Sunday Times 2
UK Sri Lankan Muslim community honours veteran journalist
View(s):The Sri Lankan Muslim community in the UK honoured veteran Sri Lanka journalist Latheef Farook for his services in highlighting Muslim issues in the context of the need for communal harmony at a function at the Sri Lankan Muslim Cultural Centre (SLMCC) in the London Borough of Harrow.
President of Sri Lanka Muslim Cultural Centre in UK J.M Mubarak honouring Sri Lankan journalist Latheef Farook with an award and certificate of appreciationLatheef Farook was on a three week long intensive lecture tour last month on an invitation by COSMOS, the umbrella organisation of the SL Muslim organizations in UK,to brief Muslims there of the current political situation in the country .
While in the UK he addressed Sri Lankan Muslims of all walks of life in cities such as Reading, Harrow, Slough, Leicester, Crawley, East London, Luton, South London and Windsor besides attending inter faith programs with the involvement of the Maha Sangha from the Kingsbury Temple, London and Tamil social activists who are keen on living peace and harmony but with rights and in dignity restored.
In all these gatherings Latheef Farook not only provided the audience with a clear picture of the political situation in the island and stressed the need for national reconciliation in Sri Lanka, but also kept the meetings open for lively question and answer sessions which at times went on till midnight.
In his farewell program at the AGM of COSMOS at Slough, he emphasized the community leaders in UK of the need to work together for the greater benefit of the community and the country alike in both the UK and Sri Lanka. The main theme of all these lectures was communal harmony in the larger interest of the country especially in the context of racist elements raising their ugly heads to poison the minds of the mainstream Sinhalese and pit them against the island’s Muslim community
It was part of this program that the Sri Lankan Muslims in the UK organised a family get together bringing members of all Sri Lankan communities-Sinhalese,Tamils, Muslims and all others last month.