Based on this advice my friend called me later saying he decided to not go ahead with the deal. Someone else went into business with this character instead and within two months he had left the country with their shared profits.

My friend was really glad that he took my advice and he wanted to know who had told me? I mentioned that it is one of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). He was so inspired he began – and still is – reading the Qur’an and learning more about the faith and how it can help him on other issues.

I tell you this story because the advice and knowledge I share and offer as an Imam – is not just for Muslims but is and should be for people of all faiths. We can all learn something from each other and each other’s religion.

My friend was not tolerating my faith, he was acknowledging it, because he realised that there was something beneficial in Islam that could help him in his life.

And it’s important for Imam’s to keep the teachings of Islam up-to-date to show you how relevant they are to you lives.

As an Imam I try give advice – to Muslims and Non-Muslims – but not just from an Islamic point of view but also from a logical point of view.

I also do drug education and youth work about substance abuse within my community and I council people from different ethnicities, backgrounds, social groups and faiths. At first, you can see them all thinking;

‘Whoooah who is this guy with a beard who is going to be talking to me?’

But after I have broken the ice and build up some common ground with them, their preconceptions begin to melt. They forget I am an Imam; I’m just a person who is offering my advice and knowledge to help them.

Just after I graduated as an Imam for the Islamic institute I bumped into some old friends that used to be in my class; some of them were doing the wrong things or had been in prison and they said to me: ‘If we had the chance to do what you did we would do the same now.’

If I had not studied Islam then I think I might have fallen into the same kind of holes that my friends have with done with relationships or even crime – the same ones that many young people do today.

A positive environment is really important for all of us. If you walk through a perfume shop – even if you don’t touch anything – you come out smelling of roses; if you walk through a garbage dump with bad smell that effect will come on you too.

It’s good to spend time with educated and good mannered people – it will rub off on you too! And it will help you achieve your goals in life and make a better person of yourself!

It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to make our community, our country and our world a better place.

There are 86,400 seconds in a single day – and every one of those moments is precious because when the sun sets each night that time is gone forever (we can’t put them in a bank account and save them for another day). Time is like a stream of water either you watch it go by or you benefit from it.

Each person is the master – and the doctor – of themselves. An Imam can only advise you; the rest is up to you. Only you can make the effort and decisions that will make you a better person everyday of your life.

We tend to think we have all the time in the world…. Sadly the time doesn’t wait for us.

Utilize you every breath, your mind and your energy! Educate yourselves! Remember knowledge is power!

If your friend is ill – maybe he is epileptic and suffering a fit – and you think you know which is the right medicine but you’re not sure, you probably wouldn’t give it to him, because you’re not a doctor and you don’t have the right medical knowledge.

Even if you want to save his life, giving him the wrong medicine could not only do more harm than good. It could be fatal. And so it is with understanding Islam.

There are so many people out there who are talking about what Islam means but they don’t have the knowledge to interpret the Qur’an correctly; they are confused about what their own faith means and so they are spreading a mistaken message to others.

The Qur’an is a complex book. You need the Hadith – which is the teachings of the prophet – to interpret it correctly and guide you through to give you a much better understanding of Islam: for example how to do your prayers and postures and positions.

I cannot stress enough to you that to get a better understanding if the Qur’an you need to know Arabic. Arabic is a very subtle, sensitive language and the true meaning of the words of God can become lost in translation.

People tend to say, ‘I’m living as a MuZlim’ (pronounced like a Z), when what they really mean is, ‘as a MuSlim’ (with an S). The pronunciation is very delicate, but it changes the meaning of the words completely. The first word means ‘dark’, whereas the second correct version means a ‘person who submits’. Look at the pronunciation of another word: Kalb means dog but Qalb means heart. That’s a big difference in meaning, isn’t it?

Because of the time and age we are living in – post 9/11 and 7/7 – all the eyes in Britain and in the Western world are upon Muslims. With the pressure upon us, it is even more important than it ever has been that we have a good understanding of our own faith.

If we as Muslims misunderstand our own faith and perpetuate the myth surrounding the Qur’an and our way of life, how can we ever expect non-Muslims to understand us?

But it is up to you to find this truth in your own hearts and in the words of the Qur’an and the Hadith. You must learn it and read it for yourselves. If you haven’t learnt something first hand, but it is based on the interpretations and judgements of others, how can you say that you really know it to be true? If you open your mouth and spread the wrong message you are causing other people to misunderstand Islam. And like giving your friend the wrong medicine – this could lead to others being harmed and even be fatal.

