London Rally to fight back against prejudices

Given the recent political and media campaign attacking the Muslim community and the increasing stigmatisation of religious minorities, the

British Muslim Initiative and Liberty are coming together to host a Rally on 20th of Novmber at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster to defend the freedom of religion, conscience and thought and to unite against attacks on Muslims.

This rally, which seeks to confront and address this worrying trend, will feature a vast range of speakers drawn from across the

political spectrum and from various faiths and none, including the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, human rights campaigner and Director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti, the General Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain Dr. Abdul Bari, the Leader of the Scottish National Party Alex Salmond MP, the Liberal Democrat Spokesman on Community and Local Government and former Baptist preacher Andrew Stunell MP, Labour MP Jon Cruddas, former editor of the Catholic Herald and ex-deputy editor of the New Statesman Cristina Odone, the spokesman of the British Muslim Initiative Anas Altikriti, Catholic peace campaigner and Vice-President of Pax Christi Bruce Kent, University and College Union joint General-Secretary Paul Mackney, Muslim academic Tariq Ramadan, Sikh activist Dabinderjit Singh OBE, Conservative Party Vice Chair Sayeeda Warsi, anti-racism campaigner Karen Chouhan, the founder and Director of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality Edie Friedman, Tony Benn   and the national convenor of Stop the War Lindsey German.

This eclectic list reflects the rich diversity of  beliefs and outlooks that we cherish and seek to protect, and indicates that freedom of thought, conscience and belief and its safeguarding   against politically opportunistic and calculated attack are not the  concern of one sole community, but the responsibility of every individual.

To arrange interviews and further information please contact:

Ihtisham Hibatullah on 07786 257120

The event is co-organised by: British Muslim Initiative & Liberty  

Venue: Methodist Central Hall Westminster,
            London. SW1H 9NH

Date:    20^th November 2006
Time:    6.00 pm to 9.30 pm

For further details please visit www.bminitiative.net

Supported by: Mayor of London, Muslim Council of Britain, Pax Christi,  Stop the War, coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, CND,   UNISON, University and College Union, National Assembly Against Racism, the 1990Trust,Sikhs in England,  National Coalition of Black Led Organisations, Islamic Forum Europe, The Cordoba Foundation, JUSTPEACE, Islamic Human Right Commission, Islam Channel, Islamic Times, Dawatul Islam, Assembly for the Protection of Hijab,   Friends of Al Aqsa,  IWitness,  Muslim Safety Forum,  Operation Black Vote, Black Londoners Forum, The Society of Black Lawyers,IslamExpo, Muslim Voices, National Black Student Alliance and  IslamExpo.