Imam Suleimani at the AGM

    14th October 2008
What Islam brings to Hounslow

Hounslow Friends of Faith welcomed the Imam of Hounslow Jamia Mosque and Islamic Centre, Sheik Nisar Ahmad Hussain Suleimani, to address their annual meeting on 14^th October, during which he stressed the need to maintain strong family values and to live a balanced life.

In a talk entitled: "Islam in Britain: its contribution to the UK and to Hounslow", the Imam said that Islam can encourage people to be spiritual people. People of faith need to study scriptures for guidelines on how to live. "Friends of God can be judged by their intentions, which must be based on awareness and truth. There are suicide bombers and their intentions are based on ignorance," he said.

The Imam said that an aspect of Islam's message for British society was to recognise the importance of the institution of the family. Elderly parents should live with their families, he said.

"People should not run after too much materialism," he added. Instead they should live a balanced life and come back to God. "Friends of God cannot be the enemy of people of God," he explained and this is the common message of the prophets of the three faiths, Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

This second annual general meeting in 2008 was brought forward to bring the presentation of the accounts nearer to the end of the financial year.

4th October 2008
 One World Week

Going Green Together, what faiths are doing about the environment was the title for our 2008 One World Week event at the Paul Robeson Theatre in the Treaty Centre in Hounslow which was attended by over 100 people. Jagdeesh Singh from the Sikh Environment Network, Shumaisa Khan and Muzammal Hussein of LINE, the London Islamic Network for the Environment and Rev’d John Hereward, of the A Rocha Christian Conservation Group, spoke about how the teachings of their faith inspire them to work for change. A lively ‘eco-fashion’ show by pupils from Villiers School in Southall emphasised the message, ‘recycle, reduce and reuse’. Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London inspired us to save water. He also pointed out that people of faith have always had awareness that consumerism is not a substitute for human relationships. “We must get back to valuing the time we spend with others, not the time we spend shopping” he said. The Mayor of Hounslow Councillor Genevieve Hibbs also attended and spoke. Councillor Barbara Reid, lead member for Environment and Planning for Hounslow Council sent a statement of support.

Art work by students from Lampton School on the themes of the environment and human rights were displayed at the Treaty Centre during the week.

For the second year running HFOF ran a stall at the Fun Day organised in September in Lampton Park by the Heston division of Hounslow Police as part of London Peace Week. In glorious sunshine we offered an activity for children making peace doves, and also henna hand painting which was popular. We are most grateful to committee members and volunteers Satish Dutt and Doreen Archer who helped with the hand painting.

7th July 2008
Talk at Hounslow Synagogue

This was the last HFOF meeting at the synagogue in Hounslow before it closed in December.

Our Walk of Peace and Friendship took place on Sunday 22^nd June. We decided this year to subsidise the hire of a coach which allowed us to travel outside the central Hounslow area. Using the newly opened Laxmi Narayan Hindu Mandir in Hounslow as a starting point, visits were made to the Russian Orthodox Church in Chiswick, the Sikh Gurdwara Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, in Martindale Road, Hounslow where we were given lunch, St Dunstan’s Anglican Church in Feltham and to the Hindu Mandir again for a visit there. At each place of worship we were warmly welcomed and enjoyed a talk and refreshments. About 80 people attended some or all of the venues.

Marriage was a hot topic for Mothering Sunday on 2nd March when Hounslow Friends of Faith brought together people of all faiths and none to explore what happens when people of different religions fall in love. They shared stirring stories of enduring love and enriching friendships, as well as compromise, loneliness, isolation and sometimes violence.

Religious leaders, and people who are themselves in mixed faith relationships and a representative of the Metropolitan Police from the Community Safety Unit, met to learn from their experiences along with the two key speakers, Heather al-Yousuf and Rosalind Birtwistle.

A resource pack on Inter Faith Relationships produced by the key speakers was available at the conference organised in collaboration with Westminster Inter Faith, at St Michael and St Martin’s Catholic Primary School, Hounslow. “We aim not to be agony aunts,” said Rosalind Birtwistle. “But many people are seeking information and emotional support. There’s an internet forum to write to on www.interfaithmarriage.org.uk”

To the melting pot of stories of human emotions Heather al-Yousuf added her key question: “Do you think of someone marrying into a faith or someone marrying out of their faith?” From her perspective of more than twenty years as an Anglican Christian married to a Muslim man, she would advise treading carefully between being positive and being cautionary. There can be real pain for those who have to give up their deeply held beliefs and convert to their new partner’s faith. “Is there a way forward without jettisoning everything that is best in religion?” Heather asked.

Inter faith marriages are often inter cultural. One woman said: “For my children it is always fasting, fasting, fasting, praying, praying, praying, mosque on Friday, church on Sunday.” Another woman, a Christian married to a Jewish man, said: “For me it is a matter of seeing God in everyone I meet. My second commandment is that we eat together.”

Some inter faith relationships can trigger resentment and even violence. Yvonne Rhoden from the Metropolitan Police Community Safety Unit said marriages between people of difference faiths and particularly arranged marriages, were sometimes a factor in domestic violence. She referred to a number of high profile murders at the centre of which had been the tensions of a mixed faith marriage. The challenge lies in reconciling faith and secular law.

The attitudes of different faith traditions towards mixed faith marriages was explored, including this from Charanjit Ajit Singh: “It is important to note that while Sikh families aspire for a Sikh marriage, they know that in a fast changing society, that may not always be possible, and there can be divisions and conflicts…If we value the diversity of the traditions and work towards finding sensitive ways forward, better relationships can be found.”

12th February 2008
Annual General Meeting

‘If we can be faithful to our own roots and at the same time be willing to listen to the other, to practise virtues of respect and patience, then we may be surprised at what we can do together.’ So said Dr Michael Barnes of the De Nobili Inter faith Centre in Southall at our annual general meeting on 12^th February.  Dr Barnes gave a stimulating talk on faiths groups as 'social capital', supportive communities who can link together for the benefit of society.

At the AGM Superintendant Phipps of Hounslow Police presented HFOF with a cheque towards our work.  "The group works effectively in Hounslow by putting emphasis on the things that people have in common rather than their differences" he said.