A Long Jihad. Muhammad Abdul Bari

a teacher mattered in dealing with a difficult situation. There were a few tangible successes in the way I handled some students with behavioural difficulties, and some of my departmental colleagues also sought my help when they struggled with aggressive behaviour from some students. I started giving some extra time with the SEN department on occasions and offered my help when I had free time.

      Being away from university-level physics for a few years, and having some practical experience in classroom teaching – which was getting more tiresome – I thought of moving further into the world of SEN. Special Educational Needs teaching deals with smaller numbers of children, focusing on individual challenges and opportunities. It would need extra patience and empathy to deal with an emotionally vulnerable young person with learning and other difficulties. I felt I had some strength in dealing with such young people, and my skills would be better used in that special area of educational support. I thought about moving to a job in south London, where I lived, or east London, where my community work lay (and I was becoming increasingly busy).

      An opportunity arose from the Tower Hamlets Education Authority, and after a series of interviews I was offered a job in its well-resourced and well-known Support for Learning Service (SLS). Beyond teaching, I was also expanding my involvement within the community – not only to Muslims nationwide, but also in the world of interfaith bridging. The East London Mosque was beginning to attract all sorts of people, not only from the East End of London but from all parts of the city – and beyond. It brought me into contact with various groups across the country, including some well-known multi-faith and interfaith bodies.

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      At the beginning of 1994, a new phase was opening in my life. When some relatively young community leaders and professionals started discussing the creation of a new national umbrella body, I joined them in earnest. After over three years of consistent work, in 1997 the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) was born, later to become Britain's largest and most diverse Muslim umbrella body. Its purpose was to help shape the future of British Muslims, meeting and raising the hopes and aspirations of this burgeoning community. The MCB and my involvement with the organization will be discussed more fully in a later chapter.

      One day, in the mid-1990s, a well-dressed white man of my age came to visit the mosque to discuss a project he was planning to start in east London. A few of us in the ELM gathered around him curiously: 'Does he have any agenda?' some wondered. He introduced himself as Neil Jameson, and spoke about community organizing by citizens working together to improve life in our neighbourhood communities. We knew little about his background, but he appeared approachable and his smile and body language suggested a gentle, visionary and determined man.

      Neil was brimming with ideas and passion as he expanded his vision of using community organizing as a vehicle for social and even political change for good, ideas which immediately chimed with me. It reminded me of the basic Islamic teachings of social justice, i.e., working for the common good of all in society, a crucial civic responsibility for any citizen. Our Prophet himself was involved in a 'League of the Virtuous' (Hilf al-Fudul) in his early adult life, which helped people in need in the very rough and tumble life of Makkah; the whole purpose was to spread the principles of justice as well as to intervene on behalf of the oppressed in the tribal Arab society.

      We discussed these ideas and soon signed up to Neil's project. Hence the ELM became a founding member of The East London Communities Organization (TELCO). Various faith organizations from Abrahamic and other backgrounds, as well as non-faith groups, came together to unlock the potential of grassroots community activism on issues such as living wages for low-paid workers in London. It was the start of a bold new experiment that was to bear fruit in the coming years. TELCO gradually expanded London-wide to become London Citizens, an alliance of four chapters with a membership of over 200 institutions from an array of churches, synagogues and mosques as well as union branches, voluntary agencies and residents' associations. London Citizens premier works included a London Living Wage campaign, an urban Community Land Trust and CitySafe havens to tackle knife crime and violence.

      At the time of writing the parent body, Citizens UK, has over 350 affiliates in major cities across the UK, and has embarked on many other projects under the leadership of Neil Jameson, now its executive director. With multiple activities involving communities and other bodies, such as educational and trade union groups, CUK has emerged as the premier grassroots civil society organization in the country. In its bid to foster 'change at the local and national level', CUK's unique training programme is the 'combination of theory, practical tools, stories and real action' covering areas including 'Power, Self-Interest, Negotiation, Building Relationships, Leadership, Developing Institutions, Culture, and The Case for Broad-Based Organising.'

      Community activism or citizen organizing is vital in shaping a nation as well as giving it a moral anchor. Without individual moral anchoring and public ethics, a society cannot function effectively, and in civic regeneration no section of the society or community should be left out. A vibrant civil society, including a strong voluntary sector, is the eyes and ears of any country. A government alone, however efficient, cannot run a country effectively and harness all its potential. Grassroots participation and non-partisan power politics has been the essence of citizen organizations in several countries. The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) in the US has been doing this with religious congregations and civic organizations since the 1940s and has since spread to other continents.

      In the midst of a growing 'me first' culture, a greater sense of communal solidarity and community spirit is needed more than ever. Half a century ago, the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr made a remarkable observation of his time: 'Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men'. As technological progress is changing our lifestyles, how true are his comments today!