On Friday 7 January 2022, Iqra TV ran a special “Awareness & Fundraising Programme” for us. You can watch it below, reproduced here with the kind permission of Iqra TV.
It was presented by Imam Qasim Rashid Ahmad, Founder of the Al-Khair Foundation, who is seated in the centre. The NMWMT team were Chairman of Trustees Lord Sheikh on Imam Qasim’s right, and Associate Member Iqkhlaq Hussain on Lord Sheikh’s left.
The programme also featured Sergeant Mohammad Hussain who served in the Italian Campaign in World War II. He is wearing his medals and a white turban on Imam Qasim’s right. He was accompanied by his grandson Ejaz Adham who is seated on Sergeant Hussain’s right.
The programme included contributions by telephone callers.
Although this is an Urdu channel, more than half of the content is in English, and non-Urdu speakers will follow it easily if they skip over the Urdu content.
Appropriately for a religious TV channel, the programme begins with a short dua (request for a blessing from God) followed by a Quran recitation..
The telephone callers made many important points, some of which are captured in the short list below.
- The history is very important. It forms the basis of the present and the future.
- In the 1970’s I often met [white British] people saying to me “What did your people do for or bring to this country?” Being aware of this history will give our children the voice to answer that.
- I wasn’t aware just how many Muslims had fought in both world wars. These brave soldiers lost their lives for our freedoms, and we must remember them. Thank you for this fantastic work.
- Muslims had a stake in this country even before they came to live here, due to Muslims’ war service.
- This is a very important programme for our society, and very welcome work for the next generation and for generations to come. I hope that people around the country will unite in this fantastic work. [The caller then pledged to donate £5,000, since done.]
