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bulletin.contents
FOSIS Bulletin
Muslim Students
respond to the London attacks
Since the day of the
attacks in London last week, FOSIS has been very vocal in its
condemnation and has encouraged Muslim students to do everything
they can to assist the emergency services. We send our condolences
to all those who were affected and we praise the authorities for
their swift and thorough response.
Upon discovering that the
perpetrators were not only Muslim but also British citizens,
additional efforts were made to take proactive steps to tackle the
problem. Wakkas Khan, the President of FOSIS sent a letter to all
Islamic Societies encouraging them to engage with the various bodies
at their university and increase their efforts in propagating the
true message of Islam.
Amongst the literature disseminated
to the Islamic Societies was a booklet entitled stay safe and be
proactive' which outlines practical steps for how Islamic Societies
can avoid any backlash that may be inflicted on their community.
FOSIS is also producing a series entitled Not in our name', which
presents a range of Muslim and Non-Muslim students' reactions to the
incidents as well as how they feel our community should respond.
FOSIS has also been vocal in criticising certain sections of
the media for its unscrupulous analysis of the situation as well as
praising other more thorough commentaries. Amongst these were the
attacks on the academic and attendee of the FOSIS annual conference
Dr. Tariq Ramadan as well as the more recent attacks on Sheikh Yusuf
Al-Qardawi. FOSIS has welcomed Margaret Hodge's recognition that
there is an 11% difference between the level of post-graduation
employment between Muslims and the wider community as well as
resolving to tackle the problem.
The recent meeting between
the government and Muslim leaders has been viewed by FOSIS with some
scepticism. We would argue that it is essential that the government
engages with the youth and student organisations, rather than just a
narrow selection of leaders. Wakkas Khan, the President of FOSIS has
argued that only through active engagement of all sections of the
community will this problem truly be confronted.
http://www.fosis.org.uk/isc/Letter2Isocs.pdf
http://www.fosis.org.uk/iap/StaySafe.pdf
Get involved with FOSIS
Following a hugely successful annual conference,
FOSIS would like to encourage all Muslim students to get involved
with both individual Islamic Societies as well as with FOSIS. There
are six distinct areas of work that you can get involved in:
Islam Awareness committee
Justice
Campaign's committee
Student Affairs committee
Welfare committee
Services committee
Internal
Support
There is a lot of work that needs to be done and
much of the work can be done locally within your regional council.
If you would like to get involved or just learn more about each
committee, click here
and fill in the form. Also, why not fill in a £1 pledge form to
support the work of FOSIS.
Emergency Council Meeting
As a result of
the outcome of this year's FOSIS executive committee elections, the
Federation of Student Islamic Societies would like to invite you to
an Emergency Council meeting (ECM) to elect the positions of:
Head of the Student Affairs Committee
Treasurer
This ECM will be taking place on:
Date:
23rd July 2005
Venue: School of Oriental and African Studies
(SOAS), London.
Time: 1 3pm
Nominations for these
positions are now open. FOSIS would like to apologise for the delay
in releasing this information, due to the amount of attention that
has been required for dealing with the events that recently took
place in London .
For a nomination form and details of how
these two positions fit into the structure of FOSIS, click here.
Please note that attendees at the ECM must be full-members of an
affiliated University Islamic Society and part of their official
Islamic Society delegation.
Accompanying the ECM FOSIS will hosting a session for Islamic
Societies explaining what they themselves and Muslim Students can do
in reference to the London attacks. We are pleased to announce that
we will be joined by Dr Azzam Tamimi, Director of the Institute for
Islamic Political Thought. For more information please email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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