I welcomes the comments and support from the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for the introduction of Sharia law in the United Kingdom for civil matters. These comments from Archbishop Williams are testament to his attempts to understand Islam and promote tolerance and respect between our great faiths.

The introduction of Sharia Law for civil matters in the UK will allow British Muslims to seek religious ruling for matters that UK courts do not pass judgement on, Sharia law is widely misunderstood and this intervention from Archbishop Williams will reinstate the debate based on facts not right wing headlines.

I do however express concern that Archbishop Williams did not speak publically against the comments made by Mr. Nazir Ali about no go areas, it is now clear that his article was false and in fact there are no go areas for Christians in the UK. Without the strong condemnation from Archbishop Williams when certain figures try to promote intolerance Muslims will take the silence as authority and support for such comments.

I will continue to work with the Church of England to build understanding and respect for our two communities”

Banning of Shaykh Yusuf Al Qardawi

I want to expresses my total condemnation and concern at the banning of Shaykh Yusuf Al Qardawi from visiting the UK for medical treatment. The Government have pandered to the right wing xenophobes who wish to isolate and demonise Islam and Muslims.

Shaykh Al Qardawi is a voice of moderation and is widely respected across the international community, he has spoken out against terrorism and totally condemns 9/11, 7/7 and other terrorist attacks. I am concerned that this will fuel the anger Muslims have towards the Government and Politicians like David Cameron who jumps on bandwagons to demonise Islam and Muslims.

There are many people in the BNP and the far right that project violence and hatred towards minorities yet this Government does not take any action, this banning smacks of double standards, one rule for Muslims and one for non Muslims.

I urge the government to rethink this decision and allow him to come to the UK for medical treatment.

I am clear that the Government is pandering to prejudices when it made this decision.”

Rochdale's Labour candidate panders to the BNP

I am clear that the role of the Mosque has substantially changed over the past decade. With more 2nd generation youngsters wanting to hear and learn Islam in English. We have consistently believed that the Mosques must wake up this challenge, understanding and speaking English is now an essential part of the Imam role. This also means that Young people should make every effort to understand their mother tongue and work hard to build a wider understanding of both cultures and languages.

This sort of politics breeds division and allows those on the far right to take advantage, the central principal is that the running of the Mosques are an internal matter for the Muslim community, how would readers feel if Muslims were dictating to Christians or Jews how to run their pray sessions or Churches and Synagogues.

Politicians of all parties have a duty to ensure that they do not jump on every bandwagon that passes through, the challenges for the Mosques are very clear and I do believe we are seeing change happening on the ground.

The legacy of this Government is one of the Iraq War, long term detention, discriminating anti terror laws and losing of personal data, it is interesting that Mr. Danczuk is not willing to talk about the wider important issues facing our country.

Islamic extremism creating 'no-go' areas for non-Muslims in Britain, says Bishop of Rochester

He warned against the acceptance in this country of Sharia laws based on the Koran and added that amplified calls to prayer from mosques are imposing an Islamic character on surrounding areas.

And he complained of the "multi-faith mish-mash" promoted by the Government and blamed it for undermining the influence of Christianity.

The bishop's attack on aggressive Islamic leaders brought condemnation from prominent Muslim groups. One called for the Church of England to take "serious action" against him.

But Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said the bishop had exposed "a deeply serious problem".

The bishop is one of the most senior clergymen in England, pictured here with the Queen

He added that Government confusion "risks encouraging radicalism and creating home-grown terrorism".

Dr Nazir-Ali, who grew up in Pakistan where he suffered harassment for his own Christian faith, warned of no-go areas in an article in the Sunday Telegraph.
He spoke of "a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism" and added:

"One of the results of this has been to further alienate the young from the nation in which they were growing up and also to turn already separate communities into 'no-go' areas where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability."

The bishop added: "Those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work there because of hostility to them. In many ways, this is the other side of the coin of far-Right intimidation."

Dr Nazir-Ali said that using amplification for the call to prayer from mosques was an attempt to impose Islam on an area.

This, he said, raised the question of "whether non-Muslims wish to be told the creed of a particular faith five times a day on the loudspeaker.

"This is happening here even though some Muslim-majority communities are trying to reduce noise levels from multiple mosques announcing this call, one after the other, over quite a small geographical area."

The bishop said that the influence-of Christianity was in decline because "the authorities want multi-faith provision", which meant chapels and chaplains in hospitals, prisons and universities were now under threat.

Secularism and the "multi-faith mish-mash" were pushing out Christianity and Government attempts to encourage integration "lack the underpinning of a moral and spiritual vision".

