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bulletin.contents
1. FOSIS Freshers
packs
2. FOSIS landmark conference hosted
by the GLA
3. Preliminary findings of a survey
of British Muslim students
4. Imam Zaid Shakir visits students
in Birmingham
1. FOSIS Freshers
packs
FOSIS Freshers packs are packed with the essential
information for all the new comers to university.
Order yours
today as supplies are running out
2. Greater London
Authority (GLA) Conference
On Wed 31st Aug FOSIS and the GLA hosted a
conference entitled 'The Voice of Muslim Students.
' It was an
opportunity for Muslim students from around the country and from a
variety of different
backgrounds to sit together and discuss
issues raised from the recent Muslim Student Survey
carried out
by FOSIS.
There was also an opportunity for Muslim students
to raise concerns and ask questions to a panel
of high profile
guests. Panellists included the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, Dr
Daud Abdullah
from the MCB, Martin Bright Home Affairs Editor
for The Observer, Simon Israel Home Affairs
reporter for Channel
4 News, Pav Akhtar NUS Black Students Officer, Peter Leary NUS, Tony
McNulty Minister of State, Waseem Yaqub, Mike O'Brien Solicitor
General and Asst Met
Commissioner Brian
Paddick.
Following intense media interest, FOSIS is planning
on releasing the full details of its findings in the
next couple
of weeks.
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3. Preliminary
findings of a survey of British Muslim students Initial findings from the FOSIS Muslim Students Survey,
a project run by FOSIS to understand the way
British Muslim
students are feeling post-7/7, have thrown up some interesting
results.
When asked what they value most about life in
Britain, the most common answer was the freedoms
offered here,
especially the freedom of _expression_ and of faith. However when
asked what they found
most challenging about life in Britain,
ironically the top answer was the freedom to practice their religion
without racism and discrimination. It seems that young British
Muslims highly value the British ideals of
freedom of speech and
faith - values that should certainly be protected - but the reality
is that these
freedoms are curtailed by racism and negative
depictions of Islam, especially by the media, making it
difficult to be a young British Muslim today.
Over 90% of
students felt that the media-image Muslims have needs to be changed.
One student
commented that _my local paper recently had a
picture of Muslims praying on the front page with the
headline
Extremism hits our town_. It is certainly worrying that normal
Muslim practices such as praying
are being depicted as
_extremist_ activities. Such reporting can only add to the
polarisation of young
Muslims, putting them at increased risk of
suspicion and discrimination, with over 50% of Muslim
students
saying that they have had personal experience of Islamophobia. It is
vital now that the media
take a more responsible and informed
approach when portraying Muslims and Islam instead of creating
mass hysteria around them.
The survey also found that 95%
of Muslim students are unhappy with British foreign policy and when
asked why, the war in Iraq came out as the top reason. Over
two-thirds feel that our foreign policy played
a major or
complete role in causing the London bombings. The Prime Minister_s
continuing refusal to
accept that his actions could have led to
such extreme consequences does nothing to appease the
Muslim
community, and on the contrary, seems to be causing more resentment
amongst young Muslims.
It is important now for Mr Blair to
accept that foreign policy is a serious concern and to start to do
something
about it rather than being seen to brush it under the
carpet.
Over 400 students have so far responded to the
survey, with further responses pouring in on a daily basis.
This
unprecedented interest has caused a delay in the release of the
final results, with the full report
expected to be available in
the next few weeks.
Further notes: FOSIS (est. 1962) is the
umbrella organisation of Muslim student groups in colleges and
universities throughout the UK and Ireland, representing over
90,000 Muslim students.
The Muslim Student Survey is a project
run by FOSIS to understand the feelings and attitudes of British
Muslim student post-July 7th
Students from across the UK,
especially the major cities of London, Leeds,
Manchester and
Birmingham participated in the survey
Only home students in
Further or Higher Education have been included
For more
information/interviews contact FOSIS Media on 0774
7470819
The Federation of Student Islamic Societies
4. Imam Zaid
Shakir visits students in Birmingham
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Alhamdu lilah, FOSIS was honoured to host a
talk by Imam Zaid Shakir. With over 600 attendees, an
audience
of youth and students came to listen to important advice about our
current situation and
the way forward.
Imam Zaid's
strong background in the traditional Islamic sciences coupled with a
vast experience
within the university system, helped shape an
excellent talk. He advised the attendees about the
destiny of
man as things currently stand, exploring various systems of thought
that were currently
being promoted and conveyed how we as
Muslims in the west are in a unique position to contribute and
influence the debate. Many attendees were impressed by the
intellectual depth of Imam Zaid's talk.
We were also honoured
by Shaykh Nuh Keller's visit to the venue. We pray that both shuyukh
will
visit us again in the future. If you would like to see the
talk, visit the link below to download the
video file:
Zaid
Shakir (video)
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