Lancashire mosques chair criticises 'impractical' equality call (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Lancashire mosques chair criticises 'impractical' equality call
3:01pm Wednesday 25th May 2011 in News
By David Watkinson, Deputy news editor
CHAIR Salim Mulla
OFFICIAL guidelines that women should have more influence in running mosques have been criticised by a Lancashire mosque leader.
The Mosque and Imams Advisory Board, MINAB, wants to reform and regulate Islamic places of worship and has also asked for sermons to be held in English.
Salim Mulla, the chair of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, said the advice was ‘unhelpful, impractical and an interference’.
But Anjum Anwar, Blackburn Cathedral’s dialogue development officer, said she has invited MINAB’s chairman to Blackburn to discuss the guidelines.
She said it was important to begin a discussion on how mosques can be more inclusive of women.
Coun Mulla said of more than 100 mosques LCM represents there was not a single woman on management committees — and that was ‘unlikely to change’.
And he said calls to complete prayers in English would not be adhered to.
MINAB was set up after the 7/7 attacks on London as a result of consultation between the government and Muslims.
Its new guidelines were sent out last week.
The Lancashire Council of Mosques is not a member of MINAB.
Coun Mulla said: “The central mosque in Blackburn, at Cumberland Street, already has an English speaking imam, who explains the prayers in English before they get underway.
“To translate the prayers would take too much time.
"Islamically, the prayer is not valid if it's not done in Arabic.”
He said that many mosques in Lancashire had a proud record of involving women and that all had an ‘open door policy’ for any women who wanted to get involved.
But he said that it was unlikely that any management committees would make changes to allow women to join as ‘there is no need to change a situation that is working’.
Many of the mosques were engaging with women such as asking them to run madrassas for children, he said.
Coun Mulla said: “We see this as interference in privately run and funded places of worship.”
Mrs Anwar said: “Both men and women have a role to play in all religions.
"It is important, not simply to sit back and accept the guidelines, but to meet and talk and find a way forward that is inclusive.”
Comments are closed on this article.
Comments (68)
3:13pm Wed 25 May 11
burner says...
3:47pm Wed 25 May 11
Darwendude says...
3:59pm Wed 25 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
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this country is not renown for its real-time equality, in many cases the woman is boss, period.....
4:22pm Wed 25 May 11
johndarwen says...
These people are not just racist, but also sexist.
I remember when there was Mens clubs in London, (private funded) was taken to court by women who wanted to entre. The clubs lost the court case's.
So I think let the Muslim women run the mosques, the men are the ones that always break the muslim laws any how
4:54pm Wed 25 May 11
Izanears says...
4:57pm Wed 25 May 11
burner says...
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"Two balls good, no balls bad ! "
5:09pm Wed 25 May 11
l m h jones says...
secondly does coun mulla have any idea how patronising he sounds when he talks about women being given the role of running madrasas for little ones but not being able to engage with women on management committees? am not surprised that of all the mosques in lancashire only a percentage are aligned to the LCM..some have actually managed to join the 21 century
5:13pm Wed 25 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
to be honest i am not defending mulla, but it would be wise to understand what is really going on from the top.
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women today are mimicking men...badly
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and worse...men are acting like women very well....
5:26pm Wed 25 May 11
district01 says...
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Father Christmas hasn’t been to my house for ages and I keep putting my list up the chimney and pray for him to call and leave me lots of nice presents for being such a good boy. But he doesn’t call any more. Sob!
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But it does make you wonder, doesn’t it?
5:39pm Wed 25 May 11
district01 says...
6:11pm Wed 25 May 11
Atticman says...
6:22pm Wed 25 May 11
jack daniels says...
6:23pm Wed 25 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
6:28pm Wed 25 May 11
jack daniels says...
or is it only when it suits?
6:30pm Wed 25 May 11
jack daniels says...
6:51pm Wed 25 May 11
burner says...
6:56pm Wed 25 May 11
A Game of Blue & White Halves says...
7:50pm Wed 25 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
9:13pm Wed 25 May 11
Seneca says...
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Seems there are double standards here Mr Mulla, you are all for equality when it comes to gaining employment with the council. Entry requirements lowered to achieve this equality, then jolly to London when mediocre qualifications are gained.
