February 21st, 2011 by Mark Rusling

Yesterday I joined nearly 20,000 people from throughout the UK and Europe on the Qadria Jalani Mosque Milad-un-Nabi Procession to celebrate the Prophet’s (PBUH) birthday. The event is the largest of its kind in Europe and was a peaceful and happy expression of the diversity of our borough.

The police and volunteers did a great job in keeping the traffic moving and clearing the streets afterwards. We then had a meal with religious scholars, Stella Creasy MP, John Cryer MP and guests from the Pakistani High Commission.

Too often, diversity and multiculturalism get a bad name. Yesterday’s event was an excellent rebuttal of those who do not believe that strength can be found in diversity.

February 28th, 2010 by Mark Rusling

This afternoon we joined the Qadria Jalani Mosque Milad Un-Nabi Procession to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. The mosque, based in East Road in Hoe Street ward, put on a fantastic event, with people joining Walthamstow residents from all over the UK. The march ended at the Walthamstow Assembly Hall, where the guest of honour was the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband MP. Congratulations to the organisers!