[Combating Racism & Discrimination]

USMAN NAWAZ: Northern towns like Manchester, Rochdale, Oldhamhad migration from the early '50s,'60s, '70s, where members predominantly of the SouthAsian community came over. [UsmanNawaz, "We Stand Together" Steering Group]My own great-grandfather and my own grandfathercame to this country to work in the cotton mills--from Pakistan-- in the early '60s.So the Asian community, the subcontinental community,

USMAN NAWAZ [continued]: has been here for a great number of years.And it's fair to say that they have faced challenges,in terms of discrimination and racism, over that period.Now, however, communities, for the most part,do get on well together.They do jell well together.People are willing to celebrate and accept difference, more

USMAN NAWAZ [continued]: than just tolerate it.But unfortunately there are membersin all communities who want to exploit differences,who want to play on those differencesto divide communities.

UMER KHAN: From my experiences as a chief inspectorin policing for 20 years, I've realizedthat it's very important to bring communities together.I worked through the Oldham riots,and that was in the reports that followed thereafter.As a result, it was seen as polarized communitiesliving parallel lives.Over the last three years, I havebeen involved in managing over 20 far-right demonstrations

UMER KHAN [continued]: in greater Manchester from far-right groups targetingin particular the Muslim and the Jewishand the various other communities.[Umer Khan, Chief Inspector, Greater Manchester Police]So I've seen a great deal of far-right extremism.I've also seen extremism where faiths and communities havecome to loggerheads, in terms of what's

UMER KHAN [continued]: happened in the Middle East.Last year, we had the pro-Palestinianand the pro-Israeli protests in the heart of Manchester citycenter.That really divided the business community,because it happened on King Street outside a shop calledKedem's.And that really-- throughout the summer,every day we had to deploy a great deal of policing

UMER KHAN [continued]: resources to it.We were in the middle of two groups who would notlisten and budge, in terms of the narrative thatwas being played out.So what I've experienced is that when people get into entrenchedviews, often it's very difficult to engagein dialogue with them.

UMER KHAN [continued]: We've seen, over the last few years,there's been an increase in hate crime--in particular an increase in anti-Semitism,an increase in Islamophobia.And a lot of it, for me, is about peoplenot understanding and respecting each other's differences.[Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable,Greater Manchester Police]

PETER FAHY: And we have about 6,000 reported incidentsof hate crime across Greater Manchester every year.But we're very much aware that that is massivelyunder-reported.Because, again, it's one aspect of hate crimethat often it's targeting very vulnerable people whomay not have the confidence to report it.Who may fear that, if they do report it,they'll have reprisals.

PETER FAHY [continued]: If the victim perceives it as beingmotivated by hate or prejudice, then it's a hate crime.You know, that is the definition that weadopted after the Stephen Lawrence report.Because hate is very much about your perception.And if you believe that you have been targeted becauseof your background, your appearance,some personal characteristics, your religion, nationality,

PETER FAHY [continued]: sexual orientation-- that is really important.That affects you as an individual.The other thing about a hate crimeis it just doesn't affect an individual.It affects everybody that comes from that community,that sexual orientation, that religion-- whatever--because they themselves feel vulnerable.Because they can see themselves as potentially a victim.[We Stand Together]

UMAR NAWAZ: --name of Allah, the most merciful, the most kind,as-salamu alaykum-- peace be upon you all.Welcome to the Golden Mosque.Thank you, everybody, for joining uson this beautiful day, where the Muslims in the roomhaven't eaten or drank for the last 18 hours or so.Just another couple of hours to go,and then we'll all, as I said, break bread together.

UMAR NAWAZ [continued]: For some of you, this might be the first timethat you've come into a mosque and Islamic cultural center.So you'll be shown the main prayer halland from the balcony, as well, where the prayers takeplace. #westandtogether is the hashtag, for those of you whowant to live-tweet this event.

UMAR NAWAZ [continued]: [CHANTING IN ARABIC]13th verse of the 49th chapter of the holy Quran.And that translates as "O mankind,we've created you from a male and a female

UMAR NAWAZ [continued]: and made you into peoples and tribes,so that you might come to know one another.The noblest among you in Allah's sightis the most righteous of you.Indeed, Allah is the all-knowing and the all-aware."Surely, God almighty has spoken the truth.

USMAN NAWAZ: I think what We Stand Togetherreally brings is an aspiration for all communities--diverse backgrounds, members from right across culturesand all creeds-- to really come together and say that we standtogether in the face all evils, in the face of all common ills,

USMAN NAWAZ [continued]: and to create a strong, cohesive communityand society for everyone.

PAUL DALY: I've tried to make that partof my prayers every day-- prayingfor the peace of the world.Because if there's one way that wecan make a difference, besides all the wonderful thingsof witness and of outreach and of service,it's that we are surely all-- if we're believers in God--we're believers in the power of prayer.

PAUL DALY [continued]: I decided what I'd do for this month of Ramadanis I would begin to read the Quran.There's this wonderful verse-- verse 62."Surely those who believed and thosewho are Jews and the Christians and the Sabaens-- whoeverbelieves in Allah and the Last Day and does good--they have their reward with their Lord,

PAUL DALY [continued]: and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve."I think that says everything.

