic' in Britain (as if working in the public domain is a no-go area for Muslims). Although nearly five years on there is no sign of this Islamic Republic emerging anywhere in the UK, Mr Gilligan (doubling up as the London Mayor's cycling czar) has not stopped his invective. Many in my community see this as nothing short of a painful joke: Muslims are one of the least represented groups in media and politics. Beyond the prism of Tower Hamlets, on which Mr Gilligan so obsessively focuses, Muslims lack a great deal of representation. In his most recent piece he attacked me again for my past links with an organisation called the Islamic of Forum Europe (IFE), a Tower Hamlets based community organisation. He cited an incorrect and out-of-context comment I made on stoning nine years ago. Whilst he has 'exonerated' me from 'any act of terror', he has outrageously suggested "it isn't all that far from condoning violence against people deemed to breach "Islamic norms" to what happened in the bloodstained offices of those other offenders against Islam, Charlie Hebdo." To put things right, my comment on stoning in 2006 was totally misquoted in rightwing media. The point I was making was that "I cannot comment on a theological issue, I am not a religious scholar. This is an issue for Muslim majority countries to decide yes or no". I had asked for a correction, but as expected it was not followed. Andrew Gilligan has a particular obsession when it comes to east London and the IFE. His Dispatches programme painted a very dark picture of Tower Hamlets and the IFE. I was IFE's first President from 1988 for a number of years and during that time, in its formative years, IFE was primarily focused on developing professional young people in the local area, as well as among the Bangladeshi community in Britain. Towards the mid-1990's I moved on to help the historic initiative to form a national Muslim umbrella body, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). IFE by then was gradually becoming a community organisation in Tower Hamlets, despite its grandiose name. The 2003 illegal invasion of Iraq polarised the country and angered many young Britons. As a result, the 2005 national election attracted a significant number of young Muslims, including many from IFE, to the newly-formed Respect Party. Its leader, George Galloway, was elected as the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, with a massive swing against the Labour party. In the Dispatches programme Mr Gilligan was at pains to prove that the IFE was an 'extremist' organisation with a hidden agenda of 'entryism' into Tower Hamlets politics that went against Britain's 'democratic values'. Loud-mouthed nobodies and activists with tenuous connections to the East London Mosque (ELM) were painted as some kind of fearsome cadres. The programme seemed to imply that takeover was just around the corner. But his tirade continued in the pages of The Telegraph, too. Mr Gilligan had curiously dark readings of common Islamic phrases, such as dawah (to teach and invite other people to Islam), to creepily insinuate an Islamic takeover was being planned. Dispatches had also obtained some choice quotes and undercover footage of a few activists claiming to have 'their people' inserted into positions of power. The well-publicised film could only show a few lower-level IFE 'activists' gloating how they (IFE) were making inroads in running Tower Hamlets politics; anti-ELM rants from some well-known hardcore secularists in our local Bangladeshi community (who were known for their dislike of the ELM) supposedly showed how ordinary Bengalis were in fear of the IFE. The fact that not a single leader worthy of mention from the IFE was shown to be contributing in the film, let alone saying anything anti-democratic or hateful, spoke volumes about its neutrality. In making his documentary, Andrew Gilligan and his team probably felt they had to teach Britain's Muslims a lesson about democracy. But they would do well to remember that democracy is messy, difficult, and means having to deal with people with whom you disagree. If he and his fellow programme makers were incapable of doing this, then they were the ones who needed a lesson in what it means to be British. It is important to keep in mind that the single-most potent allure of British society has, for hundreds of years, been liberty; the liberty to adopt and maintain different philosophies, lifestyles and beliefs that have been hard-fought for in civil and sectarian wars, revolution and glorious counter-revolution for a thousand years. Those great struggles, physical and philosophical, were more often than not centred on religious freedom as Protestants, Calvinists, Methodists, Catholics and others all vied for the space to be who they were and practice as they wished to. By setting preconditions for Muslims who want to be part of that, we do not allow them this most fundamental of advantages to the British way of life. We do not offer them liberty, and without that the notion of Britishness is a hollow one. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, author and parenting consultant.]]> Where Is the End of This Cycle of Tyranny, Terrorism and War? tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2014:/theblog//3.6301202 2014-12-10T09:12:28-05:00 2015-02-09T05:59:01-05:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ Executive Summary of the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program this week, the US Senate Intelligence Committee has acknowledged that the CIA's actions have been a stain on US history. The UN, human rights groups and legal experts are now asking the Obama administration to prosecute US officials responsible for the torture programme. This is just one aspect of the story. In many ways the world's sole super power has lost its moral compass post 9/11. Rather than behaving like a global lion America, in the years immediately after 9/11, behaved like Godzilla and lashed out against an undefined enemy. The irony is that the enemy is mutating and resurfacing in ever-more complex forms. In the last 13 years the world has hit reverse in terms of respect for the rule of law, human rights and dignity. For much of the globe, deference for America has been replaced by fear. Some critics have described the US as a rogue superpower. 