The last time I was at the Centre was shortly after 9/11 when I had a conversation with the then Director Ismail Amaan (see Issue 12). This time I met with the Chair, Munaf Zeena, a soft-spoken, articulate man, clearly used to responding to questions about his community’s engagement in Stoke Newington and about Islam generally.
We walk through the well-stocked library and into his spacious office. I ask Munaf if the community has been affected by 7/7 and also by the arrest and subsequent charging of two Stoke Newington Muslim men in the alleged aircraft terrorism plot. ‘Within Stoke Newington there does not seem to have been a big misconception of Muslims’, he replies. ‘Hackney is a diverse place, with over 27,000 Muslims, and there is much more mutual understanding and tolerance here than in more polarised areas, such as the North of England.’ Since the July 2005 London bombings the Centre has attempted to encourage people from other faiths to visit the building in order to break down barriers. They have had some success in this, with over 30% non-Muslims using the advice centre, including Hindus and Sikhs who have no dedicated centres of their own in the Borough, Orthodox Jews, Afro Caribbeans and Whites. ‘We want people from the wider community to come here’, says Munaf.
What does he feel about the current debate on the erosion of multiculturalism? ‘There is no contradiction between being Muslim and English. I was born in England and accept Englishness. Islam tells us we have to be loyal to our country.’ However, ‘one view is that we have to integrate not assimilate. We need to work towards a sense of community’. He accepts the concept of ‘jihad’ (struggle) but believes that ‘big Jihad’ (act of war) applies only to Islamic countries, as it is a state prerogative. For Muslims living in Britain it is un-Islamic to wage war against their own country. However, ‘living in the UK presents major challenges, such as exposure to alcohol and flesh’. I suggest that this perhaps represents an ‘internal’ jihad. ‘Exactly’, he replies. ‘We must keep away from social evils and live a life ordained by God’.
What about accusations from certain quarters that an increasing number of young men in the area are becoming radicalised and embracing extreme Islamic fundamentalism? ‘Generally this is not the case. I am not aware of any young men going to training camps, but I don’t know the activities of each and every person. There are things we need to do to educate our young people’. On this subject, what is his view on Muslim faith schools, at present a subject of much debate? ‘We must maintain an element of choice for Muslim schools’. There are currently two privately-funded Muslim schools in Hackney – one for boys and one for girls – but ‘I would like to see a government-funded faith school, embracing the Islamic ethos, in Hackney run along National Curriculum lines. If the concept of human rights in Islam is taught in a dedicated manner and could prevent just one person turning to terrorism, that could equate to many, many human lives being saved.’
Turning to the aircraft ‘terrorism plot’, I ask him if he knows the two arrested men. ‘I know one of them and am aware of the other’. Does he feel that they were capable of carrying out what has been alleged? ‘I really don’t know. Prior to the arrest, I
would not have picked them out as ‘terrorists’. I would not have believed that either were involved in such a thing. They were not suspicious characters’. How about suggestions that the state is deliberately maintaining a level of terror alert, targeting Muslims, in order to pass increasingly draconian laws? He reminds me that the day before the 2003 Peace March, tanks mysteriously appeared at Heathrow, adding ‘the whole issue has been sensationalised. Sometimes the media plays a big part. Only time will tell if the threat was real.’ Munaf seems to reserve a particular antipathy towards central government. He believes that it has not been trying to win the confidence of, or work with, the grassroots Muslim community, preferring instead to deal with national bodies such as the Muslim Parliament and the British Muslim Council. ‘The message is not filtering down from government. It has its own agenda in mind’. Indeed, after the arrests he wrote to Ruth Kelly to suggest a meeting. He has not yet received a reply. He feels that there may be a ‘latent targeting ‘ of the Muslim community, in so far as Muslims may be the first to be blamed in the event of a further atrocity in Britain. ‘The government is trying to shift the blame on to the Muslim community. They say that the Muslim community is not doing enough. However, I don’t accept responsibility for the actions of individuals. We obey the laws of this country and the government has to provide us all with security’.
Munaf is a moderate, intelligent man with an obviously deep concern for his community and a desire to enter into dialogue with all interested parties. It is to be hoped that such a dialogue takes place in an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding, in the interests of all the communities in Stoke Newington and beyond.
North London Muslim Community Centre, 68 Cazenove Road, N16, Tel: 020 8806 1147, website: www.nlmcc.org.uk/ |
