"Breaking down cultural barriers" 

For those with a little more time

Since the terrible events of September 11th in villages, towns and cities all over the Western world, children and the elderly are being attacked verbally and physically just because they are Muslims. Mosques have been set on fire, taxi drivers hospitalised in brutal beatings, nine-year old girls spat at in the streets by grown men. 

The attacks have come because many in the West do not understand Islam. They do not understand that Islam is peace-loving. That it shares many of our values and holds dear some that we have sadly forgotten. The Quran says: “An attack on an innocent person is an attack on a whole country; saving an innocent person from injustice is the same as saving an entire nation.”

Islam has also made a remarkable contribution to our lives; the food that we eat, the music that we play, the places we visit, the sports and pastimes that we enjoy, the riches that were brought about by the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, the spread of knowledge. Almost very aspect of our lives has been touched and greatly enriched by Muslims. Peace-loving, artistic, intelligent and sensitive Muslims, just like us. Mere human beings who want to live worthwhile lives free from oppression, tyranny, violence and yes, terrorism.

If you believe, like us, in our common humanity; that prejudice and misunderstanding have no place in our free society; that we celebrate the contributions different cultures can bring, then join us at Mosaic International. Help us tell the real story of Islam to those who do not know. Islam has a great tradition of hospitality, as do we in the West. The Quran says: “Time spent with a stranger is never wasted. By joining us you can help Muslims to enjoy the welcome they so richly deserve.

Our Mission

Mosaic International is a not-for-profit organisation formed as a direct result of the events of September 11th. Our mission is to create a highly involving, powerful, touring visitor experience which both challenges preconceptions of Islam and leaves visitors with a better understanding of its humanity, its sensuality and its contribution to the West.

In just a few weeks Mosaic has been able to assemble a board of ‘voluntary’ directors, who work entirely without payment. We believe its mixture of strategic marketing, communication and management experience will be able to transform the image of Muslims in the UK and beyond. You can be a valuable part of that mission.

Our Board 

Robin Stidworthy is a management consultant with AMR International. Recent projects have included a global strategy review for the world’s leading information and exhibitions provider and an SCM software analysis for a top ten global logistics provider.
His background is in strategic marketing and communications with Sony, Ted Bates Advertising and Oxfam. 
Living in Andalusia led to his commitment to raise the profile of Islam’s contribution to the West.

Vic Tardieu has enjoyed a successful 30-year marketing career. His early years were spent directing advertising accounts for the likes of Shell, American Express and Jaguar at Ogilvy & Mather, Benton & Bowles and Grey before joining the board of Gaytons.
For the last decade he has run his own marketing consultancy, specialising in communications programmes and employee motivation. He has organised over 60 exhibitions and conferences for major blue-chip clients including Barclaycard, LloydsTSB and The Inland Revenue.
As a citizen of Trinidad who has spent his entire adult life in the UK he has a direct understanding of what prejudice is like and how it can be overcome.

Julian Spurling has a background in international business management with household consumer brands such as Johnson & Johnson, Thermos and Prestige. He spent seven years in France, as managing director of the French subsidiary of Prestige, and was managing director of the European operations of Thermos.
He is now a management consultant advising corporate and private equity investors on their business development and operational strategies.
Julian’s extensive travels throughout Asia, The Middle East, Africa and in Europe first hand insight into the diversity and richness each culture and religion has to offer.

Mark Duffy is a Chartered Accountant. He has held a number of Finance Directorships in hi-tech and media and was Executive Advisor for accountants PA Hutchinson & Co.
He now runs his own practice and recently formed the virtual business services company X-iam. 
Mark has a longstanding interest in human rights issues as well as the arts and has been actively involved in local and national politics for some years.

Our supporters
In the short time that our campaign has been up and running hundreds of people have offered their support and encouragement. It seems that all over Britain, in the USA and many other Western countries, people are appalled at the attacks on Muslims and want to create an atmosphere of peace, harmony and respect. 
We are extremely grateful to the following organisations and individuals for joining with us: 
The Muslim Council of Britain 
David Lidington MP
John Bercow MP
Councillor Raj Khan Mayor of Aylesbury
The Islamic Cultural Centre
Imam Abdul Dayan Aylesbury Mosque

And there are more pledging support every day

What have the Muslims done for us?