9/11 was unprecedented in terms of ingenious cruelty and the whole world poured out its sympathy. But the neocon-influenced Administration mistook this as its right to unleash unprecedented invasions of two sovereign countries, Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, all as part of a War on Terror. This has left a dangerous legacy of death, destruction and violence of historic proportions in those two ancient lands, legacies that are now affecting our lives almost everywhere. How long this will continue is anybody's guess. The vicious circle of terrorism and counter-terrorism, by disparate Muslim nihilists such as al-Qaeda and the ISIL, and by powerful countries with massive military might, has been shaping the early 21st century. This war seems unending and through this the military industrial complex in developed countries has fattened, the torture industry has become more innovative, hawkish think tanks have flourished and narratives on Muslims have spun out of control. Wars are not cost-free, in terms of human and material resources. The two above wars have cost thousands of American lives and trillions of dollars, not to mention the lives lost by innocent civilians and the chaos that has been left in their wake. The massive drain on the US Treasury might have had an impact on the 2008 collapse of its economy, which then spiralled out across the developed world. President Obama came to the White House with high expectations and noble promises. But instead he changed the nature of the wars America was fighting and expanded them to such an extent that his presidency will forever be tainted with 'long war'. With its particular focus on targeted assassinations worldwide (including of its own citizens), Obama's administration has truly opened Pandora's Box. The emergence of ISIL in Iraq and Syria, a clear by-product of the war on terror, is now tearing apart the already-fractured Middle East. With Syria and Iraq becoming the killing fields, the intractable Palestinian crisis around the corner is all but forgotten. With over 200,000 dead, millions displaced and cities turning into ghost towns, the Syrian tragedy has come to a tipping point. A generation of disaffected, impoverished and angry children is growing up in the Middle East with the frightening potential of turning to nihilism and terrorism. The dark politics played by the region's mainly despotic regimes, with sectarian agendas (as well as that played by some military powers in the West) is getting darker. Russia and China are playing their own games here as well. A bloody proxy war and the brutality of ISIL has made US-led military intervention inevitable, again. But this is a cycle and the Middle East will mostly be living with a new phase of mission creep for generations. For decades the Middle East has been run by tin-pot dictators. The current breed of leaders, in the garb of secularism or nationalism, appeared during the Franco-British colonial era from the ashes of a long Arab stagnation. Far removed from Islam's egalitarian concept of running public affairs, they resorted to pre-Islamic tribalism. In the absence of an established strong civil society these rulers ran the region like a fiefdom. Some were later replaced by military dictators with the same politics - incompetent, corrupt and repressive - and with similar complicity or downright support from western powers. Worse than the Soviet-era Communist rulers, these family or military dictators often used the majority religion, Islam, to legitimise their stay in power. At the same time, they promoted themselves as indispensable stooges to their foreign masters. Global powers have been milking these regimes for decades. Some among Islamic scholars, rather than standing for the people and Islamic values of truth and justice, have sided with these regimes. This has created a dangerous social division in the region, which has exacerbated the rise of hardcore secularists and their nemesis, the Islamists. With a prison-like political environment there is no public space for open debate and discussion. The result, so far, is the creation of generations of angry and impoverished people with their backs against the wall. With nowhere to go they grabbed the opportunity of the Arab Spring that started in Tunisia at the end of 2010. But this proved too much for the dictators. Some Gulf states poured unlimited money to sabotage these democratic gains, to nip the Arab Spring in the bud. The democratic West, being initially ambivalent, threw its hat in with the old guard for reasons of 'national interest'. This is the game being played in front of our eyes. If a drastic change in policy towards the Middle East and the wider War on Terror is not made by America and its allies the world is going to be dragged into deeper and deeper crisis. Post-9/11 world has become more unsafe and we are now at a tipping point of further catastrophe. It is time we build bridges, not create walls of hatred. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is former Secretary General of Muslim Council of Britain (2006-10). He is an educationalist, author and commentator on socio-political issues. The views expressed in this article are the author's own.]]> Beyond an Outcry on Islamophobia, It Is Time We 'Catch the Bull by the Horns' tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2014:/theblog//3.6190050 2014-11-20T02:48:00-05:00 2015-01-19T05:59:01-05:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ Neither mainstream secular Britain nor British Muslims should feel like rabbits in the headlights. A matured liberal democracy like ours should not allow extreme views to prevail in the debate and discourse of this type. But there are actions needed - both from our political class and the Muslim civil society - and the media's role is no less important. To my understanding, as an evolving community trying to take its rightful place in this pluralist land, Muslims are going through some teething problems. This has happened with communities beforehand, too. There are practical realities behind this. Firstly, as a minority faith community, Muslims are anxious to keep their traditions and culture in the midst of a post-modern secular and often anti-religious environment. Secondly, although Muslims are bonded by the same faith they are not monolithic: they come from the four corners of the