London Riot

Tonight was a night unlike other nights. London has seen a riot unlike other. Mothers were scared for their sons’ safety and wives were scared for their husbands who went to the Masjid for Taraweeh in the blessed night of Ramadhan.

The riot actually stared a number of days ago in London as you may have seen on the news , but the rioters came and carried their activity in the borough of Tower Hamlets tonight. Their protest for justice turned violently into a riot then sometimes into looting. A friend of mine texted me that “...one man got beaten really bad; it was really scary, the police could not catch the rioters...” And how could they because they do not stay there after they do anything. They leave the area swiftly.

When I was driving by to I actually have seen a van full of black youths parking near a Masjid who are thought to be from the borough of Hackney. It looked obvious that the wanted to attack the MASJID and its glass doors and windows. They thought twice and went somewhere else because there were many young Muslims still outside the Masjid.

I also have seen that some major stores such as TESCO and McDonalds, their windows have been smashed and now police are guarding tem from looters. I thought the rioters will have mercy on the small businesses, but some rioters are looters. They have found the riot to be a good opportunity to loot and steal. Of course they may be a lot of rioters rioting sincerely for justice for the black mini cab driver, who was shot dead by the police, but there are some who are looting and they are looting even the small businesses too. This is the reason why I realised even after mid night; shopkeepers are standing outside their shops on commercial road to guard their shops because their loss would be too much of a loss compared to TESCO.

After I dropped all my friends home, I sat next to my computer and felt I just had to tell you this. In my next article, I will be looking the root cause of the riot.

COME BACK FOR THE NEXT ARTICLE ON THE CAUSE OF THE LONDON RIOT!

LONDON ISLAMIC SCHOOL WIN INTER-SCHOOL ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

LONDON ISLAMIC SCHOOL WIN INTER-SCHOOL ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS.

The 4th annual United Madrasah Championships in Athletics 2011 (UMC) organised by London Islamic School in partnership with new official partners Newark Youth London took place on Wednesday the 13th July 2011 at the Mile End Stadium. The event was sponsored by the Canary Wharf Group and other local businesses. It involved four Tower Hamlets based Independent Secondary schools for boys named Mazahirul Uloom London, Ebrahim Academy, London Islamic School and London East Academy competing against each other in mini olympic style fashion to be labelled the United Madrasah Championship winners 2011. The event was further enhanced by health stalls promoting healthy eating, healthy living and a smoke-free Tower Hamlets to provide information, advice and guidance to pupils who don’t always have the opportunity to access such services.

After a hard fought day, young people worked hard to gain points for their respective year groups and schools overall in events such as the 4 by 1 relay, high jump, discus, triple jump and many others, with the year 8 shield going to Mazahirul Uloom London, the year 9 shield going to London East Academy, the year 7, year 10 and the overall championship being won by London Islamic School, who excelled in the various events. Arif Abdurrahmaan, the PE Teacher at London Islamic School said ‘There is so much talent in independent schools in the field of Athletics which sometimes goes unnoticed, with the Olympics coming soon to London, we want an event like this to bring together all the local independent schools so we can identify some of these prospects and refer them to borough teams as well as promoting healthy eating and lifestyles overall’. The event also aims to support the Tower Hamlets a healthy borough initiative by bringing together 500 plus young people in one venue to attain information, advice and guidance from voluntary sector groups while engaging in activities which promote healthy lifestyles.

Newark Youth London Chairman, Emrul Islam said ‘we are very proud to be official partners of this event and are looking forward to working with London Islamic School to help this event grow further in the coming years using our 27 years of experience providing services for young people. We are also creating formal links with the participating local independent schools to benefit them with the many other services and projects we run in the different LAPs in and around Tower Hamlets’.

The day ended with encouraging words from Chair of the Council, Councillor Mijan Choudhury at the presentation ceremony who showed his support for such an event by saying ‘It’s great to see such an event, with the Olympics coming to the London, we would like to see young people from Tower Hamlets being part of this in whatever capacity they can’.