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The launch of this year's Islam Awareness Week took place at London's City Hall |
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.
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For more information go to www.iaw.org.uk.
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