New Scotland Yard

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Catriona Robertson

New MPS Engagement Tsar Cdr Mak Chishty

LBFN’s Crime, Community Safety and Security social lab had an excellent and wide-ranging exchange with the new Commander for Engagement in the Metropolitan Police Service, Mak Chishty, on Monday 7 July.

Contributions from Islington, Hounslow, Enfield, Lambeth, Kingston, Harrow, Tower Hamlets, Redbridge and Merton showed the range of good work undertaken by local faith forums in engaging with the police. They also highlighted the challenges in sustaining relationships over time.

Commander Chishty shared with us his initial thoughts on engagement and the work already underway, which includes local mapping, a listening campaign, special summer events and borough engagement plans. His SHINE approach encourages relaxed and informal relationships to develop between police officers and the public.

With the change from the Metropolitan Police Authority’s Community-Police Engagement Groups to the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime’s Safer Neighbourhood Boards, there is some uncertainty over structures to support engagement. Progress seems to be uneven across London.

LBFN members were asked to contact their Borough Commanders (details for each borough here) to initiate conversations which will lead to the inclusion of religious communities in the new borough engagement plans. The emphasis was on sustained relationships with multifaith groups, churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and gurdwaras, which all offer strong social networks, local knowledge, expertise and organisational memory.

LBFN’s Crime, Community Safety and Security social lab at New Scotland Yard.

People from seven religious traditions took part. We will organise a follow up meeting in due course.

What’s On

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Catriona Robertson

A quick round-up of activities in London over the next couple of months, for activists and thinkers alike. Plenty to get our teeth into – enjoy!

Thursday 24 April 12.30-2pm South London Inter Faith Group informal lunch meeting at Streatham Friends Meeting House, Redlands Way, SW2 3LU.

Tuesday 29 April, 6pm – 8pm Multifaith Hustings for the European Elections at the Karibu Education Centre, 7 Gresham Road, Brixton, SW9 7PH, organised by Faiths Together in Lambeth. Further details here.

Tuesday 29 April 6.30pm at the Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, Westminster, SW1A 2LQ. Building Communities In An Age Of Change, with GlobalNet21 & Community Development Network London. Speakers include Andy Sawford MP & Steve Wyler of Locality. Details here.

Wednesday 30 April 7.15 to 9pm Women’s Discussion Group (discussion, support and friendship) Hounslow Friends of Faith, Hounslow Community Centre, Montague Road, Hounslow TW3 1JY. Details here.

Wednesday 7 May 6.30pm at St Paul’s Cathedral, EC4M 8AD. Climate Change: Building the Will for Action with Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Download the flyer here & book a place here.

Thursday 8 May 7 – 9 pm Faiths Together in Croydon event on Interfaith Marriage at CVA, 82 London Road, CR0 2TB. Contact Matt at matt@victoriascottpainter.com.

Saturday 10 May 7.00-8.15pm Conversations for the Soul (one to one interfaith conversations about beliefs and practice) at the South London Islamic Centre, 8 Mitcham Lane, SW16 6NN. Details from John Woodhouse on 020 8677 0588 or 0790 8888 586 or email woodhousesopten@btinternet.com.

Sunday 11 May 2.30pm Lambeth Multi-faith Action Group. Faith in Education at Corpus Christi Church Hall, Brixton Hill, SW2 5BJ. Speakers include Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi, Sarah Thorley and Fr Joseph Briffa SJ.

Monday 12 May 6 for 6.30pm at 77 Great Peter Street, London, SW1P 2EZ Atheists: the Origin of the Species with Nick Spencer of Theos (book launch and discussion).

Tuesday 13 May 9.45-11.45am London Peace Network planning group meets in central London, probably in the Euston Road area. The Peace Network was brought together by LBFN to promote the Olympic Truce and to support local peace-building. Visit the website to see what is planned and let LBFN know if you’d like to join us for the planning meeting – you would be most welcome. Check LPN on Facebook.