world with richness and baggage that are often at odds with the wider society. There is also another factor. The Muslim community (or perhaps I should say 'communities', as there are many) tends to suffer far higher levels of deprivation and other forms of disadvantage, than the national average. Although Muslims are to be found from Land's End to Stornoway, most live in a few inner city conurbations. They are not (yet) living on a level playing field with many other communities. The possibility of these disparate peoples taking over Britain is no more than a figment of the imagination. Sadly this idea has gained currency, thanks in part to a relentless effort by far-right and neo-conservative-aligned social media. The description of Muslims as a demographic time-bomb bent on creating a 'Londonistan' or 'Eurabia' has been infused in our national psyche. The mayhem created by terrorist organisations abroad, such as Al-Qaeda and its incarnation, ISIL/ISIS, magnifies the fear. This can have a debilitating effect on community relations in the long run, if not addressed with mature debate and political wisdom. I have travelled across the country and talked with people of all backgrounds and I find the reality on the ground rather different to this doomsday scenario. Across neighbourhoods, communities, educational institutions, workplaces and in the streets ordinary British people - Muslims and others, people of faith and no faith - get along with one another peacefully and live side-by-side in their daily life. Britain's pluralism is a gift and as normal people all of us have similar hopes, aspiration and concerns. While we do not live in an ideal world, we should not underestimate our achievements in the last few decades here in Britain: achievements that few other countries have achieved. If Muslims do feel a sense of victimhood because of current events, it is important this is not overblown by them. But at the same this should be tackled by the political class, media establishment and the powers of civil society. This is not about giving Muslims any favour, but having a level playing field is important for Britain to progress as a fair nation. Due to a massive change of attitudes and anti-discrimination laws passed over the last few decades, we now rightly see a zero tolerance for racism and antisemitism. There is now a revulsion against colour or race-based bigotry; this is embedded in our social norm. But do we see this when it comes to Islamophobia? Not yet. That is the big question we all need to answer. There may be practical difficulties in pinning down what Islamophobia is, as it is not based on race or colour. Islamophobia is in reality cultural racism. Some in the academic world call this anti-Muslim bigotry. Criticism of Islam and Muslims is perfectly acceptable in an open society. But in a civilised society no-one should be allowed to hide behind acceptable criticism and display phobia to others. Whatever this is called, spitting at a Muslim woman because of a hijab, arson attacks on mosques and Islamic centres, desecration of Muslim graves, discrimination in the job market just because someone is Muslim should not be tolerated. Muslims I know are astounded by the gradual acceptance of Islamophobic attitudes over recent years. From the outside we sometimes hear blanket blame on the Muslim community for its 'victimhood' attitude; others refer to criminals or violent extremists within this community and accuse its leaders of not speaking out loudly enough against them. Conversely, Muslims themselves are not good at presenting their case. Sometimes they overuse the term "Islamophobia" and the issue becomes desensitised. But most importantly, in my opinion, our successive governments have also failed to grasp the problem; their lacklustre responses to Islamophobia have only exacerbated the problems. In the meantime, there appears to be a well-funded and powerful group of 'Rightists' and neo-conservatives, which has vociferously championed the notion that Islamophobia does not exist. Some journalists have parroted these claims without any serious research. After the brutal murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby there was a spike in Islamophobic attacks. The Department for Education's mishandling of the Birmingham 'Trojan Horse' issue and now the ongoing ISIL crisis abroad has kept the flames alight on this issue. In response, members of the Muslim community initiated an Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM), which has taken place every November since 2012, and there was an Early Day Motion (473) on 5th November this year raising the issue. Yet the reality is that there is little political appetite to support such efforts at this present time. One (hostile) organisation even sarcastically termed IAM as Taqiyya Month, playing on an abusive slur often attributed to Muslims (i.e. as capable liars). On the other hand, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Islamophobia, has become dysfunctional after the resignation of Birmingham academic, Chris Allen, from its working group. The situation has been thrown into even sharper relief following the Charity Commission's investigations into a disproportionate number of Muslim charities and Ofsted's carrying out of further investigations into Muslim-majority schools. In my view, the measure of a civilised society is how it treats its minorities. Ever since the Runnymede report on Islamophobia was published in 1997, our political and media establishments failed to grapple this social ill in our midst. It is now time we catch the bull by the horn and woke up to the threat and spread of this anti-Muslim prejudice in our midst. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari is former Secretary General of Muslim Council of Britain (2006-10). He is an educationalist, author and freelance parenting consultant. The views expressed in this article are the author's own.]]