By TCN News,
Manchester: The Prime Minister David Cameron, along with Faiths Minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, met Hazrat Allama Qamaruzzaman Azmi during his historic visit to North Manchester Jamia Mosque during Ramadan.
Allama Qamaruzzaman Azmi discussed the current issues and challenges facing the world including, the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Burma, Syrian crisis as well as the safety and security of Mosques and Muslim communities in the UK.
David Cameron and Hazrat Allama Qamaruzzaman Azmi
The Prime Minister appreciated the community services of the renowned spiritual scholar Allama Qamaruzzaman Azmi and said that his work was contributing greatly towards community integration and promotion of inter-faith dialogue.
Allama Qamaruzzaman Azmi said: “I thank the Prime Minister for taking time out from his busy schedule to come and meet with the British Muslim community in Manchester”.
“During his landmark visit he championed the contributions that British Muslims are making in all walks of life and listened to some of the real concerns that the community are facing”, he said.
Following this meeting the Prime Minister and Faiths Minister Baroness Warsi took a tour of the Mosque which caters for 2,000 people through daily worship, after-school clubs, youth projects and support groups and had a frank and open discussion with a mixed group of young and old people where Mr Cameron heard the concerns of Muslims about attacks on their community following the horrific murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich.
He restated the commitment of the UK government to tackling anti-Muslim hatred and condemned the recent Islamophobic attacks in the strongest possible terms, saying the UK needed to be intolerant of intolerance. His government has set up a cross government working group on anti-Muslim hatred and fund an organisation, Tell MAMA, which records attacks and supports victims.
David Cameron spent two hours with the mosque community during his visit and stated his support for the Big Iftar programme, which has seen scores of mosques up and down the country open up their doors to Muslims and non-Muslims to demystify the faith of Islam and connect to communities.
After a tour of the mosque he helped them prepare for their own Big Iftar by chopping onions and making samosas, providing his own cooking tips along the way. The Prime Minister was impressed by the vibrancy of the mosque, which is set for redevelopment to cater for an ever-growing community.
Faiths Minister Baroness Warsi said: “It was brilliant to accompany the Prime Minister to the Jamia Mosque and help them prepare for their Big Iftar that evening.