Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association UK and Indian Muslim Federation Leytonstone organised a really wonderful Jalse Seerat today at the IMF Hall in Leytonstone. It was utterly fulfilling to hear about Seerah, particularly with the participation of highly sophisticated women like Shahnaz Suri and Akhtar Siddiqui.
The programme was introduced by Khurshid Hasan of AMU and Shamsuddin Agha of IMF jointly! Akhtar Siddiqui welcomed all the guests and speakers to the event,
The main speakers were:
Dr Mohammed Fahim, the Chairman of the Trustees and Chief Imam at the Qurani Murkuz Trust, South Woodford. His talk was on the aspects of Seerah in the present day context. What a dynamic speaker! He had the audience spellbound.
Professor Abdul Ali Hamid: Vice Principal, Muslim College, scholar, author and a life member of the Association. He presided over the proceedings and presented a talk on aspects of Seerah.
Dr Shahnaz Suri: Aligarh, founder member, former treasurer and President of the Association presented a talk on Seerah from the female perspective.
Adil Siddiqui: Recitation of Naat” (Urdu). He is a long term member and a friend of the association and blessed with beautiful melodious voice. He recited really powerfully and touched everyone’s heart.
Finally Irfan Mustafa gave a vote of thanks.
As usual, I learnt so much from these amazing people most of whom have studied at Aligarh Muslim University!!
On the 19th anniversary of the destruction and demolition of Babri Masjid on 6th December 2011, members of the Indian Muslim Federation (UK) urged the government of India and particularly, the Supreme Court of India to take action and acknowledge the miscarriage of justice in the case of the Babri Masjid demolition and work towards a full and final resolution of the issue.
Mr Shamsuddin Agha, President of IMF (UK) said that “Justice delayed is justice denied. After 19 years since this crime against the nation was committed, it is unacceptable and reflects poorly on of India’s pluralist and secular character.
The Supreme Court’s stay on the October 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court is welcome, it is clear that the machinations of those involved in the demolition could result in further delay for the victims of one of the most egregious violations of religious freedom in our nation’s history
added Mr. Agha
IMF (UK) believes that it was Indian government’s inaction, coupled with fanatical mobs driven by the hate-filled discourse of the Sangh parivar that led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.
In order to repair the secular foundations of India and to heal the wounds to our national pride caused by the demolition and its murderous aftermath, IMF (UK) has demanded the following:
Criminal prosecution of those responsible and held culpable by the Liberhan Commission for the Babri Masjid demolition;
A resolution of the title to the disputed land, based on facts and not on favouring the religious beliefs of one community over those of another;
A reaffirmation of the “The Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991”, that prohibits the conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on 15th August, 1947. Although this Act does not apply to the Babri Masjid, it would ensure that sectarian politics is not allowed leverage over other places of worship in order to advance a divisive agenda.
IMF(UK) has called upon people of all faiths to exercise restraint during the upcoming anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, and called upon the law enforcement agencies to provide adequate security to all citizens.
The President of the IMF, Shamsuddin Agha organised an elaborate event at the Federation to pay tribute to Faiz on the occasion of his centenary. The event was well attended by members and some very high profile guests. The Deputy Speaker of the Indian Parliament – the Raj Sabha Mr Khan, specially delayed his flight back to India by one day so he could take part in this event.
The event was compeered by the very mellow mannered Shahid Ali Syed, whose main strong point is that he is brief and to the point. The programme included speeches about Faiz, recital of his poetry and finally a live musical tribute whereby Seema Lodhi presented a selection of Faiz’s ghazals in her melodious voice. She was joined by the IMF’s own Adil Siddiqui who also displayed his reverence for Faiz in his singing.
Zikr uss parivash ka aur phir bayan apna – is the only way I can describe the reminiscent talks about Faiz by two of my favourite Speakers – Raza Ali Abidi and Asaf Jilani. Both of them managed to introduce us to aspects of Faiz’s life that were hitherto unknown to me at least. For example Faiz’s father started his work career as a Quli and ended up being Afghanistan’s Ambassador to the UK!
It must also be mentioned that Saba Shaikh, daughter of the very popular barrister and Counsellor Shuja Shaikh did a fantastic job of decorating the stage. Dr Syed Masroor, in addition to remembering with great fondness how Faiz gifted him a ten rupee note, which was framed and shown off to all friends and family by his father, also supported the event financially. Mr Sarwar of the Nation was put on the spot and invited on stage to say a few words. Being an articulate and sincere man, he was able to express his fondness for Faiz without great difficulty.
The most striking thing about this event was that it was organised by a group who have been founded on their religious values. The fact of their pride in their religion, their beards and Hijaabs, the constant breaks so people could say their prayers did not prevent them from paying their respects to the legendary Faiz, who has often been associated with Marxism and Socialism.
Not only that, his marriage to an English woman called Elys and it’s worth noting that Faiz never gave Elys a different name just to legitimise her existence within his own community and make her more acceptable, did not result in any bias towards him by the IMF. In fact Shamsuddin proudly declared that Faiz’s Sasuraal is in the area. Faiz loved and accepted Elys as she was and she remained devoted to him throughout his life and even after his death, she has continued to live in his beloved Pakistan.
This clearly goes to show that the IMF is a shining example of Muslims who embrace the values of multi-cultural Britain and respect and celebrate figures of history who may not even fit into their criteria of the perfect Muslim. The tolerance and pluralism of the IMF was made even more evident by the two special guests, Ms Sangeeta Bahadur (a Hindu) and Mr S.S Sidhu (a Sikh) who expressed their respect and admiration of Faiz again proving that Faiz was a poet for all the people of the entire sub-continent.
My experience of the IMF has always been that right from the President Shamsuddin to the Executive Committee to the ordinary members – they are all friendly, warm, generous and hospitable. Most notably Irfan Mustafa, Shamsuddins own daughter Huma, Shamsuddin’s stunning and talented granddaughter Qudsia as well as other members of the EC personally looked after the guests with great warmth and affection throughout the evening right up to the point of saying farewell at the end of the afternoon. The amazingly smooth and speedy manner in which the food was served at this event really goes to show that in this organisation, everyone works as part of a team.
My congratulations to Shamsuddin and his whole team for the wonderful afternoon it turned out to be!! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and left the event feeling totally fulfilled!
The IMF – (Indian Muslim Federation) organised an Eid-ul-Fitr celebration for 2011 award high achieving students who scored outstanding marks. Chief guest Deputy High Commissioner for India Mr. Rajesh N. Prasad presented awards.
Malek Shamsuddin Agha Dr M Khan Geneva 2000 ForumMr P C Halder Minister Coordination Mr M Ghazali Khan Mr Shamsuddin Agha High Commissioner Mr Nareshwar Dayal Mr-Abdul Kadir Malek Mr Irfan Mustafa
In June 2000 IMF handed a 13000 signature petition against Religious Places Bill in UP, to the Indian High Commissioner Mr Nareshwar Dayal.