> The Blight of Homelessness Must Be Addressed With a Dignified Approach tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2014:/theblog//3.5964420 2014-10-10T07:51:54-04:00 2014-12-10T05:59:01-05:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ World Homeless Day on 10th October in various ways to "draw attention to homeless people's needs locally and provide opportunities for the community to get involved in responding to homelessness." The situation is getting worse year on year. Homelessness is not only limited to poor and developing countries, but its effect is being felt across the developed countries - financially and socially. Here in the UK, speaking with people who have had the unfortunate experience of being homeless has highlighted one major theme - being homeless has little to do with race, religion or education. It can happen to those with the strongest of faith or with the best of education. All it takes is for circumstances, usually which are out of an individual's control, to change and that, in turn, can place a person's life into a negative spiral. The line between a normal life with stability and a shelter and that of chaos-filled unpredictable life is very thin. Rental rate increases, unexpected redundancies, divorce and family breakdown are examples of some of the causes that can strike even the most prepared at any time. Homelessness in London is getting worse because of rising house prices in London and the south-east. The housing and homeless charity, Shelter, warned that "as the rising cost of living and cuts to the housing safety net continued to take their toll, many more parents were likely to find themselves facing an ongoing struggle to keep a roof over their children's heads." The number of rough sleepers rose by six per cent in England in 2013 and by 13 per cent in London, according to a report by the charities Crisis and Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). "The number of homeless people is rising sharply under the twin pressures of the shortage of housing and the impact of the Government's welfare reforms", the report claimed. While the number of homeless people is growing more and more, due to the austerity cuts affecting our economy, the number of charities that are equipped to deal with the problem is dwindling. Newham in East London, one of the most deprived local authorities in the country, has witnessed the closure of many of its homeless shelters. During 2009-10, Newham had over 36,000 households on the Housing Register (applying for a place in social housing) and around 3,500 households in temporary accommodation. However one award winning charity in Newham, Caritas Anchor House (CAH), is trying to buck this trend with their motto of love (caritas, a Latin word, means love). They have announced the expansion of the residences they provide to accommodate more homeless people. What makes this charity stand out is the continuous support and education they provide to their residents in order to get them back into work. At the end of the day it is about individuals that need to stand on his or her feet. CAH is not just helping the homeless, but also it gets them into work with professionalism and human touch to make them self sufficient. Each year, it welcomes up to 220 single homeless adults, aged 20-60 years, through its doors who have had nowhere to live; it also provides them with training, education and support services to more than 1000 community members each year. People arrive at CAH in varying degrees of anxiety, despair, depression and shock. They are referred by other agencies (e.g. the local authority, the Probationary service, other homeless agencies, and so on). Many of CAH residents have experienced varying levels of social exclusion; for some, this means lacking any family support. Experiencing this kind of isolation can lead into a spiral of abuse in many cases through alcohol, drugs and crime. CAH offers people who have become deeply isolated through homelessness, mental health issues, other illness or disability a route to independence either through employment or other sustainable long term support. Its 'Home and Hope Appeal' has generated millions of pounds over the last few years. CAH wants people "to move out of homelessness for good, equipped with the life-skills and abilities to sustain independent living." My involvement with CAH and the work it is doing is borne out of my passionate commitment to support deprived people of the East End through my community works as well as in educational sectors since 1980's. Many people tend to avoid homeless people at all cost, as if they carried some contagious disease and that they are a different species. But everyone should be aware that the gap between a normal stable life and a chaotic one is very thin. As Jeremy Paxman, veteran broadcaster said at the CAH-organised World Homeless Day in the House of Lords, "Do we discriminate just because we are comfortable and have a roof over our heads? We need to breakout from stereotypes and help find solutions." Shelter is one of the immediate 'basic needs' like food and clothing for human beings. It is admirable people of faith are leading on this sector, but in the midst of uncertain economic and chaotic social situation we need people from all backgrounds to join this campaign of eradicating homelessness. (Dr) Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, author and parenting consultant (www.amanaparenting.com). He is patron of the homeless charity, Caritas anchor House. The views expressed in this article are the author's own.]]> The 'Islamic State' Monstrosity: Can the Middle East Rise Up From the Ashes? tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2014:/theblog//3.5693967 2014-08-20T06:16:07-04:00 2014-10-20T05:59:01-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ Islamic State (IS). Their latest online video release purporting to show the beheading of US journalist James Foley by a killer with British accent is shocking. Muslims across the world have expressed their abhorrence to this group; the main British Muslim umbrella group, the MCB, has called their actions psychopathic violence. IS's atrocities are just a horrible addition to decades-long cruelty in the region. For decades tin pot dictators, power-hungry militaries and monarchical autocrats have played havoc with their own people - killing opponents, bulldozing cities, gassing villages, pilfering state wealth and above all allowing foreign powers to turn the region into a theatre of war and anarchy. Some did this in the name of Arab nationalism and others used religion as a political ploy. All this started with the dismal social degeneration of the once powerful Ottoman Empire and its disastrous support for Germany in WW1 a century