By IRNA,
London : The latest Islam Awareness Week (IAW) in the UK was launched Monday with the theme of celebrating the best of Britain by promoting shared values.
The annual program, the 15th since it was initiated in 1994 as a national project of the Islamic Society of Britain (ISB), aims to remove misconceptions about Muslims and build links with other communities.
The collective efforts to enhance understanding were formally launched in the British parliament, with Minister of Justice Shahid Malik in attendance.
“It is often said that we don’t realize how good something is until it is gone. The grass always seems greener on the other side — but is it really?” said IAW national coordinator Tahmina Saleem.
But Britain, Saleem said, was ‘one of the best countries in the world to live in’ despite what may be read in national newspapers everyday.
The result of an online survey published to coincide with the week’s events showed that the most popular response by British Muslims on what they liked best about Britain was ‘Freedom’ followed by ‘Diversity,’ ‘Legal and Political Rights,’ and ‘Education’.
ISB president Zahoor Qurashi said the events were ‘all about dialogue and developing links within communities’ and that he was happy that uptake has again increased across the country.
Commenting on the week, Muslim Council of Britain secretary general, Abdul Bari also said that for over a decade, IAW had proved to be ‘a wonderful opportunity for Muslims to build bridges among communities and reinforce the commitment to work for the common good of all’.