Britain's Labor MP Stephen Timms praised Muslims for bringing back faith into Britain. “When parts of our society are so deeply secular, so hostile to the acknowledgment of God, I want today to express appreciation and thanks to Muslims in Britain for insisting on faith,” said the Minister for Business and Labour MP for East Ham at the Global Peace and Unity Event organized by Islam Channel last week. “(I want to thank Muslims) for helping put faith back today at the centre of Britain's national life and debate in a way that it wasn't for a very long time. “You are part of the reason for that change, and I warmly welcome it,” he added. He urged Muslims to take up politics. “We need more people taking up politics from the starting point of faith. Because faith is the source of decent values (like) honesty, commitment to family, generosity, support for peace,” Timms said. “(We need such) decent values which the Muslim community shows in abundance.” “Those are the very values which we need in our politics, and which this event can help us to promote,” he added. In an earlier BBC program, Stephen Timms visited two mosques, two churches, a Hindu temple and a Sikh Gurudwara and highlighted the positive contribution the faith groups were making towards cohesion. The GPU event 2008 was supported by major Islamic organizations including the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and British Muslim Forum (BMF). The event attracted more than 60,000 visitors last year with addresses from a number of prominent Islamic scholars. Awards were given to people in recognition of their outstanding contribution to society. Madeleine Bunting, a Guardian columnist and Associate Editor, was awarded the ‘Friends of Islam Media Award' this year. __
