Birmingham to send message of national unity across Britain.
Birmingham is playing a major part in the biggest display of national unity Britain has ever seen today, when parts of the community join in with an initiative organised by One Britain One Nation.
To unite divisions in British society and ensure that everyone, from any faith, race, background, age group, or gender feels they have a part to play in Britain today, OBON has asked citizens to gather together and celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s official 90th birthday as one people.
This plea has been taken up in Leeds, London, Shipley, Manchester, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, Bradford, Leicester, Coventry, Cheshire, Rugby and Nuneaton, as well as in Birmingham.
In Birmingham, pupils at Washwood Heath Academy, Saltley Academy and Brownmead Academy are taking part and singing the National Anthem at 11am on June 10, as OBON has suggested. They will also be saying ‘three cheers’ to Her Majesty the Queen and singing the Happy Birthday song. The event will take place at Washwood Heath Academy and will be attended by Deputy Lieutenant Simon Topman and BBC Asian Radio presenter, Noreen Khan.
At the very same time the National Anthem is sung in Leicester, adults, children, police officers, worshippers, civic heads, MPs, MEPs, councillors and members of the public will be doing the very same thing thanks to OBON’s Count Me In campaign. This has been privately funded, by its CEO, Kash Singh, to demonstrate what can be done when British people are encouraged to come together and establish a dialogue.
Additionally, senior Imams and Muslim scholars have called on all mosques in Britain to say a prayer to the Queen during their Jummah prayers on Friday June 10 and have also asked Muslims to invite people from other faiths into their home, to celebrate the start of the Ramadan fast, as part of the OBON initiative.
Mosques in Birmingham that have responded to this, and who will be staging Iftars, are Jamia Masjid Ghamkol Sharif mosque in Small Heath, which will be attended by the local Bishop, and the Qadria trust in Sparkbrook.
Kash Singh, a former police inspector, who has seen the positive impacts of communities coming together during his time working in the riot-hit Manningham district of Bradford, says: “I am touched by the effort that has gone into arranging these events in Leicester, so that people from different backgrounds can gain a sense of belonging as British citizens.
“I cannot thank those who have organised these events enough. They are sending out a strong message to the rest of Britain that I hope people will see and respond to, by creating their own community events.”
More information about OBON’s campaign can be found at www.onebritainonenation.com