mobilized support and solidarity – by noon that day we had issued joint press statements and a major interfaith witness and walk by hundreds of our members to Aldgate Tube – by the following day the shock waves and implications of this act of mindless violence and terror had already set back community relations very significantly. In the longer term this led to the 'Prevent' anti-extremism programme, a major investment by the government in the surveillance powers of the State. Leading individuals and institutions of Islam came under an all pervasive spotlight, including the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which was launched in 1997, as well as the East London Mosque and anyone connected to it.
Despite a hostile press and the growing power and presence of far-right street movements like the English Defence League (EDL) and British National Party (BNP), Dr Bari was persuaded to stand as the MCB's Secretary-General in 2006, and once elected served loyally and effectively in the post for four very tough and challenging years. His contribution to public life continued after this as a member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), which delivered one of the most glorious Olympics in history in London in July and August 2012. He describes the summer of 2012 as the world as it should be – London smiled, the sun shone and the rich diversity of London was celebrated and relished by the thousands of tourists who flocked to the Olympic site in east London. Although much of the Games was held during Ramadan, Dr Bari and Tower Hamlets mosques worked with TELCO to put on the UK's largest iftar (daily breaking of the Ramadan fast after sunset), hosting competitors from all over the world, including delegates from Israel and Palestine sitting together.
★ ★ ★
As the focus on radicalisation continues and anti-Muslim prejudice swells, Dr Bari has chosen one of the most difficult journeys: forging a common consensus between the fragmenting British Muslim communities – including young people and elders, Shia and Sunni, literalists and secularists – and the rest of British society. All at a time of unprecedented tension and change. I commend this book to you and challenge the reader to put yourself in Dr Bari's shoes and think how you would have coped living and leading through these very turbulent years.
This book presents a vision, or blueprint, for 'getting on' and the 'common good', including both social and political as well as spiritual dimensions. Setting out his stall, Dr Bari reflects on lessons from his own life: growing up in rural Bangladesh, inspired by a primary and then secondary teacher, drawn from mysticism; joining the Bangladesh Air Force; coming to the UK to study for a PhD and working as a science teacher, and later a special needs teacher in inner city east London. And then he reflects on his journey and shares observations from close to the heart of British Muslim life and the many lessons from the communities he represents and respects. All the time influenced by the tremendous commitment to public life and service of his father, and his respect for his mother's own unique leadership and ability to nurture the best in her children and the people she met.
Uniquely, Dr Bari bridges two distinct worlds: the old guard Muslim first generation elders, and the newer generation. He is a mild-mannered family man, but bold, straight and determined when it comes to standing up for social justice and community interests. He is a passionate supporter of helping young people to understand power and how vital it is for anyone seeking to be a leader to play a responsible part in public life. Yet he also respects the key role played by the first generation of Bangladeshis and British Muslims, who came to the UK in the 1960s and 1970s and sometimes struggle to understand the paths chosen by their children and grandchildren. He argues that these 'elders' are the heroes who built the Muslim community infrastructure – the 'hardware', as he calls it. He believes it is now time for the younger generations to pick up the baton and create the effective 'software' to professionally run these institutions and open them up to ensure that all the community can fully engage with wider society and their neighbours.
Unlike some high profile UK Muslims – often ex-radicals who have chosen to leave the middle way or been shunned by mainstream Muslims – Dr Bari carries the weight of the community with him, along with his credentials as a peace maker. He is not afraid to challenge the elders or the angry voices of young people, and his words and advice in this book will be an uncomfortable challenge for those who wish to stay in their comfort zones and blame others for their plight. To quote Dr Bari: 'Islam demands from Muslims to continuously read, re-read, re-interpret and renew their faith with the context of time and space through the power of ijtihad (or reasoning).'
Jihad (striving or struggling) ... comes from the root word jahada – meaning endeavour, exertion, effort, diligence, etc. Jihad also means a personal commitment of self-purification through pure intention, patience and determination to achieve one's personal best. Confronting one's own weaknesses in the best possible manner is also jihad. So, any individual effort to bring good to oneself, family and community can be termed as 'jihad'.
To use the maximum effort of striving and struggling – to continuously improve oneself and the environment in the family, community and public life – is an obligation, as well as a civic responsibility to a Muslim. Dr Bari's life and service is a great example of this in practice.
Since 2010, the East London Citizens Organization and its parent body, Citizens UK (CUK), has been blessed by his active involvement in our work and practice as a delegate from the London Muslim Centre. He has been an active member of CUK's Council and has visited Downing Street and City Hall to meet the prime minister and two London mayors. He has joined with non-Muslim neighbours to support the Real Living Wage campaign, welcomed refugees and actioned pilot projects for genuinely affordable housing in east London. He has consistently encouraged other members of his network and the London Muslim Centre to follow his example and has argued that we are all so much better and wiser together.
I hope that another likely legacy for Dr Bari will be the unique Citizens Commission on Islam, Participation and Public Life, which was primarily his idea (with Sir Stephen O'Brien and Sir Trevor Chinn) and initiated by the trustees of Citizens UK in September 2015. The Commission is unique in many ways, one of which is that it is not primarily addressed to the State. There are only four Muslim Commissioners, and it has significant support from public figures in the business, academia, media and military worlds, The Commission has spent over a year visiting most major cities across the UK and listening to hundreds of Muslim and non-Muslim citizens. It has been very lucky to have Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC, MP and former Conservative Attorney General, as the Chair, and Jenny Watson, the then Chair of the Electoral Commission, as Vice Chair. After reporting to the CUK Trustees, in summer 2017 the Commission published a report: 'The Missing Muslims: Unlocking British Muslim Potential for the Benefit of All', with a series of recommendations aimed primarily at civil society, including the Muslim community, the State and the business community. Dr Bari was an adviser to the Commission, supported by the Scholars Groups and Young Leaders Group which has run parallel to the Commission and both supported and critiqued its work.
I am confident that the Commission Report will initiate a series of practical actions and some policy changes aiming to honour the central role that a healthy and integrated civil society has to make in public life. The ambitious aim which Dr Bari and I hope for (along with the Commissioners and CUK Trustees, of course) is that the changes the Citizens Commission have recommended, and CUK will initiate, will lead to the UK's Muslim community taking a proud and positive role in public life, alongside their neighbours.
Inshallah (God willing), this Commission and its works will be another fitting tribute to the vision and persistence of this quiet and unassuming, but determined and courageous, civil society leader (who happens to also be a Muslim): Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari. His lifetime's work for conciliation and understanding within and between communities has played an outstanding part in making the UK that bit safer and its communities more at peace with one another. It has also led to Dr Bari's substantial following of young people being ready, keen and able to join with others in the struggle to make the world a much better place.
That cannot be a bad legacy.
Neil
