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London Welcomes Islam Awareness Week
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By
Khadijah Elshayyal **
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Nov.
28, 2005
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| The launch
of this year's Islam Awareness Week took place at London's City Hall |
“What
we have to do is get across, not just to our children in schools and the
students in college, but to the editors of newspapers and broadcast media just
how entwined these great global cultures of the West and Islam have been for
over a thousand years.” — London mayor Ken Livingstone on Islam
Awareness Week
Monday,
November 21 saw the launch of the United Kingdom’s 12th Islam Awareness Week,
under the theme of Past & Present: 1000 Years of Islam and Britain. Now a
well-established annual event, IAW 2005 looks set to surpass its predecessors in
its breadth, creativity, and prominence.
A
launch event hosted by Mayor Ken Livingstone at London’s City Hall made a
powerful start to the week. The keynote speech was delivered by Nabil Matar,
professor of English at Florida Institute of Technology, who shared with the
audience some fascinating glimpses of Islam’s history in Britain. An authority
of Islam in 16th and 17th century England, Professor Matar is the author of Turks,
Moors and Englishmen in the Age of Discovery (Columbia, 1999); Islam in
Britain: 1558-1685 (Cambridge, 1998); and most recently In the Lands of
the Christians (New York, London, 2003). A specially commissioned booklet
presented highlights of the millennium of continual interaction that has existed
between the British Isles and Islam—a relationship that has had its ups and
downs, yet is growing and evolving with a bright, tolerant, and vibrant future
to look forward to, as exemplified by Mayor Livingstone’s vision of One
London.
In
the wake of the July 7 bombings and their aftermath, IAW 2005 could not have had
a more fitting location for its launch. With hundreds of activities already
underway in over 35 locations across the UK, this week has the potential to
build crucial bridges between communities and recreate hope and unity among
them, up and down the country. Moreover, it is a very real sign of the
determination of the United Kingdom’s Muslims to assert their roots and
heritage and to demonstrate their constructive and progressive aspirations in a
manner that is truly characteristic of their Britishness.
Click
here to see more photos
For
more information go to www.iaw.org.uk.
**
Khadijah Elshayyal is an undergraduate student and a member of the Young
Muslims UK..
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