Just take a look at this list
The Alhambra Palace, astronomy. Algebra, artichokes, asparagus, architecture, almonds, apricots, aubergines, abacus, astrolabe 

Baths, bananas, books, backgammon

Chess, calligraphy, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, cotton

Dinner in three courses, dates, durum wheat

Figs, falconry

Guitar, gardens

Harmony-religious, hospitality, henna, horse saddles, thoroughbred horses, hospitality

Ice cream, irrigation

Justice

Knowledge

Lemons, libraries, limes, linen

Medicine, mathematics, mince pies

Numerals, nutmeg

Oranges

Philosophy, polo, paradise, patios, poetry, pomegranates, paper, pasta, pepper

Rice pudding and rice, raisins, recipe books

Streetlights, spices, sugar cane, saffron, silkworms, spinach, sultanas, silk and silkworms, sheep, schools

Toothpaste, Thousand and One Nights, turmeric

Universities

Velvet

Water, waterwheels, watermelons, wool

Like to know more? Read on!

Islam’s contribution to Western society

Islam’s roots are in the 7th Century AD. Within just a few years of the prophet Mohammed’s death, the religion and culture had spread from roots in modern day Saudi Arabia to all parts of the Middle East across the North coast of Africa and to the borders of India. Within two centuries it had become the richest cultural and economic power in the known world, reaching into Spain, France and Italy, large parts of Africa and most of Southern and Western Asia. Great cities like Cordoba in Spain, Constantinople and Baghdad in the East were dominant in every field of human endeavour. Western civilisation was in decline following the fall of the Roman Empire, deep in the Dark Ages.

Contact with the West through Spain, the Crusades and trade led directly to the Renaissance itself and the eventually submission of Islam, certainly in terms of economic and political influence.

However for a period of some five hundred years it is no exaggeration to say that civilisation’s development, in the West at least, lay in Muslim hands.
An endless list of contributions can be listed, both important and trivial:

Academic 
Much of Roman, Greek and Egyptian knowledge had been lost to the West. What survived remained in the Holy Roman Empire based in Constantinople. Islamic philosophers, mathematicians, astronomers, medical scientists, botanists, technologists and engineers took translated texts from the original Greek and Roman and made dramatic discoveries of their own: in tenth century Cordoba the invention of the astrolabe allowed navigation by the stars paving the way for the great voyages of Columbus and Da Gama five centuries later; the abacus made possible complex calculations, as revolutionary a tool in the Middle Ages as the computer in modern times, particularly to engineers of castles and cathedrals, bridges and ships; advances in medical science were still standard texts as late as the 17th Century; developments in natural sciences laid the foundations for modern science and the industrial revolution.

Great libraries, Cordoba’s contained some 400,000 volumes, were established and paper was introduced from China. The first European university was founded in the same city two and a half centuries before Bologna, the Sorbonne, Oxford and Cambridge.

Where most of Europe lay in academic darkness, Islam was a dazzling light. Any academic worthy of the name would have to learn Arabic and study at one of the great Muslim centres. 

Nor should anyone forget where Arabic numerals came from.

Food
Muslim technology and a deep understanding of the importance of water to life led to a green revolution in many of the lands occupied by Islam. Not only was food plentiful, its variety surprised many whose diets relied on the most rudimentary of cereals. The influence on European cuisine is incalculable. Where would we be without artichokes, aubergines, almonds, bananas, lemons, oranges, rice, sugar cane, pomegranates, watermelons, spinach, dates and figs, ice cream, saffron, durum wheat for pasta, sultanas and raisins, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, nutmeg, pepper, cumin and a host of other spices? Where would our traditional 25th December dinner be without Christmas pudding, cake and mince pies? Each was inspired by the cuisine Crusaders found in the Middle East, as was that most traditional of British dishes, rice pudding. Recipe books became commonplace and gastronomy a worthy pursuit.

Muslims even introduced toothpaste to the West and the custom of eating a meal in three courses, starter, main course and dessert.
Much of this was made possible by advances in irrigation technology that took it far past the work of Rome. The water wheel is another Muslim invention. Modern-day Granada’s water supply is provided by a largely original gravity-fed system built by the Moors nearly a thousand years ago.

