Recent events

Muslim Deaf Group visit to Living Islam 17-20th 2008

The MYF arranged a visit to the Living Islam 2008 camp (17-20^th July 2008) in Lincoln showground organised by Islamic Society of Britain. This event is a family orientated weekend of shopping, activities, sports and seminars. It attracts over 2000 people from all over the country and is one of the largest family events in the country. The aim of the visit to this camp was to give the Deaf group a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and to relax and enjoy each others company while learning about Islam and taking part in different activities.

The group  had the privilege of having two question and answer sessions with Ajmal Masroor, Islamic orator and regular TV personality.  This gave direct exposure of the Deaf community to one of the most active personalities in the country and will hopefully pave the way for future influence and catering for the Deaf in future events.  The group were extremely grateful for the event and hope to go again in the future.

Educational Programme

As part of the educational work that we do through our educational programme we are in the process of developing workshops with the aim of allowing pupils and students of all backgrounds to participate in understanding the impact that Islam has on Muslims in Britain.

The workshops we have conducted so far are as follows:

FOSIS annual conference – 26th June 2008

This workshop aimed at highlighting the importance of Muslims being accessible to a wider audience and learning about similarities and differences between people of all backgrounds. The title of the workshop was “Da’wah – the way forward”. The workshop highlighted the different approaches in doing da’wah, and how to make Muslims and Islam more accessible and understood by the audience. Approximately 40 people from universities throughout the UK attended the workshop which was 90 minutes in duration.

Parrswood Spiritual Awareness Conference – 7th July 2008

Every year Parrs wood High School holds a Spiritual Awareness Conference for its 6^th Form pupils, lasting for 1 whole day.  It is aimed at 240 students with the objective of raising awareness, knowledge and understanding of the richly diverse religions currently practiced in Manchester and to encourage them to consider their own beliefs. MYF represented the Muslims as part of this conference by holding workshops on “British Muslim Identity and Belief”, as well as attending a Q&A session with the whole of the 6^th form at the end of the day along with other faith representatives.

Workshop about Role models at Manchester Islamic High School for Girls – July 17th 2008

The importance of having positive and relevant role models was highlighted during this full day of workshops. The aim of the day was to help the girls become role models for society and not just their own community. The day consisted of 3 parts:

• Looking at what is a role model,

• Looking at past role models,

• Looking at contemporary role models.

We contributed to the event by providing the resources and lesson plan for the last part of the workshops, which was looking at contemporary role models through our Joseph and Jasmine comic strips.

Burnage High School Media Project 3rd July 2008

A group of pupils from Burnage High School conducted interviews on the influence of religion in addressing the problems facing youth in British society. They interviewed the MYF manager on issues related to youth and the role of  mosques and other Muslim institutions in addressing the needs of youth.  He also answered their questions on the main message of Islam and how Islam is relevant today. 

Tuesday Study Circle on Indonesian TV

An Indonesian TV channel came to film the Tuesday Study circle (5^th August 2008) as part of a programme on British Muslims.  At the end of the study circle the speaker  was interviewed by the Indonesian TV channel.