Tuesday 13 May12.00 to 13.30 Lunchtime Dialogue in Whitechapel with the Christian Muslim Forum. A regular session based on Conversations for the Soul (tandem dialogue between people of different faiths) on the second Tuesday of each month. More details from CMF here.

Wednesday 14 May 5-7pm Faiths & Civil Society Unit, Goldsmiths. Faith in the Public Realm Dilwar Hussain of New Horizons in British Islam at lecture room RHB 137. Registration and more details here.

Wednesday 14 May 5.30pm to 7.00pm. RUSI, 61 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ET. How has religion become an agent in peace-building in conflict areas of the world? Westminster Faith Debates.

Wednesday 14 May 18.30 Narrative Practitioners Forum – for those who use personal narrative and story in their work to share best practice and learn from each other. At the London Inter Faith Centre, 125 Salusbury Road, NW6 6RG. With St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation & Peace, the Forgiveness Project, International School of Storytelling and Guerrard Hermes Foundation for Peace. £10. Book here.

Friday 16 May Deadline for call for abstracts (invited from scholars and relevant practitioners) for an academic workshop Sense of Belonging in a Diverse Britain. Wide range of papers welcomed. Workshop organised by the Dialogue Society and Coventry University on 20-21 November in Coventry.

Thursday 29 May 10.30-15.00 Religion and Belief in Higher Education conference at SRHE, 73 Collier Street, London, N1 9BE. Papers include one on the social and academic experiences of Christian, Sikh, Muslim and Jewish students. £60. Details here.

Tuesday 10th June to Thursday 12th June: Understanding Islam, a three day course with Dr Chris Hewer and the Faithful Friends group in Ham, Richmond. More details from Diana Mills at dianamills@phonecoop.coop.

Saturday 14th June 9.45am-6pm Westminster Interfaith’s 29th Annual Multi-Faith Pilgrimage for Peace – this year in Haringey. This is always a popular event – booking form & contacts here and more details in the latest newsletter here.

Monday 16 June Reflections of Jesus and Muhammad, or Distortions? Day conference with the Christian Muslim Forum and several leading speakers at Abrar House, Crawford Place, nr Edgware Road W1H 4LP. Details & registration here.

Tuesday 17 June – Wednesday 18 June European Network on Religion & Belief AGM in Brussels, Belgium. Grassroots practitioners from across Europe gathering together, with Matthew Goodwin (Nottingham University) speaking on the far right in Europe and the impact of the recent elections. This is a free event (reasonably priced accommodation available), with a visit to the European Parliament and Commission included. Further information & registration here. LBFN has been part of ENORB from its inception.

Thursday 26 June 18.30 to 21.00 Multiculturalism – Problem or Solution? How do we all fit together, what kind of society do we live in, is it working? Speakers include Dan Nilsson DeHanas, Akeela Ahmed, Ajmal Masroor, Revd Alan Green (Tower Hamlets Inter Faith Forum). £5. Details from the Christian Muslim Forum.

Members of Kingston Inter Faith Forum & South London Inter Faith Group appeared on Sky News on Monday, sharing views following the Prime Minister’s Easter message. View the clip here.

Greater London Presence & Engagement has produced a helpful briefing (Susanne gave us a sneak preview at our last meeting) to the controversy surrounding ‘religious slaughter’ – download it here.

At LBFN’s last meeting at DCLG we agreed to form several ‘social labs‘. Our regular meetings are very successful at bringing a wide range of practitioners together from across the capital, but there are too many of us now to discuss our concerns in depth each time. Have a look at the Social Labs page and let the convener know which one(s) you’d like to be involved with – there are six to choose from.

A few borough networks are refreshing their ideas, getting involved in new activities and attracting new members. Contact LBFN if you’d like to meet up with similar faith forums/multifaith networks to share experiences. Our Waterloo office is a perfect meeting space, with its informal cafe and plenty of space.

Please pass news on to your communities and networks and let LBFN know if you have any events, publications, job opportunities or news you would like to share.

