A forum for open discussion on communities and local government policy.

Commission on Integration and Cohesion

You still have the chance to tell us what you think!

Welcome to the Commission on Integration and Cohesion’s forum! Thanks for visiting us. We hope you will use this forum to share your ideas and opinions with us.

The Commission on Integration and Cohesion is a team of people asked by the Government to come up with practical ideas on how people from different backgrounds might get on better. Our focus is on what can be done locally – for example, by councils, schools, places of worship, charities – to bring people together, working, relaxing and interacting as a single community. There are four weeks to go before we have to decide what to recommend to the Government in our report. This is your last chance to tell us what you think we should be saying: the forum will close on 16 May 2007. We’re looking forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions!

We’ve asked lots of organisations what they think community cohesion is all about, but we want to know what it means to you. Do you think people from different backgrounds get on well in your local area? What do you think are the barriers to good relations in your neighbourhood? What should be done to bring people together so that they feel part of the community?

In short, our question for you is:

If you were in charge for a day, what would you do to help people from different backgrounds in your neighbourhood get on better?

login to post comments | previous discussion | next discussion

Getting to Know One Another!

Posted by Ismail Abu Haneef on 15/05/2007 - 09:24

If I were in charge for a day, I would make that the "Getting to Know One Another Day".

Being a Muslim, I feel sick to my stomach by the ignorance, misinformation and scaremongering regarding my faith and my community. This also applies to many other faith and ethnic groups.

For many of us, faith is a bedrock within our lives. My daily prayers take me away from the woes of the world and act as a constant reminder of my miniscule place in the universe. Islam gives me peace, acting as a guide for my life, encouraging good conduct and character, as well shaping me to be respectful and tolerance of all.

The only way I can really make others understand this is to share my life with them; maybe only for a day, and maybe with only one of "them". Maybe then they will appreciate that I mean no harm, that I am not a risk, that I genuinely am tolerant, that I am not a misogynist, that I work hard at home and work, and that I love my family. Most importantly, it will show a stranger to my way of life that I am a lot like them, and we have more in common than in opposition.

Imagine then 10 million people in the UK sharing this day with me. I think this simple idea really could help people from different backgrounds not only get on better, but respect the similaries as well as the differences between us.

According to my faith, God states in the Quran:

"O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Verily the noblest of you, in the sight of God, is the best in conduct. Surely God is Knowing, Aware"

It is this ethic, encouraged by many faiths, that we should all promote!

back | login to post comments