UMER KHAN: Today we have the membersfrom our Christian faith, our Jewish, our Hindus, our Sikh,and various other faiths and non-faithswho are coming to observe the practice of fastingand to see how the Muslim community undertakethe month of fasting.So this is an initiative to show that the community hereare very open.

UMER KHAN [continued]: They're very welcoming.And they're looking to promote cohesionby inviting other people into the mosque groundsand sharing what the faith's all about, which is about peaceand sharing food and hospitality.

USMAN NAWAZ: Let's bring people togetherto talk about who they are, what they believe in,to celebrate their diversity, and to celebratewhat we have in common.We're not saying that everybody's the same.We're not saying everybody should be the same.What we're saying is that everybody's diversityought to be respected.

RABBI: And we're all neighbors.And we're all fellow human beings.And we're all there-- we're all ones who just want to lifeand have a peaceful life and live life to the full,each in our own way and the way we understandto be the right thing, and to respectour neighbors and other communitiesand the way they do things, each in their own way.That's the right way for them.It's the right way for us.And what we want to do is live in peace and harmony.And having a gathering like this, tonight-- and, please

RABBI [continued]: God, there should be-- inshallah-- there shouldbe many other gatherings-- is the perfect wayto be able to achieve that respect and harmony whichwould take away so much of the strifethat there is in the world.

UMAR NAWAZ: The message of peace, love, and harmonythat the congregation gets from this mosqueand the other Sufi, Sunni mosques, not only in Rochdalebut right across the country and right across the world,is really testament to the fact that 1.6 billion Muslimsin the world don't subscribe to a tiny number of people who

UMAR NAWAZ [continued]: are members of what I think we would all agreeis just a Satanic state and not an Islamic statein any sense of the word.[INAUDIBLE], here, at the mosque , this evening,of communities coming together to literally break breadand share food is the direct antidote to, I think,some of the evils that we have in our society,of racism and discrimination.

UMAR NAWAZ [continued]: Because, you know what?A Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a Jewish rabbi,members of the Hindu and the Sikh communitiesand Baha'i communities can all come togetherin one faith institution, in one house of God.[MAN CHANTING IN ARABIC][Standing together against racism]

UMAR NAWAZ [continued]: [CHANTING ENDS]

MUHAMMAD SHABBIR SIALVI: Toleranceis something that is the foundationof any successful multicultural and multifaith,multireligious-- any society with multiple dimensions,there has to be an element of tolerance.[Muhammad Shabbir Sialvi, Head Imam, Golden Mosque]If this is withdrawn or taken from that society,we see things happening-- you know,horrendous things like the Holocaust,

MUHAMMAD SHABBIR SIALVI [continued]: like other atrocities.I was in Bosnia recently.You know, the massacre at Srebrenica-- thingslike this happen when tolerance is taken outof that community or cohesion is taken out of the community.

JONNY WINEBERG: Bringing people togetherfrom different backgrounds is an incredibly important thingto do. [Jonny Wineberg, Vice President,Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester]What you're trying to do is to getpeople to understand each other betterand respect each other better.It goes beyond just tolerating people.It's actually wanting to talk to people--wanting to be with people.And what that does, on the ground,is it prevents a lot of difficulties where people

JONNY WINEBERG [continued]: actually don't understand and therefore startto confront each other in very negative ways.

PAUL DALY: We all live in the same burrough.We all live on the same planet.We need to live harmoniously together.And sometimes misunderstandings give birth to prejudice,which give birth to hatred.So we have to break down those often simple misunderstandingsby getting to know each other and each other's culturesand beliefs.It's food shared together, so getting

PAUL DALY [continued]: to know different people.And also being present when other people are prayingis just very spiritual and powerful.

USMAN NAWAZ: The last census showed that around 48%of British Muslims are under the age of 25.I'm 25.It means that a significant.proportion of the British Muslim communityis a fairly young community but a community that'sfull of energy who, if they wantedto put their mind to something amazing,they could achieve great things.

USMAN NAWAZ [continued]: So that's what's really inspired meto get involved in my community, to get involvedwith interfaith work, to get involved with work to bringabout community cohesion.I'd like to encourage and I'd liketo really call out to my fellow peers--fellow young British Muslims-- young peopleacross the country-- to really join the effortto create more cohesive communities,

USMAN NAWAZ [continued]: to share experiences with each other,to gain an understanding of each other,to invite people to your homes, and to reallylearn about one another, in orderto create a more harmonious world for everyone.We have large parts of our country,now, where ethnic minorities are the majorities.And multiculturalism is not something

USMAN NAWAZ [continued]: which is going to go away.It's something that is here to stay.And, in fact, it enriches our country.It's part of the very fabric of our society.We have to not only accept that, we have to relish in that,and we have to really make the most of that.And we have to be willing to learn from each other.And I think once we begin to break down some of the barriersthat [INAUDIBLE] our own minds, [INAUDIBLE]

USMAN NAWAZ [continued]: in terms of preconceived ideas or notionsthat we might get from the media,and actually start to have conversationswith our neighbors or conversations with peoplethat we work with, about their faith and their cultureand their understanding of ideas,I think that's when we'll begin to see something positiveemerge within our communities.