Crafts
Many commonplace materials and crafts were also introduced by Muslims to Europe. Silk and the silkworm, high yield varieties of sheep, which led to the great developments in wool in Northern Europe three centuries later, cotton and high-quality linens and velvet.
Crafts like metalwork, ceramics and glassmaking, jewellery, woodwork, leatherwork, paper-making, book production, ivory carving, use of dyes and weaving were elevated to the status of high art.

Leisure
Today’s thoroughbred horses trace their bloodlines back to the breeds first introduced by the Arabs. Along with them came polo, the horse saddle and falconry. More peaceful pursuits include chess and backgammon. And a Persian-born poet is credited with the invention of the guitar back in the 9th Century in Andalusia. Muslims were even cleaner! Daily baths were the norm. Most residential areas had plentiful bathhouses. Only with the invention of the shower has this become commonplace in Europe. Victorian hospitals copied the Muslim use of ceramics for their hygienic qualities.

Religious and Social Tolerance

In Moorish Spain, Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in relative harmony. In fact the Koran recognises both of the former as ‘peoples of the Book’. Many of the Caliph’s most senior advisers were of differing religion and ethnic origin. Rich and poor alike had access to the Jurists, the leading legal minds of the day to settle disputes at the great mosques. These too were significant centres of learning with open classes for all with the time or inclination to attend.
Architecture and Gardens

One of the most enduring of all Muslim contributions is surely architectural. The Alhambra Palace in Granada is the most visited palace in Europe and according to the Rough Guide: ‘One of the most exciting, sensual and romantic of all monuments’. More even than that has been said of the Taj Mahal, one of the world’s great heritage sites. 

Throughout the Muslim world there are examples of the same gentle and harmonious styles. Islamic architecture does not seek to overwhelm with sheer size, volume and opulence in the way that Western buildings often seek to do. It seems to use light and space to emphasise tranquility. Each garden is pays homage to Islamic Paradise, dominated by a desert people’s reverence for water and an understanding that gardens are luxuriant symbols of the power of life.
This is perhaps the greatest contrast to Islam’s popular image and therefore it’s most powerful means to change it.

Hospitality
Islam has a formal commitment to hospitality. The Koran says, ‘Time spent with a stranger is never wasted.’ Claudia Roden’s ‘A New Book of Middle Eastern Food contains the following passage:

“Hospitality is a stringent duty all over the Middle East. ‘If people are standing at the door of your house, don’t shut it before them’, and ‘Give the guest food to eat even though you yourself are starving’, are only two of the large number of sayings which serve to remind people of this duty, a legacy of nomadic tribal custom when hospitality was the first requirement of survival…
The ultimate aim of civility and good manners is to please: to please one’s guest or to please one’s host. To this end one uses the strict rules laid down by tradition: of welcome, generosity, affability, cheerfulness and consideration for others.
People entertain warmly and joyously. To persuade a friend to stay for lunch is a triumph and a precious honour.”

Philosophy
A permanent exhibition in Cordoba contains a discussion between four prominent Muslim philosophers. These is an extract:
“Averroes: Women have the same final purposes as men… The Koran only distinguishes between those, men and women, who look for the Law of God…But you men regard women as plants, which are only useful for their fruit in procreation. And, you make them separate, servants. These are your traditions. They have nothing to do with Islam…
The best society is that where every woman, every child and every man is given the means of developing the possibilities God has given to them.

What will the exhibition be like?
As we said earlier we want to create a touring experience which is highly involving and powerful which both challenges preconceptions of Islam and leaves visitors with a better understanding of its humanity, its sensuality and its contribution to the West.
Our hope is that once visitors begin to realise what Islam has done for the West, they’ll want to know more. We will therefore offer them materials to take away with them as a reminder of the experience, which both stimulate and provoke further interest.
A road show format will allow us to target areas of the country with significant Muslim populations, those whose need for understanding is highest.

Who will go?
· As broad as possible with particular emphasis on the young in primary and secondary education. Schoolchildren can be a significant influence on adult attitudes. 
· Muslims themselves are an important audience. We believe the exhibition will be a valuable reinforcement of their own heritage and an important recognition of the value of their contribution.

