'A London United, Not Divided'

Published in AvrupaGazette, Oct 11th,2007 on Thu 11th Oct 2007

'A London United, Not Divided' : How Fiyaz Mughal, as London's First Muslim Mayor, will tackle Terrorism with a Two-Point Plan'

Fiyaz Mughal, a contender in this year's Mayor of London contest, has a cultural and professional background that fits him to deal with the religious tensions which keep London on constant terror alert.

A Punjabi Muslim by birth, Fiyaz is the Chief Executive of a busy Citizens' Advice Bureau in Enfield and a Liberal Democrat Councillor in Haringey . He also heads a charity called Faith Matters, which is actively engaged in healing the Israeli/Palestinian rift.

Fiyaz believes that as a Muslim who has integrated seamlessly with British Society, he can help London bridge the capital's religious and cultural chasm more effectively than any other candidate.

He told reporters this week: "I have a two-part plan."

"First ,I would establish a Citizen Induction Programme, to be implemented as soon as immigrants arrive or are granted leave to remain, to make them feel welcome, prepare them for the cultural change and provide information on everything from opening a bank account to paying bills. "

"Secondly, I would form properly-elected local Representative Councils for each cultural group, to establish a proper two-way contact with the state, so that the GLA has a recognised way of keeping in touch with the views and reactions of all its vastly different communities."

"The Induction Programme will be all about assuring people that they have a proper home and a future in this country- not just a survival base. It will be aimed at removing the feelings of threat and insecurity which drive young men to terrorism."

"It will go well beyond snap tests, with review meetings to assess by interview those weaknesses which will not be picked up by testing."

"It will also make plain that some cultural practices are unacceptable in the UK, such as honour killings and female genital mutilation. Naturally, I would put more resources into providing ESOL (English as a Second Language) courses, for which funding is currently being cut."

"The Representative Councils need a strong champion to succeed. I would use my twelve years of expertise in interfaith dialogue and promoting good community relations to be a truly unifying figure, encouraging, for instance, the twinning of faith centres from different religions. I would make sure that mosques were a central element in the scheme."

"I would also promote throughout the GLA an awareness of how the A8 Accession Treaty has changed the face of London and I would lobby local authority library services, to ensure that books on Islam are spread across the range of knowledge. Some books currently in stock promote a very extreme vision of Islam."

"These Representative Councils would be co-ordinated by a permanent Inclusion Committee to look at all their views and motions, and to think up ways of bringing people from marginal groups back to the heart of London life. The Committee would also work closely with the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights (CEHR)."