Head of Media- March & April

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu.

I begin by praising Allah (swt), the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, and send peace and blessings upon His last and final Messenger Muhammad (saw).

So much has happened in these past couple of months it's difficult to know where to begin.

It's probably worth starting with the FOSIS Media Conference which took place on Saturday April 10th. The Conference itself was entitled "Muslims are in the media...what next?" and was aimed at generating discussion about the perception of Muslims in the media and whether negative perceptions are justified, and if not, how can these be changed. Invited panellists included Anas al-Tikriti (Cordoba Foundation), Dr. Noureddine Miladi (Lecturer at Northampton University), Syed Haider (Khayal), Faisal Hanjra (President of FOSIS) and Mohamed Ali (CEO of Islam Channel). It was great to hear their thoughts on the issue and the overwhelming consensus that emerged from the event was that Muslims should continue to engage with the media, but Muslims from every background, age group and occupation should get involved and utilise the "new social media" tools we have at our disposal. The conference was designed to be interactive, with case studies aimed at students and also general members of the Muslim community, providing participants with an opportunity to air their views and provide strategies for issues that Muslim communities face.

In addition to that, I've been interviewed and spoken on a number of issues, some still relating to the alleged Christmas day attack, whilst others focussing on issues such as the City Islamic Society prayer room dilemma. However as the academic year comes to an end, things tend to settle down in the student arena and it appears that exams seem to be the main focus of students across the country. I pray that all of you taking exams do well inshAllah!

It's also worth pointing out that Faisal Hanjra was recently provided an opportunity to post a Comment is Free piece (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/22/student-islamic-societies-radical) essentially looking at the real role of Islamic Societies and their importance in challenging extremism, whilst maintaining FOSIS's commitment to freedom of expression.

I've also been involved in the ISOC101 training in the North region, providing a media training aspect to the course, I would like to thank the organisers of ISOC101 for doing a fantastic job and giving myself the opportunity to provide training on such a pertinent issue.

As we draw close to the end of the year the focus now shifts on committee building, recruitment, handover plans etc. so please do get in contact if you would like to be involved. Now is the ideal time to show interest and by all means feel free to get in contact head.media@fosis.org.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Wassalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu,

Qasim Rafiq