Keep in touch via email. And if you are on Facebook, please ‘like’ LBFN’s page https://www.facebook.com/LondonBoroughsFaithsNetwork and use it to link to your own activities. LBFN’s convener tweets @multifaith and is always happy to find LBFN friends on Twitter.

Upcoming events

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Catriona Robertson

There’s plenty on in London to get 2014 off to a great start!

20 January 9.30am – 4.10pm A Conversation about Conflict exploring the faith influences that can be used to tackle difficult issues in a community setting. St Ethelburga’s and Christian Muslim Forum are co-facilitating the workshop at 305 Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9LH. Details here.

Could your faith community improve the way it responds to conflict?
Are you interested in bringing the principles and practices of your faith into your responses to conflict?
Are you interested in sharing your faith practices across faiths and learning from each other?

22 January 10am-12pm Together in Service funding briefing at Bethnal Green Mission Church, 305 Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9LH. There’s also a chance to talk to the TiS team individually about potential projects. Details here.

22 January 6.30-8pm Poverty and the Tolerance of the Intolerable – talk by Prof Amartya Sen at LSE . The talk will be live-streamed on LSE’s website and a podcast made available. Details here.

27 January Holocaust Memorial Day events have been been organised by many London boroughs in cooperation with local religious communities, including Barnet, Lewisham, Haringey, Southwark, Greenwich, Croydon, Brent, Lambeth, Hounslow and Havering. Details of all London events here.

27 January 5.30pm European Parliament training event with Faiths Forum for London at Europe House, Smith Square, W1. The aim is to engage with citizens and faith groups to raise awareness of the issues and debates taking place in European Parliament and how citizens can get involved the decision making. Details here.

South London Inter Faith Group meets on the last Thursday of the month at 12.30-2pm at Streatham Friends Meeting House, Roupell Park Estate, Redland Way, SW2 3LU. Next meeting 30 January. Details here.

4 February 6pm The Dialogue Society Book Group Meeting 5: A Distant Shore, by Caryl Phillips The Dialogue Society, 402 Holloway Road, N7 6PZ. Details here.

Westminster Faith Debates are back with a new series, on global religious trends, at RUSI, 61 Whitehall, SW1A 2ET at 5.30pm, including on 12 February What is driving sectarian violence in the wake of the Arab spring? and on 12 March Are attempts to promote worldwide religious freedom naive or necessary? Details here.

18 February Women in the 21st Century conference at Queen Mary University, London E1 4NS with a wide range of speakers and workshops (£40). Details here.

Westminster Cathedral Interfaith Group meets next to the Cathedral in Victoria on the third Wednesday of the month at 4pm. Upcoming speakers include Hugo Clarke (Curzon Institute) on World War 1 (19 February), Raheed Salam, faith and interfaith consultant for NCVYS (19 March). Details here.

11 March 3-5pm London Boroughs Faiths Network meeting at the Department for Communities and Local Government, Eland House, Bressenden Place, SW1E 5DU. We are also planning two focused meetings on health and on young Londoners.

Goldsmiths’ Faiths and Civil Society Unit has a series on Faith in the Public Realm, including How do governments do God? Warwick Hawkins MBE, Head of Faith Communities Engagement, Department for Communities and Local Government
12 March at 5pm. Near Neighbours – can Christians do public faith for everyone? Dilwar Hussain, New Horizons in British Islam, 14 May at 5pm. Details here.

15 March God and Government Conference with Theos, covering welfare, religious freedom, multiculturalism, and education among others. Details here.