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Are mosques exempt from british equality laws/legislation?
Mr Mulla, yet again you have proven that you are an unfit person to hold the position as councillor.
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Once again, your comments breach BwDBC's Charter on equality.
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Once again, your comments as a councillor place you in breach of the codes of conduct you are bound by.
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Resign Mr Mulla, all you do is promote racism and sexism.
9:55pm Wed 25 May 11
Seneca says...
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Some type of immigration is a problem for all of us, but some type of immigration isn’t the problem in my opinion; sometime laziness and ignorance are.
Immigrant communities are harder working, more law- abiding and enrich the culture, in my opinion.
Coun Salim Mulla via email
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10:05pm Wed 25 May 11
carrman2 says...
10:09pm Wed 25 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
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listening to my grandparents when they were alive i got the feelings they had when digressing over the loss of their brothers and sisters and parents and family during the last outing of the fascist and twisted mindset, as difficult as this was, I was always able to sit and watch the pain as they remembered those times coming from the fact they were speaking of the suffering they experienced while fighting the evil that was fascist Germany.
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Today i see my fellow countrymen as i never imagined while growing up. I see people I was once proud of moving into the very mindset of those my grandparents were describing with horror as they relayed the stories faced by those they loved. I can think of no better reminder of why it is important we as a nation stop and think before we unleash the racist dragon to do nothing other than take the mind off the financial reality we suffer, than to present a chilling testimony from one who experienced it first hand in Germany as the jack boot began to rise :
.
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First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
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Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
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Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew
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Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
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"First they came…" is a famous statement attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.
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you see once it begins, it is then and only then you realise what it is and it is not England it is pure evil, and you are the real target, they just had to deceive you of this fact until its too late....
10:31pm Wed 25 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
10:33am Thu 26 May 11
Interocitor says...
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LCM is backward and insular on so many levels.
10:37am Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
11:00am Thu 26 May 11
jack daniels says...
Pastor Martin Niemöller has been quoted many, many times. Again, I have to state that you are telling us stuff we already know.
11:10am Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
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knowing summat and remembering it are as opposite as dark and light, I asked you remember
12:39pm Thu 26 May 11
jack daniels says...
Have you also thought that maybe people in the 1st world nations actually like being manipulated as we do at this time? We have food, warmth, electrical goods, and relative peace. Yes, things are going to change soon as the world has a huge population, limited resources and nobody is really talking about birth control. Will it be a war or biological warfare? What influence has your shady characters over Islam? Interesting times ahead, but not really relevant to this comments thread.
Maybe it’s just all this self publicity that you care about?
12:43pm Thu 26 May 11
nice person says...
1:38pm Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
1:40pm Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
1:47pm Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
What influence has your shady characters over Islam?
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they have influence over the new breed Muslims in their alliance with western secret societies, the very ones the like of the woman forcing this issue.
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Islam is suffering what Judaism and Christianity has suffered..... a new programmed mindset which shifts the boundaries of what the religion is.
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Zionism now controls Judaism as the Evangelical now controls the Christian, it is from the Arabic (whahbism, however its spelt), currently attacking its own religion Islam...and we know who controls the Arabs do we not?
1:58pm Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
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these families will be the ones selling their own people the weapons to fight the war as they will be the families lending the money to each government to fight the war and more importantly, to rebuild the countries after the fireworks have stopped....
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do you see the likes of Cameron and above suffering financially? No, they are telling us we have to suffer and 'act' as though they have concern, when their only real concern is do the people believe my outright lies?
2:06pm Thu 26 May 11
jack daniels says...
tough one. The arabs have a western gun to their head, yet they have us by the b@lls with the oil. Don't forget they own a lot of central London and many of the ports in the UK and USA, to name but a few. N.B. I'm sure it's even more than that but I don't give a s**t and don't care.
2:07pm Thu 26 May 11
jack daniels says...
......have you forgot
2:26pm Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
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you seem to be in naughty mood today
2:26pm Thu 26 May 11
nice person says...
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Coun Mulla said: “We see this as interference in privately run and funded places of worship.
