David Goodhart in the Daily Mail
On 24th March 2013 David Goodhart wrote a piece in the Daily Mail titled, “A mega mosque in a suburb that was 90 per cent white 30 years ago and the polite apartheid dividing Britain.” [1] In the article he stated that “for many of the white people who have remained as the area’s personality has changed, the disappearance of familiar mental and physical landmarks has happened too fast – symbolised by that giant Ahmadiyya mosque with its capacity for 10,000 worshippers.” In looking ahead, Mr Goodhart argues that a “new patriotism can unite our nation again” through which a “confident and inclusive national identity can emerge.”
In many ways Mr Goodhart is right. We do need unity, integration and patriotism in the UK. In fact, we need these very British values more than ever as we face new political, economic and social threats. However, we suggest that upon further inquiry Mr Goodhart would find that Islam, rather than presenting an obstacle to the realisation of these democratic values in Britain, does in fact offer a clear path to realising the ‘British Dream’ which he so passionately calls for. Indeed, these were the exact values and principles that were being called for and discussed by the leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, which Mr Goodhart referred to in this article.
Categories: Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Europe