A previous post has discussed plans by the British Muslim Initiative (BMI), a U.K. Muslim Brotherhood organization, to host a dinner for Jesse Jackson, the U.S. civil right leader. The BMI website has provided details on the dinner stating that a spokesperson for BMI welcomed Jackson by calling upon him to “help guide the Muslim counter Islamophobia and call for justice in the Holy Land”. The website summarized Jackson’s remarks which, according to the report, addressed only the position of minorities:
Speaking at the dinner in East London, Mr Jackson said forging a united front between all ethnic communities was critical. Addressing the diverse audience of leading community, business, trade union, political and media figures from white, Muslim, Asian and Black communities, Rev Jackson urged ethnic minority communities to utilise their huge social, economic and intellectual resources to end marginalisation and bring about real change. Pointing to the example of shareholder action by black communities in the US, Rev Jackson said the way forward for ethnic communities was unity, emphasizing that when one community is under attack, all communities suffer: ‘We need a coalition so we can share information. We need an infrastructure like multinationals have.’
It is not known whether any discussion of issues related to Islam in the U.K. took place.