The Centre for Media Monitoring, a project of the Muslim Council of Britain, was launched at the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday.  Its purpose is to promote fair and responsible reporting of Muslims and Islam.

CfMM’s aim is to engage constructively with the media and empower communities to make a change.

“Academics and specialists across the world recognise that mainstream media reporting of Islam and Muslims is contributing to an atmosphere of rising hostility towards Muslims in Britain. CfMM’s vision is both to highlight negative trends in the media as well as promote good practice.”

Miqdaad Versi, CfMM’s Executive Director, has been working for some time to draw attention to poor reporting and inaccurate journalism. Read a profile written about him in the Guardian last year.

Check out CfMM’s website and follow them on social media to keep up to date.

Enjoy browsing CMF’s Spring News, packed with inspiration, links and news. Also upcoming events, new books, podcasts & courses.  There are items on Ramadan, solidarity, our leaders’ network, Catholic news, sustainability, summer schools, awards, a new eco-mosque and community iftars.

We’ll be adding to this list in the coming days (share details if you know of others), but here’s a start.

Find your local iftars and similar gatherings over the coming weeks.  We have been supporting Presence & Engagment in producing some helpful guidelines for churches & cathedrals thinking of hosting an iftar.

Open Iftar: in Tavistock Square Gardens, London, for the first 23 nights of Ramadan, and in many other cities across the country during the holy month.  For the last few nights, Open Iftar will take place in landmark locations in London.

Big Iftar: notice of Big Iftar events are often posted on their Facebook page.

7 May Newcastle Open Iftar

7 May Edinburgh Iftar Dinner Potluck

7 May Reading ISoc

8 May Birmingham Open Iftar

10 May Cardiff Potluck Iftar

11 May Batley The Batley Iftar

11 May London Fly to Allah

11 May Leicester Open Iftar

11 May Birmingham Unity Iftar

12 May Newcastle Annual Unity & Peace Iftar

12 May London  City Circle & St James’s Piccadilly

13 May Manchester Open Iftar

14 May London Community Iftar

14 May Oldham Share Ramadan

15 May London Interfaith Iftar

17 May Luton The Big Iftar

17 May London Inclusive Iftar

17 May London Restless Beings’ Women’s Iftar

18 May Liverpool Taste Ramadan

18 May Birmingham Iftar at the Cave

18 May St Albans Big Iftar

18 May London Interfaith Iftar

19 May Sheffield Open Iftar

22 May Bradford Open Iftar

25 May London Interfaith Iftar

26 May Didcot Share Ramadan

30 May London Inclusive Iftar

2 June Birmingham Taste Ramadan

Ramadan Mubarak from all of us here at the Christian Muslim Forum.

For all who are fasting, may God’s immaculate grace and exceptional wisdom conquer your life as you celebrate this holy month. We wish you a peaceful, nutritious and prayer-filled Ramadan Mubarak.

In the wake of the shooting in New Zealand, the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke at an interfaith gathering at Regent’s Park Mosque in London.

Much of what I was going to say has already been said. The killings in New Zealand are monstrous. The response of New Zealand, all its people, with Muslims in the forefront, is beautiful and inspiring. What they say to each other we say to you. Those who attack Muslims in THIS country or elsewhere attack every human being. You are not “the other”, you are us. Those who act out of hate for Muslims act out of hate for all here. Those who acted or supported the actions in New Zealand attack all of us.

For British Muslims who are feeling under threat, we are with you. Hatred of Muslims denies and blasphemes Christ. Those who co-opt Christian language and history for hatred commit blasphemy.

We will work with Bishops in the Church of England to see how we can be more effective in visible signs of togetherness.

We educate one million children in Church of England schools and have 8000 clergy. We will renew what we do in our Near Neighbours scheme. We will work with bishops to see how we can be more effective in dioceses.

I commit myself to listening more and putting this higher up the agenda in my own actions and words.

The event in New Zealand is a wake-up call to renew civilised discourse in public life and on social media. I know that my good friend Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who is unfortunately unable to be with us today, is one with me when I say that faith and obedience to God are part of the solution to the challenges of extremism and it is working with faith communities that we will tackle this problem. It’s shown by the fact that people from so many faiths are standing together here in solidarity. The attacker wanted to create a war against Islam; he generated human unity.

Jesus taught his followers to be peacemakers, “for they will be called children of God.” Making peace is an action, it doesn’t just happen. It requires us to be curious, to listen, to move across differences of culture, ethnicity, religion and politics in love. Hate crimes against those who are different have no place before God.

We stand together for you are us, and we are you, together in the hands of the creator and judge of every person. May God protect and strengthen you.

Read the full speech on the Archbishop’s website.

Dr. Al-Dubayan (London Central Mosque), Canon Anthony Ball (Westminster Abbey), the Rt Hon James Brokenshire (Communities Secretary) Karen Buck MP on Friday 15 March at London Central Mosque after Friday prayers. Thanks to Akeela Ahmed MBE the CMF team for arranging this act of grief and solidarity in the immediate aftermath of the horrific terror attacks on mosques in New Zealand.

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Are you Catholic, and would like to learn more about other religions?

Are you a person of faith and would like to know why Catholics might be interested in building a relationship with you on that basis?

Are you Catholic and have friends and family from other religions who would appreciate a message for their festivals (but you need a reminder like most of us)?

Do you want to know how people of faith(s) talking to each other and working together can make the world a better place for all?

Would you like to hear what the Catholic Church is doing about that?

Or are you sceptical about the whole idea?

For more info on Catholic activities with people of different faiths, check their website.

“In dialogue [with other religions] we must not be surprised, but actually expect to find God already there, and that Christ has gone before us.” All Catholics are called to dialogue by their baptism, and continue Jesus’ work of love and healing when they follow this call. We believe that, in our times, interreligious engagement is essential.”

Here is a link to the historic document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed on 4 February this year by His Holiness Pope Francis and The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb.

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