The charges brought an angry response from the Muslim Council of Britain, the Islamic umbrella group which has come back into favour with the Government since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister.

Assistant Secretary-General Inayat Bunglawala said the Government had contributed to the rise of Islamic extremism and compared the Islamic call to prayer with church bells.

'He talks about the rise of "Islamic extremism" but fails to mention how some of the policies of our government and especially that of the United States in the Middle East over several decades now has clearly contributed to this phenomenon.

"He complains of the Islamic call to prayer but presumably is content for all of us to listen to the ringing of church bells. As Jesus himself advised, perhaps the good bishop may want to examine the beam in his own eye before pointing fingers at others."

Mohammed Shafiq, of the Muslim youth group the Ramadhan Foundation, accused Dr Nazir-Ali of attempting to "whip up hatred" against Muslims. The article would "remind people of the road to Nazism", he said.

A spokesman for the Communities and Local Government Department said: "The overwhelming majority of Muslims are peaceful, make a huge contribution to British life and find the views of a small minority of violent extremists completely abhorrent.

"Britain also has a proud tradition of different communities living together side by side."

• The Bishop's attack on Islamic extremism has cemented his place as one of the Church of England's pre-eminent defenders of traditional Christianity.
Michael Nazir-Ali's outspokenness has put him in the vanguard of opposition to hard- line Islamism and made him one of the highest-placed enemies of the gay rights movement.

Born into a Roman Catholic family, Michael Nazir-Ali converted to Anglicanism aged 20.

The 58-year-old father of two has set himself against feminism by criticising couples who decline to have children and he is among the clerics who

speak most strongly against attempts to remove signs of Christianity from public life.

Benazir Bhutto is killed

Last Thursday Benazir Bhutto, Former Prime Minister of Pakiistan was killed in a terrorist attack in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. I conducted over 300 interviews across the world about this evil act and my response. Yu can watch the interviews on YouTube www.youtube.com/ramadhanfoundation or read some of the coverage in the written media below.

Tears for martyr Benazir - (Guardian Newspaper, Asian News, The Observer)

Mohammed Shafiq, of the Rochdale-based Ramadan foundation, called for the elections to be postponed `as a mark of respect' and added: "This is a tragic day for Pakistan." But he said there was no suggestion the violent demonstrations in Pakistan would be replicated in Greater Manchester.

Reactions Of Grief At Benazir Bhutto's Assasination (Sky News, Yahoo, Timesonline)

British political campaigner Mohammed Shafiq said: "This has destroyed any chance of election in Pakistan. It will cause more friction and more problems."

Recognised for providing positive image of Muslims

This is from one of the most read bloggers....

And we've saved our final few words for one of Britain's best respected and most widely recognised moderate Muslims, Mohammed Shafiq, who even as we type is actively seeking to ellict some semblence of common sense from the powers that be in Sudan.
Kudos, to you, young Mr Shafiq.

Mohammed Shafiq endorses Nick Clegg for Leader!!!

"Nick Clegg brings a whole new meaning of appealing to both conservative and labour voters; he understands the concerns of ethnic minorities and has championed the diversity cause. I believe Nick will bring the party together and move forward to many more victories. Nick Clegg has made politics exciting and for once we can dream of real change and opportunity”

Thanks for the changes Ed

A Muslim campaigner praised the government for plans to bring in faith schools into state funding.

Mohammed Shafiq from the Ramadhan Foundation in Rochdale told the Secretary of State for Children, Ed Balls, the plans, which will effect more than 120 Islamic schools in the UK, will be welcomed by the Muslim community.

Mr Shafiq went to meet ministers in London to talk about issues facing the Muslim community.
He said: "When the government is doing something right then they should be told that.

"In this case plans to introduce faith schools into state funding brackets is great news.

"Right now for many parents sending their children to a faith school is jot an option due to the fees.
"Many families have more than one children and to send them all to faith school will leave them out of pocket."

He also thanked ministers on vanishing the use of the words 'Muslim extremists' and 'Islamic terrorism.'

He said: "These words were pandering towards islamaphobia and were demonising towards Muslims and ministers told me that the government has stopped using these terms.

"I have not heard them use them in many weeks and this was something that we had been calling for."

Disaster for Muslim mums

A SPOKESMAN for the Ramadhan Foundation has slammed plans to axe Rochdale Infirmary’s accident and emergency, maternity and children’s departments claiming it will be a potential disaster for the Muslim community.

Mohammed Shafiq accused the government of not taking into account the diverse cultural needs of the town.

