SHAFAQNA – Statement by British Muslim communities following the knife attack outside Small Heath mosque
We condemn, in the strongest terms, the knife attack on a 14-year-old boy outside the Idaara Maarif-e-Islam Hussainia Mosque and Community Centre in Small Health, Birmingham.
The victim received life-threatening injuries to the neck and head. We offer our love and prayers for the victim and his family. We recognise this is a difficult time for the local community, who have many concerns about the motive behind the attack, but we urge all in our communities to remain calm while the police establish the facts.
Let us, as representatives of Britain’s diverse Muslim communities, send a clear message to the attackers: your hatred and your actions disgust us. You do not represent us. You will not divide the unity that we as faith communities enjoy and have worked hard to establish. And you will not stop Islam from being practiced in all its beautiful diversity.
Finally, let us remember that we have a long history of working together. We celebrate and embrace the diversity of our communities, and we will continue to support one another in times of need.
Signed:
Akeela Ahmed, Chair and Independent Member, Cross Government Working Group On Anti-Muslim Hatred
Mr Mohammed Shafiq
Chief Executive, Ramadhan Foundation
Maulana Muhammad Sarfaraz Madani
UK Islamic Mission
Shaykh Yazdani Raza Misbahi (London Fatwa Council)
Harun Khan, Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain
Mufti Abu Layth, Birmingham
Yousif Al-Khoei Al-Khoei Foundation
Prof.Ch.Shafique MBE
Chairman Council for Christian Muslim Relations (HW)
Mohammed Abbasi for Association of British Muslims
Dr. R. B. Naqvi
Sayed Mohammad al-Musawi
Both of World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League
Maulana Najm
Majlis Ulama Shia Europe
Muhbeen Hussain – British Muslim Youth
Muddassar Ahmed, President, the Concordia Forum
Dr Akber Mohamedali, The Council of European Jamaats
Mohammed Kozbar
Finsbury Park Mosque
Paul Salahuddin Armstrong, Co-Director of the Association of British Muslims
Anwarali Dharamsi, The World Federation of KSIMC
Arshad Ashraf – British Muslim TV
Aamer Naeem – Penny Appeal
Maulana Shahid Raza British Muslim Forum And Imam – Leister mosque
Aisha Ali-Khan, Asian Mums Network
Shaykh Muhammad Umar bin Ramadhan, Chairman Ramadhan Foundation
Ajmal Masroor, Islamic Society of Britain
Dilwar Hussain, New Horizons in British Islam
Dr Akber Mohamedali, The Council of European Jamaats
Dr Imran Awan, Independent Member, Cross Government Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred
Dr Milad Hilli, Medical Doctor and Iraqi Community Activist
Hayyan Ayaz Bhabha, Secretary, APPG on British Muslims
Henna Rai, Women Against Radicalisation Network
Hifsa Haroon-Iqbal MBE DL Association of British Muslims
Imam Ghulam Moyhuddin, Ashton Central Mosque
Imam Tahir Mahmood Kiani, Batley and Birmingham
Prof. Ch. Shafique MBE, Chairman, Council for Christian Muslim Relations
Qari Muhammad Asim, Imam, Makkah Mosque Leeds
Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi, Scottish Ahlul Bayt society
Sayed Mohammad al-Musawi, World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League
Shaykh Umar Hayat Qadri, Imam Ghousia Mosque Huddersfield
Yousif Al-Kadhimi, Innovative Muslim Minds
Saima Alvi British Muslim Heritage Centre, Manchester
Julie Siddiqi, UK activist
Mufti Ansar Ul Qadri, Bradford
Imam Khalid Hussain Ashrafi, Leicester
Hafiz Ghulam Rasul, Hazrat Sultan Bahoo Trust Birmingham
Ragih Muflihi
IMAN network Sandwell
Imam Hashmi
Sunni Ulema Council Black Country
Shoaib Malik – Muslim Action Forum
Imam Ejaz Shaami
British Imams & Mosques Forum
Mufti Faiz Rasool, Birmingham
Ismet Rawat, President Association of Muslim Lawyers
Shaikh Talat, Chairman MCEC
Vice-chair LBE Racial Equality Council
Mohammed Ali Amla
Radical Dialogue
Ismet Rawat of Association of Muslim Lawyers
Naved Siddiqi, New Horizons in British Islam