ago. The political naivety of the collapsing Ottomans and mindboggling Arab opportunism was then used by the British Empire to orchestrate an anti-Ottoman revolt from its Arab provinces. In a secret Sykes-Picot Agreement Britain and France decided to bring strategically important Ottoman Arab territories into their sphere of influence; with artificial boundaries they created pliant Arab states. WW1 caused death and destruction on an industrial scale; most deceitfully it sowed the seed of long term enmity between the Arab people. The worst case was in historic Palestine which, because of the Balfour Declaration, created a generational conflict between two people, the Jews and Muslims. Fast forward: today the Middle East is reaping what was sown 100 years ago. The reign of terror in Baathist Syria and Iraq, military autocracy sapping the energy of Egyptian people, and depravity of Gulf monarchies (with varying degrees) - have some links with European colonial enterprise designed to milk Arab wealth. The continuous brutalisation of the Palestinian people and Israeli illegal settlement expansion - with direct or indirect support from the US and its allies - has proved long term lethal. Gaza carnages by the Israeli military machine every few years is one such example. However, the latest nail in the fractured Arab body came from the illegal US invasion of Iraq in 2003, which took place against international outcry. Driven by a neoconservative agenda and with breathtaking arrogance, the US jettisoned all international legality in Iraq; it was imperial hubris at its worst. Under a US 'shock and awe' barbarity Iraq, once a centre of Muslim civilisation, saw a replay of Mongol savagery of 1258. The Geneva Convention was thrown out of the window and the world witnessed the death, destruction and humiliation of a people by an occupying power. When the world's sole superpower adopts a 'might is right' policy, autocratic forces elsewhere find cues to do the same to their adversaries; the result is a 'Law of the Jungle' and loss of moral compass that we see now in many parts of the world. The demonic evils of the IS, which is neither Islamic nor a state, has horrified us all. By terrorising and killing ordinary people and posting revolting images online, the group is handing over massive propaganda weapon to Islamophobes everywhere. We must not forget the fact that IS is, in-part, a by-product of a brutal and immoral invasion of an independent Iraq by America, not dissimilar to the way Al-Qaeda emerged after Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Dangerous proxy wars are now haunting Iraq and Syria, following sectarian lines In spite of historic theological and political differences between Sunni and Shia Islam the Muslim world was spared from a bloodletting that Europe saw between the two branches of Christianity in the Middle Ages. The current Sunni-Shia violence, though a sign of extreme degeneration within today's Arabs, has something sinister behind it - the impact of foreign domination. Nobody expects the US and its close allies to come and rescue the Arabs from their current misery; but it is for their own 'national interest' in an inter-connected world these global powers avoid replicating their past misdeeds. Beggaring the neighbour is not only unethical, but also counter-productive in the long run. The Arabs expect some degree of ethics in the Middle East policy from the US and its allies; but what they see now is double standard. Is the blood of ordinary people killed by IS's cruelty in Iraq different from the blood of innocent people in Cairo's Rab'a massacre last year? Iraq is trying to form a unity government under domestic and international pressure, it is vital America and its allies make sure their humanitarian assistance does not end up in another 'mission creep'. America, still an unrivalled global military force, has an extra obligation to be fair for the sake of world peace. Like a wheel global power rotates, the US will one day lose its supremacy; common wisdom demands it does not remain on the wrong side of history for so long. Meanwhile the Arabs will not be in such a perilous state forever. They have a uniquely rich religious heritage to stand up and have also a history of shaping destiny themselves when they are at their worst. What they probably most need now is a new breed of trusted leadership with vision, wisdom and political acumen. They have missed a golden opportunity of the 2011 Arab Spring due to the dearth of this political leadership, and also because of conspiratorial vested interests. But one day, hopefully not too long in future, they will rise up again and unshackle themselves from this continuing humiliation. No light may now be visible at the end of the Middle East tunnel, but it is just a matter of time when this new force will rise from the ashes. (Dr) Muhammad Abdul Bari is an author and commentator on social and political issues. He was former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (2006-10). The views expressed in this article are the author's own.]]> Faith Groups Lead the Way in British Charity Sector tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2014:/theblog//3.5646635 2014-08-04T03:09:18-04:00 2014-10-03T05:59:07-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ According to an ICM poll of 4,000 people, carried out in conjunction with the JustGiving website, religious people give more to charity than non-believers in the UK. People of all three Abrahamic faiths give significantly more than the atheists. All institutional religions have their in-built infra-structure to serve not only their own congregation or adherents but people from all backgrounds; some religions have more capacity and know-how in them. Amongst religious groups, the Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world. In 2010, the Church managed "26% of health care facilities in the world, including hospitals, clinics, orphanages, pharmacies and centres for those with leprosy." Mother Teresa of Calcutta was a legend in her time; her life-long service for the sick, the poor and the needy among Indians was recognised with a Nobel peace prize in 1979. The Catholic Church is also actively engaged in international aid and development, refugee advocacy groups and community aid groups. There are also some living legends within