He said: "We are obviously deeply distressed by this decision. This will have a massive impact on the people of Rochdale.

"Our religion states that Muslim women must give birth away from the gaze of other people. Oldham and Bury hospitals are a four or five-mile car ride away.

"If a Muslim woman was to give birth in the car on the way to the other hospitals it would be disastrous."

The new plans followed a review of the Making It Better and Healthy Futures proposals carried out by a body of experts, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel.

They recommended the plans to re-organise health services across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and the High Peak, first put forward in summer 2005, be approved.

It means that Rochdale’s accident and emergency unit will be turned into an urgent care centre, with seriously injured patients being transported to the Royal Oldham, Fairfield or North Manchester General hospitals instead.

Under the proposals the Infirmary’s A and E could close within the next two years, depending on staffing.

Maternity services will be axed with eight centres of excellence being set up, the nearest being at Oldham and Manchester.

Mr Shafiq added: "We must pay tribute, however, to the hard work of all those involved in the campaign to save our hospital and we must all remember this decision when it comes to the next general election. It’s the only way now we can be heard."

'Mosques Failing To Address Key Issues'

There is a battle going on within Britain's Muslim community between extremists and traditionalists.

Mohammed Shafiq from the Ramadhan Foundation has written a piece for Sky News about the struggles faced in teaching the younger generation:

The Ramadhan Foundation is very clear that when discussing the role of the mosque - we should always pay tribute to the elder community.

When they arrived in the early 1960's there was no mosques or Imams and it was their hard work and sacrifices that enabled future generations to practice our faith in mosques up and down the country.

Having paid this tribute to the elder community we have to understand that the mosques in the UK are failing to address the key concerns of Young Muslims.

Enter any mosque on a Friday and you will surely see young Muslims sitting at the back talking about a host of other things whilst the Imam is preaching.

When I recently questioned some youngsters in my local mosque in Rochdale, I was told that the Imam didn't understand English and they had problems understanding Urdu.

The day after 7/7, I prayed at a mosque in Newcastle. The Imam spoke very passionately about the evil of terrorism and how Islam forbids Muslims from carrying out these murderous acts.
I was moved by his sermon but it was delivered totally in Punjabi. I remember looking around the mosque hall and seeing many youngsters engaged in their own conversations.

The Ramadhan Foundation has for many years been calling for mosques to understand that tackling the issues surrounding terrorism, extremism, cohesion, integration, Islamic values, rule of law etc can only be done in English.

The people who run the mosque have systematically failed to deliver Islamic education to young people that would equip them for the challenges of living in multi-cultural Britain, in a society where we respect each other and live peacefully together.

Speaking to many young Muslims they are desperately in need of muslim scholars and Imams that speak their language and understand the issues facing young Muslims in the United Kingdom.

Whether it is on tackling extremism, preventing terrorism or learning the basic principles of the Islamic faith, Imams must be able to communicate their message into English.

The Ramadhan Foundation accepts that young Muslims must do more to understand their mother tongue as this will keep them in touch with their cultural heritage passed from generation to generation.

So what should mosques do?

:: It should ensure that every sermon is delivered in English along with other languages for the elder community.

:: It should tackle and alert people to the evil of terrorism.

:: It should train young Muslims in running the mosques and then give them the control to run the mosques. When young Muslims see this they will be empowered to get involved more.

:: Ensure that the Mosques are open and transparent, with certified accounts and meetings where decisions are taken openly and those in responsibility are held accountable.

:: Develop a structured curriculum that addresses cohesion, integration, tolerance, respect, tackling extremism and terrorism and contemporary issues such as low educational standards, unemployment, poverty etc.

:: Establish lasting links with other faiths, schools and encourage non Muslims to visit the Mosque

:: Hold regular events in English that help youngsters channel their anger in positive ways, like the issues around double standards in UK foreign policy, illegal war in Iraq etc

:: Promote peaceful coexistence between different diverse communities

With an environment where young people can learn Islam we will be able to tackle many of the key issues facing our country, only together can we defeat terrorism.

The Ramadhan Foundation is hopeful that if mosques carry out the above the Muslim community will be in a much better position than today.

:: Mohammed Shafiq is the Ramadhan Foundation's Press Spokesman and based in Rochdale.

The Ramadhan Foundation is the UK's leading Muslim youth organisation that is working for peaceful co-existence and dialogue for all communities.

Based in Greater Manchester and working to also establish the platform for Muslim unity amongst our communities in the UK.

Mohammed.Shafiq@ramadhanfoundation.com