Research Project on Attitudes to Self-Sacrificial Death for National and/or Religious Motives. Prof John Wolffe (Professor of Religious History, The Open University) is interested to hear from anyone from a Catholic, Protestant or Muslim background who would like to take part in this study by being interviewed. “In the run-up to the centenaries of the outbreak of the First World War (August 1914), of the Easter Rising in Dublin (April 1916) and of the Battle of the Somme (July 1916), we are developing a historical and contemporary study of British and Irish views on martyrdom and sacrificial death. We are interested not only in perceptions of events a century ago, but also in the way casualties have been regarded in events within living memory such as the Falklands War of 1982, the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland and IRA attacks in the mainland UK in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. We are also exploring more contemporary examples, notably reactions to the 9/11 and 7/7 bombings, to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to the ‘Arab Spring’.” Details here.

Funding for multifaith social action & civic engagement

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Catriona Robertson

Are you bringing local people from different religious traditions together? Are you based in East London?

Good news! The Near Neighbours fund (grants of up to £5,000) will be officially launched next month, but is open for applications now.

Tim Clapton, Near Neighbours Co-ordinator in East London, writes

Near Neighbours aim is to :

1. Enable first encounters between people of different faith and ethnicity

2. Deepen those relationship to every day interactions.

3. Different faiths and ethnicities working together in social action / civic engagement.

Grants are available up to £5,000. Applications to me nearneighbours@theology-centre.org – you’ll have a result within 14 days.

Find out if you are in one of the Near Neighbours areas here (this is a list of Church of England parishes, so contact Tim for details of where they are).

Eligible areas fall within these London boroughs: Islington, Greenwich, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.

How well do local police understand religious communities?

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Catriona Robertson

This is a good read for any of us who work with the local police – advising, attending Gold Groups, being part of Community-Police Engagement Groups, monitoring Stop and Search or by training new recruits. It’s a good read for police officers, too.

Photo from the Metropolitan Police Press Bureau

Interviews with the police in Tower Hamlets and Barking & Dagenham by researchers from the University of Leeds revealed a complex pattern of understanding. The purpose of the research was to help police develop ways to understand the people they serve, to form

appropriate, positive relations with local religious communities and to navigate issues of belief, faith and religion as they arise in the operational and institutional environments of British policing.

The appendix contains the immortal statement, “Faith Groups have their own fantastic community networks.”

The research was carried out by the University of Leeds in partnership with the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme.

Do you think they got it right? Do we get hung up on ‘rules’ when a wider understanding is needed? Will this research help?

I liked the quote from David Ford

Our society is not simply secular; nor is it simply religious; it is both religious and secular in complex ways. If it is to work well there need to be huge numbers of conversations and collaborations across religious and secular boundaries.

You can download the full report here. A link to a summary of the research is here.

Tower Hamlets Interfaith Forum on Radio London

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Catriona Robertson

Alan Green of Tower Hamlets Interfaith Forum was on Robert Elms’ Radio London show yesterday – you’ll be able to hear him for the next six days at about 11 minutes, 50 seconds into this Listen Again link.

Alan talks about how the Interfaith Forum works and how it contributes to community life in the borough.

Yesterday was also IDAHO day (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia) and Tower Hamlets Interfaith Forum held a conference (along with Rainbow Hamlets and No Place for Hate) designed to build dialogue and understanding. Among the speakers were Andrew Stunell, Minister at Department for Communities and Local Government, and Lutfur Rahman, who is the Mayor of Tower Hamlets.

Alan talks about the event on the programme and the organisers wrote,

“For some more traditional faith communities, scripture is understood to forbid very specifically samegender sexual relations.

But does this mean that such rules require rationalisations that demonise, stigmatise and slur entire sections of the populace? Is hatred of any group ever justified by faith?

For us, it is not about always agreeing, but it is about always treating each other as human beings and not as something other.”

Jan Mcharry used to represent the Interfaith Forum on LBFN and spoke to us about environmental issues at our January 2011 meeting at the Women’s Interfaith Network. Jan has now moved away from London and we look forward to welcoming another member of the Forum at our meetings.

London Boroughs Faiths Network

connecting local practitioners & public agencies across the capital

Category Archives: Tower Hamlets

New Scotland Yard

How well do local police understand religious communities?

Tower Hamlets Interfaith Forum on Radio London

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