British Muslim organizations visit NU news portal

Jakarta, NU Online
NU Online received a visit of the British Muslim Society, the Association of British Muslims and Upstanding Neighborhood, on the fifth floor of NU headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday (24/8).

Kashan Amar, the Upstanding Neighborhood coordinator explained he was opposed to any kind of violence in the name of Islam. He was concerned about the increasingly widespread radical campaigns in social media.

"Therefore, we form this (Upstanding Neighborhood)," Kashan said, adding that Upstanding Neihgborhood was not an organization having a structure. "It is a virtual network campaigning for a peaceful Islam through social media and against any radical campaign."

He said, those involved in the organization were committed to forming multiple social media channels such as videos, articles, and memes about peaceful Islam. He also warned of websites and other social media spreading propaganda of extremism.

"Our activities are (among others) initiating trainings, campaigns, and mentoring to spread Islam littered fully with peaceful (messages) in multiple social media such as facebook, twitter, instagram, and youtube," he explained.

Meanwhile, coordinator of the Association of British Muslims (AoMB) Mohammed Abbasi said that Islam had entered the British mainland since the 8th century. At the time of king Offa of Mercia, he made coins that reads syahadah as a copy of the coins having been issued by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansour.

British Muslims, according to Abbasi, is the oldest Islamic organization in UK and was founded by Shaykh al-Islam Abdullah Quilliam Bey in 1989.

One of the AoBM goals is to convince the British people to understand the true teachings of Islam and to help fellow Muslims in the UK and Europe both physically and financially.

There are several issues facing Muslims in the UK, such as exaggerating the violence, not proud of being a British citizen, a fragile community, poverty, remote Islamic schools, racism and Islamophobia, foreign policy issues, and was hated by the public.

In the UK, Islam is the second largest religion amounted to some 2.4 million , or 4 percent of the UK population. (Ahmad Muchlishon Rochmat/Masdar)