A Struggle within Ourselves

By Hazel Ettienne, "Scouts and pupils learn about Islam" - The Huddersfield Daily Examiner - Huddersfield, UK
Saturday, December 27, 2008

Mosques throughout Kirklees are helping the Government’s community cohesion strategy by hosting workshops and fact-finding events.

Lockwood’s Hanfia Mosque and Educational Institute and the Gulzar-E-Medina Mosque in Dewsbury have hosted events for groups of young people to help educate and dispel myths about Islam.

More than 30 Scouts from Huddersfield’s Outlane section visited the mosque in Bentley Street. The visit was arranged by Hayley Hudson who works as a police officer in south Kirklees and also runs the Outlane Scouts group in her spare time.
It was arranged as part of a Scout Badge project on the theme of world faiths which the children are working to complete for the year.

Mohammed Imran, who is general secretary of the Hanfia Institute, told the Examiner: “We were contacted by the Scouts group and felt delighted to host such an important visit. It was educational but it was also interactive.

“The Scouts were able to have direct contact with our senior Muslim clerics who talked to the children about Islam’s core values and ethos of working in the neighbourhood and helping those in need especially the most vulnerable sections of our society.”

An interactive presentation was also delivered on the life of Prophet Muhammad and some of the miracles which he did, similar to Jesus Christ.

Derek Dodkins, who is ethnic diversity manager of the Scouts movement, in Yorkshire said: “Today there are well over 28 million members in over 216 countries and territories, and the movement is still growing. Two-thirds of the world’s Scouts live in developing countries.”

“The aim of scouting is to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities.”

The Dewsbury workshop was on the theme of Islam and Community Cohesion.

More than 15 pupils from Westborough High School visited and attended the event at the Gulzar-E-Medina Mosque. It was supported by West Yorkshire Police.

An interactive discussion was also held on understanding the true mainstream Sufi Islamic concept of ‘Jihad’ – which means ‘holy war’ – as a deeper, inner spiritual struggle between the mind and body.

Mohammed Khalil, of the Gulzar-E-Medina Mosque, said: “As a Sufi Muslim place of worship, the Gulzar-E-Medina Mosque will not shy away from tackling and discussing the difficult and burning issues which affect the Islamic religion. This is exactly why on this occasion, the Gulzar-E-Medina Mosque felt it was important to work in partnership with West Yorkshire Police to host such an important workshop.

“The Sufis are the mainstream majority of Islam. For us, the concept of ‘Jihad’ is a deeper, inner spiritual struggle within ourselves. Sadly, there is a tiny minority out there which is very right-wing. Such a tiny minority in the Islamic religion has a distorted view that ‘Jihad’ is to impose your views with force if necessary on others who are not part of the Muslim religion.

“They are going around trying to brainwash the most vulnerable who are our children. This is against the very essence of Islam. There is no place for racism, extremism and terrorism in Islam.”

A management committee member at the mosque, Mohammed Hanif Chaudery, explained: “We told the children in clear words that staying away from cigarettes and other harmful illegal drugs is a Jihad, staying away from anti-social behaviour is a Jihad, revising for their exams is a Jihad, helping their neighbours is one of the best forms of Jihad, doing voluntary community work in their neighbourhoods is a Great Jihad.”

[Picture: Victoria Tower. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huddersfield].