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Can you elaborate on the "Interference" remark?I think any place of worship should be exactly that a place of worship,not some private run and funded establishment.We have equality in this country and i for one intend to keep it that way as do many more,if these are the views of you on women then you are not fit to hold the position that you do as head of Lancashire mosques.Your a bigot and racist to change when it involves women,but,you expect a whole entire country to change to accomodate you.You are the first to shout and condem,but,you are not to be trusted.
3:13pm Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
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I think the councillor given his position has no choice but to respond, and quite honestly his response is sound, it would be silly to make a demand such as this.
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Interestingly the report states they are dealing in guidelines only, not policy and not law. so this group of rabble rowsers making the demands do so with full liability for all that may come, and thats' the legal position......
3:33pm Thu 26 May 11
jack daniels says...
Does God not respond to English? What a pile of racist guff.
The guy trips himself up everytime he opens his gob.
3:50pm Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
4:03pm Thu 26 May 11
nice person says...
5:55pm Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
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http://video.google.
com/videoplay?docid=
-2001897549763616199
#
7:51pm Thu 26 May 11
Coeur de Lion says...
8:01pm Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
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we are all different in our attributes and i like that it makes life interesting, this equality crap will make us like ants...the question then becomes who would be the queen for all the ants to follow?
8:05pm Thu 26 May 11
Lifeinthemix says...
8:39pm Thu 26 May 11
A Game of Blue & White Halves says...
In some lesbian relationships, one partner prefers to take the dominant role because in her view, she's the man!
9:42pm Thu 26 May 11
2gud4u says...
12:16am Fri 27 May 11
Jerzei Balowski says...
12:49am Fri 27 May 11
A Game of Blue & White Halves says...
Go back to counting your fingers on the other hand, Dingle.
10:05am Sat 28 May 11
timeforcommonsense says...
4:08pm Sat 28 May 11
2gud4u says...
4:22pm Sat 28 May 11
Keep Darwen Green says...
4:38pm Sat 28 May 11
Keep Darwen Green says...
4:47pm Sat 28 May 11
A Game of Blue & White Halves says...
Contradiction: you're not a dingle. Trust me, a Burnley fan = a Dingle.
Burnley fans loyal? Perennial losers so evidently loyal!
This is further emphasised by the fact your username contains the number of fingers on your one hand!
4:50pm Sat 28 May 11
RK says...
6:11pm Sat 28 May 11
Seneca says...
12:38pm Sun 29 May 11
2gud4u says...
Rovers so called supporters left in droves after they won the league and jack walkers millions went. What doea that say about them other than they are fair weather fans .
My user name is quite apt as it signifies that i am to good for you and also all other teams are . lol
10:06am Mon 30 May 11
halfhearted says...
Its about time he packed his bags and cleared off. Its people like him who cause tension without just cause.
10:55am Mon 30 May 11
A Game of Blue & White Halves says...
With regards to fairweather fans, are you so naive as to believe, the attendances at the Dingle Dome have remained constant over the last three seasons - which saw you promoted and relegated like a lavatory flushing down filth?!
In terms of your username implying batting for both sides, I'm not that way inclined so your welcome to bat away -elsewhere!
As for lol, only a bad comedian laughs at his/ her own jokes.
11:35am Mon 30 May 11
2gud4u says...
As for Burnley they are not my team as i said earlier but if you did a comparison on how the fans attendances have fallen you will clearly see that blackburn are tops.
I do not know how you get my username to imply that i bat for both sides . I can only presume its your latent homosexual longings coming to the fore but sorry i am strictly hetrosexual. Find some of your islamic friends apparently they like some botty action until they get married . Rather a bad comedian than a total knobhead .
11:45am Mon 30 May 11
A Game of Blue & White Halves says...
security word: deep-mind - search for it!
4:55pm Mon 30 May 11
yamthejam says...
5:41pm Mon 30 May 11
2gud4u says...
Deep mind !!! here yours shallow mind !
5:43pm Mon 30 May 11
2gud4u says...
6:26pm Mon 30 May 11
A Game of Blue & White Halves says...
10:46am Tue 31 May 11
Coeur de Lion says...
5:42pm Tue 31 May 11
timeforcommonsense says...
7:10pm Tue 31 May 11
holsten pils says...