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Emails to the MCB on issues and concerns
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Page 194
12/06/2005
| Wendy Parker |
| Dear Sir
I have just watched the above programme on BBC2 today. I missed the
beginning of it, but found what I saw a very insightful programme about
the Muslim community.
I am just an ordinary mother of 2, brought up C of E. I'm nobody
special, I have no amazing contribution to make to you but after I heard
some of the e-mails you have recieved I felt I just had to write to you.
Please have faith that there are ordinary folk like me that are ashamed
to know people would write such venomous things to anybody. Not all non
muslim people are like those. I cannot boast to have any connections to
your community other than that I too live in Britain, I may work along
side Muslims as I do other faiths, it matters not to me. I am not a
religeous person, although I do believe in a greater God, but something
disturbed me so much tonight to hear what has been sent to you, I just
wanted to say that I am ashamed that you may think your faith is always
viewed in such a negative way. I do not pretend to understand politics,
all I know is that my neighbour is someone to be respected and valued.
My best wishes to you.
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| 12/06/2005 |
| Anthony |
i am white, 20, atheist, few qualifications and grew up in essex and now
work and live in devon. i have just watched a program called "dont panic
im islamic". it was very interesting and i agreed with the opinions of
the topics i understood. i write to the council to share with you my
opinion that muslim and terrorist are different things, and resistance
and terrorist are different things (Palestine). sometimes when i read
articles or hear reports or other peoples views, they confuse these
things and this is very sad. i would like to see more pro muslim media
because i think it is unbalanced at the moment. i never considered this
country to be "them and us" until i was 17, perhaps i was nieve, but it
is. i hope the government use education to teach us all about eachothers
lifestyles for it is not good enough at the moment. i had never heard of
the muslim council of britain until today but i am glad there is
one. thank you for taking the time to read this. go MCB!
yours faithfully,
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| 12/06/2005 |
| Esmé
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Hello
Tonight i watched the BBC 2 documentry '/Dont Panic I'm Islamic' /and
was disgusted to hear some of the emails that have been sent to your
organisation. As an Scottish atheist i wanted to communicate that I
believe that it is a minority of 'non-muslins' who hold these views.
There will always be a small number of ignorant people who, for whatever
reason, take out their anger on those they see as a threat to them.
I truly hope that individuals who are Muslim do not let these bigotted
people make them feel that they represent people in general. I wanted
to say that /I /do not feel like that. It is everyones right to practice
whatever faith they wish. I wanted to say that i am disgusted by such
stupid unnecessary attitudes and i hate the fact that so much attention
has to be given to their ideas.
I know that international and home politics are complicated and this is
not a simple issue but in a way i think that when it comes down to it,
it feels simple. We are all just people and we need to remember our
reponsibilities and basic compassion and empathy towards other people.
Edinburgh
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| 12/06/2005 |
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I wanted to write an email to say that i found the programme "Don't Panic, I'm Islamic" on BBC 2 extremely moving and thought provoking. I could not believe the emails the council has recieved from some british people.
My opinion is that many muslims seem to have a strong identity and many british people without a religion are very lost with a lack of values and self worth or identity ...so they feel threatened and angry. I think this is why they try to pick on and abuse muslims. Its no excuse but i think they latch on to a generalisation about muslims being the cause of 9/11 and use it to justify their feelings of anger. But these people unfortunately are uneducated and quite clearly not very intellegent.
On the other hand I feel there is bad feeling towards myself from some muslims for being a white non-muslim in Britian. Should i be held responsible for what the parliment and Tony Blair have done any more than you? (as we are all british)
What i wanted to say really in this email is that everyone needs to stop generalising about others. Non-muslims about muslims and the other way round.
Sometimes I feel I should be ashamed to be English because I feel I am judged and looked down upon because of what the parliment decided. But I am a good christian woman who just wants (in vain) that everyone is allowed their own choices and wish we could have peace in the world. Sometimes I also feel I need to stand up and shout that i'm proud to be the person I am.
Please remember that not all non-muslims hate you, want you to leave or want to attack you in the street, as will I (and many others) remember that the majority of muslims do not want to see us non-muslims dead! What i would say is that if we all tried to stop judging each other in britain and got on with living in peace then we may have a better chance at sorting out the mess. I probably sound idealistic...but i have hope and thats never a bad thing.
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| 12/06/2005 |
| Richard Lavelle
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Dear Sir,
My name is Richard Lavelle and I am a seventeen-year-old Roman Catholic who
is studying for my AS levels at Calday Grange Grammar School on the Wirral.
I am writing to you to offer your organisation my support as you continue to
handle yourselves with dignity and respect in spite of the increasingly
vehement and ignorant attacks that the Muslim community as a whole are
suffering from. I do not understand the Muslim religion from a theological
point of view but I do understand it to be a tolerant and respectful
religion and very dissimilar to the way it has been characterised by some
parts of the media. More and more I hear the words ‘Muslim’ and ‘terrorist’
mentioned in the same breath and feel the once distinct line between these
words is being smudged by the grubby thumbs of a noisy minority who portray
themselves as saying what the rest of the country is thinking; they do not
speak for me.
I hope that you will not let these angry but uneducated men
lessen your resolve, in fact I hope for the opposite and I also hope you
continue to rise above their baits and carry on the good work you do in
raising awareness of the real Muslim faith. If you would like my assistance
in spreading this message I would be only too glad to help, I feel too many
support tolerance only from the sidelines where their silence achieves
nothing.
Yours truly,
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| 12/06/2005 |
| Jennifer |
Dear Sir/Madam,
I have just watched a programme defending the muslim faith on BBC2 and I was
moved, and especially agreed with the British-muslim that went undercover
with a British name and found out that employers were a lot more interested
with him!!(sorry-I didn't note his name!) I was horrified by an email read
out on the programme that someone sent to the muslim council. I
congratulate you for your work trying to peruade some of the few ignorant
British public that Islam is a peace-loving religion.
However I was
wondering if you actually have orgainised a represntative from your
orgainisation to come around schools and present a muslim point of view and
make children aware of the racism going on? I am nearlly 18, and as a white
girl I was not really made aware from schooling of some of the muslim
suffering. I was just lucky I had worldy parents that made me aware of such
issues.
I would appricate an email back, if you have time to answer my question.
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Page 194
For further information please contact the MCB:
The Muslim Council of Britain
PO Box 52
Wembley
HA9 0XW
Tel: 020 8903 9650
Fax: 020 8903 9026
admin@mcb.org.uk
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