Muslims; one of them is relatively unknown Pakistani philanthropist, Abdul Sattar Edhi, who has inspired others with his humility and simple life style. His Edhi Foundation runs the world's largest ambulance service and operates free nursing homes, orphanages, clinics, women's shelters, and rehab centres for drug addicts and mentally ill individuals in Pakistan and other countries. British Muslims are getting more enterprising on the ground in raising charities. While other religions are losing practising members due, mainly, to the onslaught of the secular and atheist lifestyle, Muslims in most places appear to have still been able to retain their religious fervour and practices better than others. This is true even in the midst of a creeping laissez-faire life style and continuous negative media portrayal of their religion. One of the drivers that may be inspiring them for this is the current dismal humanitarian situation in parts of the Muslim world, with massive refugee problems and internecine fighting; growing poverty in some places is also a factor. Muslim Charities Forum in Britain expected to raise £50m during Ramadan 2014, but due to an inhuman Gaza situation for about a month the amount raised would be much higher. Muslims are a youthful community and are getting more educated and professional; they are now more aware of the various charitable opportunities around them and using various innovative techniques. Their passionate effort, until this year's Eid day, to raise funds for the ever-growing dispossessed and traumatised people in Gaza has been responded positively by not only Muslims but people from all backgrounds. Distributing charities to right people is becoming a big issue now-a-days. However, almost all charities in Britain are now regulated by Charity Commission (CC); so charities are duty-bound to maintain due diligence while transferring money directly to the recipients or through reliable partners acceptable to the CC. In places with political conflict or an insecure situation on the ground, Muslim charities work with international agencies such as the EU or the UN bodies, so that funds are delivered to people in genuine need. Charities must stay out of politics. Needless to say, this year's Ramadan fasting was particularly sombre and Eid celebration subdued because of the live news of massive casualties and indescribable sufferings of civilians and children in a land that has historic and religious connections with Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ramadan 2014 and this year's Eid celebration are now over, but Muslims are advised to keep on improving their physical condition and spiritual height by helping the needy and oppressed from all backgrounds for the rest of the year. With the world currently facing increasing inequalities between the rich and the poor and with man-made and natural disasters becoming a regular occurrence charity giving is now more important than ever and it is encouraging to see faith groups leading the way. (Dr) Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, author and parenting consultant (www.amanaparenting.com).]]> Muslim Charitable Giving Multiplies in the Holy Month of Fasting tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2014:/theblog//3.5541847 2014-06-29T15:52:08-04:00 2014-08-29T05:59:06-04:00 Muhammad Abdul Bari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-abdul-bari/ Britain's pride in charitable giving Britain's contribution to philanthropy and charity, at home or abroad, is exemplary. It is a country of givers and is recognised as the most charitable developed nation in the world. The ethos of volunteering among Britons, in giving money and time, is enviable. Muslims in the country are 'Britain's top charity givers', giving an average of almost £371 each a year". Prime Minister David Cameron, in his video message to mark the start of Ramadan 2014, said "Here in Britain, Muslims are our biggest donors - they give more to charity than any other faith group." The crying need for charity giving is now increasingly felt everywhere, as the number of refugees in the world is at an all time high; according to figures released in the annual Global Trends report of UNHCR, "the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide is a staggering 45.2 million; about 28.8 million people are forcibly uprooted and displaced within their own country as internally displaced people (IDPs)." Global inequality and poverty has risen sharply over the decades, partly due to a long economic slowdown. "Poverty has hit twice as many British households as 30 years ago. While "the UK economy has doubled in size since the early 1980s, the number of those suffering below-minimum living standards has grown by more than twice." Food banks have risen in shocking proportions. A food bank charity, The Trussell Trust, says it has "handed out 913,000 food parcels in the last year, up from 347,000 the year before." It is not only poverty that is affecting some of our own people in Britain, social ills such as drugs, domestic violence and anti-social behaviour are inflicting wounds in many inner city areas and draining public coffers. The charity sector needs to bring in their resources and expertise to reduce this affliction; our charities need to find a good balance between spending overseas and spending at home. Charity giving is a religious imperative for Muslims As the month-long fasting (Ramadan) begins, British Muslims, like fellow believers across the world, are geared to not only experience long (over 19 hours) voluntary physical hunger and thirst but also to maximise their charity giving. Muslims consider this month as a blessing and mercy from God; with devotion, introspection and heightened spirituality they will pay their compulsory yearly charity (Zakah) and increase their voluntary charity (sadaqah) manifold. Islam's Prophet gave a very broad definition of charity that includes whatever good an individual can do with his/her energy, time and wealth. "Indeed the gates to goodness are many: glorifying God, praising Him, magnifying Him, saying 'There is no god but Allah,' enjoining the good and forbidding the wrong, removing (any source of) harm from the road, making the deaf hear (and understand), guiding the blind, showing the seeker his/her need, striving as far as your two legs could carry