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On Sunday September 26th 2010, the CISS, in conjunction with the Alulbayt Foundation, participated in the Eid Festival held in Trafalgar Square, London. The festival, which hosted stalls, nasheeds, theatrical performances and of course food, was attended by hundreds of Muslims all over the UK (in the torrential British rain!). This gave the CISS a good opportunity for exposure and the chance to reach grassroots Muslims about its academic and community activities.

The CISS stall was set up by Hadia Saad, Zahra Shirzad & Amir Bahrululoom with a portfolio of our recent events and academic literature available to buy. Syed Mohsin Abbas, who was in charge of the Ramadhan Festival (a sub-event part of the overall Eid Festival), gave a slot to Imranali Panjwani to talk about the CISS’ recent publication: ‘Islamic Metaphysics in Bioethics: Animal-Human Experimentations.’ Overall, several attendees asked questions about the Alulbayt School and the books on Hajj and bioethics.

The festival ended with some nasheeds and exemplified the diversity and unity of Muslims in the UK. It showcased the creativity of the up and coming young generation of Muslims who are expressing their views on identity, morality, politics and war through the mediums of art, literature and poetry. One can only hope that this intellectual and artistic potential is acknowledged by the media, who often portray Muslims in a negative light with numerous misconceptions about their attitude to life and humanity.

The CISS team 27th September 2010