What will it be like?
· We want the experience to be as involving as possible. Fortunately Islam is highly sensual which will allow us to immerse visitors by stimulating all five senses.
· Islam’s current ‘negative’ image unfortunately means that we need to take care with the event name and pre-publicity or it may limit our audience. The point is not to ‘preach to the converted’
· Curiosity and the desire for an entertainment experience are likely to be strong motivations as well as the desire for knowledge
· The Roadshow will be sited in areas of high traffic, e.g. shopping, entertainment and leisure complexes or within existing tourist attractions. 
· Whilst it is important that we entertain and intrigue, the information content is vital
· Durability and security are both important considerations given the current climate and expected visitor numbers
· We should aim for a visit duration of 15 minutes for two reasons: first because the sighting of the event makes it an alternative to a coffee break and second because there is an obvious link between the duration of the event and entry waiting times.

The experience itself
When we visit another country we immediately become involved in a multi-sensual experience. The event could take the form of a travel trip, which is freed of the constraints of geography and time. Video and audio can take us to a garden in the Alhambra palace, to the desert or the Taj Mahal. We can visit Cordoba’s university a thousand years ago, bathe in the bathhouses and listen in to a lecture at the Mosque. We can even recreate the aromas of a market or a jasmine-scented garden.

At this stage our thought is to create a series of four themed and linked 360-degree video box rooms. Each would allow us to feature differing aspects of the journey. 

Funding
The concept is being developed with seed corn funding. However exhaustive efforts are being made to gain support, which will lead to donations and grants. These avenues include local and national Government, social development funds, individual and corporate donations, interested charities, social and religious groups as well as gifts of time, and skills.

The project can proceed in one of two ways. Either it will be developed as an Aylesbury Vale initiative, which can then be made available to other interested areas, or if we are successful it may gain national funding straightaway.

Timing
This is clearly a difficult and uncertain area. Even if the current crisis were to disappear tomorrow, there is still a profound misunderstanding of Islam, the consequences of which are being felt today. This will continue to be the case unless thinking people and opinion formers are prepared to support educational efforts such as this one. 

In short the time is right to plan the event. Its exact launch date is yet to be determined but our goal is for the first half of 2002.



How you can help?                             Even more positive help?

Muslims in Britain have had a difficult year. The positive side of that is that never before has Islam been so high on the political and media agenda. Now is the time to seize the opportunity to change what people think about Islam before prejudice rears its head again...We must act quickly 

If you want this exhibition to happen this is what you can do:

1. Write or e-mail a letter to us offering your complete support
2. Offer us funding or a donation (Make cheques payable to Mosaic International)
3. Write to or e-mail your contacts and introduce the concept, particularly if they can offer funding, help or both
4. Write to or e-mail your MP, local council, place of worship, LEA, school and mosque enclosing a copy of the proposal
5. Offer us half a day, a day or longer of your own time, if you can. 

Remember this is just the beginning. The faster you can offer your help, the better the chance of us changing attitudes.

And you don’t even need to write the letter yourself just follow cut and paste one from our resources section.

Resources

1. Sample letter to your MP, local councillor etc.


To whom it may concern,

This is an appeal for help. Help with the problem that all thinking people are wrestling with since the tragic events in New York on September 11th.

We live in a country where some cannot distinguish between a terrorist and a Muslim. Muslims across Britain are being attacked verbally and physically just because they are seen as different.

I am writing to ask for your support and help. I am writing on behalf of Mosaic International, a not-for-profit organisation that wants to explain to those who do not know just what Islam has offered us in Britain, indeed the whole of the Western world. 

We want to create a touring exhibition, which gives those with an open mind the chance to understand. So Muslims in this country can walk the streets without fear and with heads held high. 

I am enclosing a proposal, which explains more about the exhibition and the contribution Islam has made to our life in the West. Please take a few moments to read it. Or visit the Mosaic web site at mosaicinternational.org.uk
Please offer us your help.

Yours sincerely,






Your name


2. Letter of support to Mosaic International

Mosaic International
The Lodge 
Doddershall
Quainton
Aylesbury
Bucks HP22 4DG

Date

Dear Mosaic,

I am writing to you to offer my complete support for the idea of an Islamic Touring Exhibition.
I believe that Islam is a widely misunderstood religion, which needs to be promoted in a positive way. Islam has made a great but undervalued contribution to Western society. This initiative will help spread understanding at a time when it is most needed.
Now more than ever we should be sharing our common humanity. I believe the exhibition will help do just that.

Yours sincerely
Your name

Even more positive help?

3. To download a copy of the proposal as a Word document- click here 



Even more positive help?