you and with deep concern to give succour to him/her who asks, carrying with the strength of your arms (the burdens of) the weak. All these are (acts of) charity." And he added, "And your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, your removing of stones, thorns, and bones from people's paths is charity, and your guiding a man gone astray in the world is charity for you." Modern day philanthropy and Third Sector The ethos of charity giving is embedded in human nature. In modern times we find new ideas of philanthropy, some are highly entrepreneurial. Entrepreneurs nowadays prefer to apply business-like methods when making social investments and judge their achievements through key performance indicators and rates of return. Business entrepreneurs, in general, do not believe in giving handouts; they want to help others to help themselves by increasing their capacity and 'know-how'. Some highly connected philanthropists use their position and wealth to leverage investments and frequently partner with others, including governments. Others who have achieved fame in life - film actors, football stars, politicians - have given charity a global dimension. In addition to the inner peace that they may achieve through helping the needy, they get recognition and honorary titles. These 'big-givers' of all backgrounds have become national and international players in the charity sector; through their wealth and fame they are digging people's pockets for charity giving; without them the world will definitely be worse off. Voluntary redistribution of wealth, however, is not a substitute for the eradication of poverty and addressing people's basic needs. The third sector and government should work hand in hand to reduce inequality and enhance social justice in a country. The power of Ramadan in bringing this synergy is enormous. (Dr) Muhammad Abdul Bari is an educationalist, author and parenting consultant (www.amanaparenting.com).]]>

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Arts Council Events
- Category
- Special Events
- Time
- 5:30pm – 7:30pm
- Location
- Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts
- Sponsor
- Presented by Lehigh Valley Arts Council
- Category
- Workshops / Classes
- Time
- 5:30pm – 8:00pm
- Location
- Butz Corporate Center
- Sponsor
- Presented by Lehigh Valley Arts Council
- Phone
- 610-437-5915
- What does your mission look like?
- How do you create a story that resonates with the community?
- What is the value and impact of this visual medium on your audiences?
Arts Count 2015
Arts Count celebrates the essential public and private partnerships that fuel the arts, engages business and foundation leaders, as well as elected officials to be advocates for arts and culture, and acknowledges Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) grant recipients.
Free to members of the Arts Council and grant recipients, this Lehigh Valley Arts Council event honors the Project Stream and Program Stream recipients awarded state arts grants through the PPA.
This year our event will be held at the brand new Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts building. Parking is available in any of the Northampton Community College lots.
Put Your Best Story Forward - Digital Storytelling Seminar
As part of its Professional Development Series, the Lehigh Valley Arts Council is presenting a seminar about the art of digital storytelling, on Tuesday, October 27, 2015, at the Butz Corporate Center , 9th & Hamilton, 2nd Floor conference room from 5:30 to 8:00PM. Featured presenters are Caroline Savage, Program Director of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and Ken Unangst, Owner & Founder of Digital Feast. Both of these professionals specialize in working with arts organizations and arts businesses, assisting them with communicating through visuals and technology
"Whether you are applying for a grant or promoting your arts business, your story defines you," says Randall Forte, Lehigh Valley Arts Council Executive Director, "and that story needs to be about people, about arts, and about relevance."
With the tremendous growth of web and social media marketing, it is vital to capture attention in an engaging and concise way. The panelists will provide examples of how to clearly define your message by addressing the following questions:
Refreshments will be provided. The fee is $25 for Lehigh Valley Arts Council members, $45 for nonmembers. Registration is required.


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BeefEater Removable Pizza Oven Hood & Pizza Kit For Gas Grill
Earn 897 myRewards points
Reg: $364.63|
- Item ID #
- 2649476
- Model #
- 29710
- Easily convert your Signature, Discovery 4 or 5 burner grill into a pizza oven
- Enjoy easy of removal and cleaning with simple attaching design
- Full spectrum of included necessities includes pizza paddle, pizza stone, and pizza cutting wheel
- Width
- 31 1/8 inches
- Height
- 14 9/16 inches
- Depth
- 17 15/16 inches
Full DescriptionBeefEater Removable Pizza Oven Hood & Pizza Kit For Gas Grill: If you are the kind of kitchen connoisseur who demands versatility in your tools, then do we have the product for you! The BeefEater Pizza Oven is an attachment designed for easily converting your grill into a pizza oven. Built for use with any Signature, Discovery 4 burner, or Discovery 5 burner BeefEater gas grill, this piece is painless in removal and cleaning. This BeefEater Pizza Oven features porcelain enamel frame, stainless steel inner lining, adjustable chimney flue, and a temperature gauge. Included with the pizza oven are a complete set of accessories, including a pizza paddle, pizza stone, and pizza cutting wheel. Add diversity to your kitchen toolkit today!
View Specs
Item Type Pizza Oven Kit Accessory Type Grill Accessory
Overall Dimensions
Height 14 9/16 Inches Width 31 1/8 Inches Depth 17 15/16 Inches
* Some orders received will go through our fraud prevention department. If your order is selected, you will be notified and your order may be delayed up to three (3) additional business days.
Shipping PriceFree Shipping ( Read Our Simple Shipping Policy ) Ship Time*Ready to Ship In 24-48 Hours
Height: 14 9/16 Inches Width: 31 1/8 Inches Depth: 17 15/16 Inches View More Specifications
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Save UberDenver – Rally on Monday!
