Updated 28 April 2010
Real people. Real concerns. Real change. This was no clandestine meeting of political bigwigs. Nor was it a token five minute mosque visit by all-smiling, all-nodding politicians. In the first event of its kind - mainstream politicians and ordinary members of our community were brought together for an open, frank and lively discussion.
In preparation for the upcoming British General Election, on Saturday 27 March, at the Mehfil e Abbas centre in Birmingham - the CoEJ Media and External Relations Desk brought together three politicians from the main British political parties and ordinary people from our community. Anyone could join the audience. And anyone could ask a question on anything.
The result? Real people expressing real concerns passionately and making way for real change. For an hour and a half members from our community were able to engage with the people seeking their votes and find out what they really stand for. The panellists represented all three of the major British political parties; Jo Barker (Conservative Parliamentary Candidate), John Hemming (Liberal Democrat MP) and Valarie Vaz (Labour Parliamentary Candidate).
The discussion ranged across topics and included questions such as:
“What makes you different from other politicians?”
I work for the NHS and I’m worried about cuts. What can you offer?”
“How can we prevent terrorism and stop young people being radicalised?”
“What can your party offer students like me – is the debt just going to increase?”
“Should Britain leave Afghanistan?”
The politicians were able to not only tell us why we should vote for them – but also listen to our concerns as ordinary British Shia Muslims. And as a community we were also able to demonstrate the broad range of issues we care about. We heard them out. We challenged them. And we told our would-be elected representatives about the vision we have for a better society.
But this event was not just about debating and talking. We wanted our community members to not only go away engaged and inspired, but also equipped with practical knowledge – so they could really make a difference in the wider political and social arena.
The second half of the event consisted of a special workshop run by guest speakers from the blog http://www.yourtwocents.co.uk/. This is a website set up by a group of young people from our community for ordinary people to write articles and express their views online. The yourtwocents team ran a very useful and practical workshop on how to make convincing arguments and what techniques can be used for good writing – skills which are useful in helping you contribute to politics.
This was a unique opportunity for community members to make themselves heard and we received a very positive response from all those who participated. If you didn’t make it…you can still do your bit – by contributing to society, getting involved, making yourself heard and being an active citizen. Inshallah we look forward to organising more events where ordinary community members can engage with the people who represent us and we hope you will join us in contributing towards this ‘real’ change.
For more information on this event please contact the Media and External Relations Desk at: media@coej.org