"UK Needs To Integrate With British-Asian Way Of Life

A Stay With A Muslim Family Changes David Cameron’s Views

05/07/2007 07
40:00 PM GMT
IslamOnLine

"I found myself thinking that it's mainstream Britain which needs to integrate more with the British Asian way of life," Cameron said.

It's extremely inspiring to learn as a Muslim that non-Muslims around the world would still give Islam the benefit of doubt and try to get to know it better.

Tory leader David Cameron, who spent two days in May with a Muslim family, the Rehmans, in Birmingham stepped forward with an article published by the Guardian Unlimited to describe his experience.

In his article, Cameron discussed the hostility that some Muslims feel in the United Kingdom, despite the government’s integration efforts.

According to a poll conducted by the Guardian Unlimited, hundreds of thousands of Muslims considered leaving the UK after the July 7 bombings in London.

The poll showed that tens of thousands of Muslims suffer from increased Islamophobia, with one in five saying they or family members have faced abuse or hostility since the London attacks.

Police have also recorded more than 1,200 suspected Islamophobic incidents across the country ranging from verbal abuse to one murder in the past three years.

Cameron also described how Muslims are never offended by Christmas, contrary to what many non-Muslims claim. Muslims also hope that the media stop referring to terrorists as Islamists.

Muslims would love to see a day when their noble religion won’t be associated with incidents that have nothing to do with it.

Despite realizing the problem, Cameron was unable to provide a solution since he doesn’t believe that anything can be addressed through a government edict.

On the other hand, he thinks the media, especially the BBC, should take the responsibility and the opportunity to dispel negative misperceptions about Islam.

Britain is home to 2 million Muslims. Although many Muslims are pessimistic about their children’s future in the UK, the Rehmans are among many others who take their children to faith-based schools.

When Cameron asked Abdullah Rehman about the reason why his son goes to a Jewish faith school, where 60% of the students are Muslims in addition to many Sikh and Christians, Rehman replied that good discipline and good results are what he needs for his children.

Afterall, Muslims are just parents looking for the best for their children, while respecting other people's faiths.

The family that Cameron was staying with also raised concerns about the values that are delivered by modern Britain to their children and themselves.

Cameron said the Rehmans, of Pakistani origin, are incredibly strong and cohesive, and have a sense of civic responsibility which puts the rest of us to shame, a value that is evident in most Muslim families.

"Not for the first time, I found myself thinking that it is mainstream Britain which needs to integrate more with the British Asian way of life, not the other way around", Cameron said in his article.

At the end of his visit, Cameron received gifts from Abdullah, a gesture that showed huge generosity which should set an example for Muslims and non-Muslims alike in order to allow Britain, and possibly the world, to live in peace.

-- AJP and Agencies

Source: AJP