Help us save Uber in Colorado – RSVP to the rally Monday night!
This Monday, UberDenver and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick are hosting a rally at Galvanize after the Colorado Public Utilities Commission holds a public hearing on proposed rules changes that could shut UberDenver down.
Many of you may have heard about these destructive rules changes and, rest assured, the PUC has heard your voice through thousands of petition signatures, emails, tweets, and Facebook posts. Team UberDenver can't thank you all enough for the outpouring of #UberDenverLove you've shown us.
However, despite Coloradans' overwhelming support for Uber's transportation innovation, the Colorado PUC is still considering measures that are not designed to promote safety, nor intended to improve your quality of life here in the Mile High City. These proposed regulations are designed to protect a Taxi industry that hasn't been responsive to your needs, and to prevent reliable, efficient and high quality transportation – in other words, their aim is to shut down Uber.
Our work isn't done yet! We need you to show Colorado regulators that you want Uber in Denver. Come to the rally on Monday!
Join us after the hearing Monday the 11th from 6 to 9pm @ Galvanize, 1062 Delaware St, Denver, CO. We'll have complimentary refreshments, a live DJ, and a special jam session with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
Now is the time to show your #UberDenverLove. Together, we'll keep quality
transportation options alive for Denverites and ensure that Colorado is a place that welcomes innovation and small business growth.
Uber Onward,
Will McCollum
UberDenver General Manager
Featured articles
Uber and Carnegie Mellon University: A Deeper Partnership
Today, we are excited to announce that Uber will give $5.5M to support a new robotics faculty chair as well as three fellowships at CMU. This gift is part of a partnership we announced earlier this year. In addition, we're pumped to be part of a growing innovation ecosystem in Pittsburgh that includes world leading research institutions and companies, as well as an increasing number of start-ups.
Making Our Roads Safer—For Everyone
A new report conducted in partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) reveals that when empowered with more transportation options like Uber, people are making better choices that save lives.


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Windsor in Pictures: July 28, 2015
The Windsor Star's award-winning photographers covered the city and county Tuesday. Check out the gallery.
Comments ()
20-25 turbines proposed for county, but Essex may have had enough
A wind farm with 20 to 25 turbines being proposed for Essex and Tecumseh has two Essex council members saying enough already.
Comments ()
Essex mayoral race gets personal
ESSEX Mayor Ron McDermott and his main rival Coun. Ron Rogers say there's only one issue: which of the two has the personal skills and ability to make the best mayor?


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Respond to Review of Woody's
by sullivans
Review: I have eaten at Woodies many times. I have always enjoyed it. It's not a chain so don't expect the standardisation of an Ask or a Wagammas standardised experienced - but then that occasional quirkiness is one of the things that makes it special.
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India: Harassment of women engaged in prostitution in Karnataka
Protest against the threats and intimidation unleashed on women activists of SANGRAM and VAMP (Veshya AIDS Mukabla Parishad).
Since its inception in 1992 SANGRAM has successfully mobilized communities in Maharashtra and the border areas of north Karnataka around the issue of sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS) through peer education and condom distribution. In 1996 the peer education programme broadened into VAMP, an independent collective of women in prostitution.
Submitted on Mon, 02/25/2002 - 01:00
Related News
- Soudan du Sud : des milliers de femmes réduites en esclavage et violées par des soldats
- India: 'Now, men will be a bit scared to say talaq'
- With Her Father On Death Row, Afghan Mother Attempts To Put Decade Of Incest, Abuse Behind Her
- Afghan shelter provides security for abused women
- Should India review Muslim divorce law?
Relevant Resources
- Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Addendum to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Afghanistan: Their lives on the line: Women human rights defenders under attack in Afghanistan
- Remembering
- Violence against Women in the context of Political Transformations and Economic Crisis in the Euro-Mediterranean Region:


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Small enough to care - big enough to excel
Mitchelton State High School successfully blends excellence in academic performance, creative arts and sports.
The school also offers state-of-the-art technology, flexible timetables, tertiary pathways, apprenticeships and traineeships, an inclusive pastoral care program, strong links with defence families and an internationally accredited student program.
The school, with its enrolment of approximately 450, is set within 11 hectares of leafy landscaped grounds 10 kilometres north-west of Brisbane.
The students at Mitchelton State High School are nurtured in a learning environment that values participation, accountability and respect.
For additional uniform shop times for 2015, click here.
View the current annual report
View the current Newsletter
Six students represent MSHS at the Service for the Battle for Australia (73rd Anniversary) in...
Year 8 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attend Deadly Choices program.
MSHS athletes put in solid performances at regionals in 2015.
Year 7 and 8 students in a school wide literacy competition at Wavell State High School.
Public holiday
Our schools Great Results Guarantee funding details
On-line parent teacher interview system
© The State of Queensland (Department of Education and Training) 2015