Remember, knowledge is power; once you have it you can dispel misunderstanding and defeat prejudice. Don’t just repeat what your Mum and Dad told you.

Question.

Learn.

Tell me what YOU think about your own faith!

The Prophet Muhammed – love and blessing be upon him – said that no one has a right to burn Allah’s (God’s) creations – even if it an ant – only Allah has the right to take life away.

The Qur’an does not teach terrorists acts, suicide bombing, violence and killing.

I hope that most people know this; but the best way to find out about Islam is to study it yourselves. If you feel content about your faith – in your mind and in your soul – you will be able to give a better understanding to others.

Take, for example, the opinion people have with regards to Muslim women: the majority of non-Muslim people see women in a headscarf and they think that they are being oppressed. But that’s not how it is from an Islamic point of view: Islam teaches us that women and men are all seen as equal in the eyes of Allah (or God).

In Islam everyone is equal – that includes people of all faiths. The Prophet Mohammed once saw a funeral of a Jewish man go past and he began crying in sadness for the man. His companion looked at him and asked him:

‘why are you crying? He’s not even a Muslim’.

Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) replied:

‘No, but it is a soul of a human being.’

There are many, many more teachings of the prophet that come back to this simple point: a person does not have to be a Muslim for you to love, take care and respect him, because he is also a human.

If a Muslim knocks on the door of your front door, you should invite him in. But if a Christian or a Jew comes to your house, you should invite welcome him into your home too. That is the teaching of our beloved Prophet Muhammed (P.B.U.H.)

And so, I say to you again, that is important to acknowledge other people’s religion and culture as well as your own. You may be a Muslim, but learn about Christianity, and Sikhism, and Judaism too, because if you understand someone’s faith you can understand where they are coming from and what they trying to ask or say.

The fact is, we live in a British society but there is no need for this to conflict with our faith. What we have to understand is that most of the rights and rulings of this country are in accordance with the beliefs of Islam not against them.

True Muslims believe in peace, human rights, tolerance of other religions and equality.

Part of the man’s sentence plan was to gain knowledge about Islam and come face to face with a Muslim, and so we met. The conversation at first was very restrained; I’m not sure if he felt comfortable sitting with me or whether he thought he might offend me, so I gave him a pen and paper to write everything down that he felt was important. As I was about to make a cup of tea I offered him a cup too as it is the teaching of the Prophet Muhammed that we should share and like for others what we like for ourselves. I felt he was shocked that I offered him comfort, even though I knew his crime.

How did I break down the barriers between us and make him realise that I was a human being just like him? Slowly over the meeting he realised how much I was like him: I spoke English like him, I was born in the same city as him, I play football. He suddenly realised he could relate to me as a man. He slowly began to open up and ask me questions about my faith. He’d never met a Muslim before – and he suddenly saw Muslims from a new perspective.

The next time I saw him, he asked if he could attend the mosque for the Friday service to try and understand more about the religion.

This story shows how people who have been ignorant before can easily realise that they have misunderstood; they are not necessarily bad people. I don’t think I changed his opinion; I think he did it himself. The man allowed himself to open up his heart and his mind not just accept but also to acknowledge my faith – and the faith of the mosque he burnt down.

At the same time, I also listened to the man’s point without judging him. I wanted to put myself in his shoes and try and understand why he had been driven to burn down the Mosque. He told me that there are many people who think that Muslims are coming to their country and bringing problems and violence with them.

Where has he learnt these things?

In the press.

Part of the problem is that members of the press are not fully educated in the subtleties of the Islamic faith. The British Media needs to work with Imams to broadcast culturally sensitive and accurate news and programmes.

This kind of misrepresentation makes many of you angry, and I understand, but we must not meet anger with anger. If we retaliate to the man who burns down a mosque by burning down a church, how many more mosques will burn down, and how many more churches? We must not add wood to the fire.

Instead of looking at the problem we should look for the solution.

We must educate, educate, educate.

If someone is racist to you the answer is to try and educate him, by appealing to him and pinpointing the nature of misunderstanding.

It’s wasn’t the man that burn the mosque down, it was his ‘thinking.’ We must try and get the heart of the matter so that any issues can quickly be resolved.

You will get looks from people on the bus or on the streets; some of them might think you are ‘an extremist’ or a ‘Looney’; you might even hear racist comments or be the subject of bullying. But don’t get discouraged or disheartened. These people are ignorant and need to be educated. Stay focused on your prayers and Allah will Inshallahu Ta’la (God Willing) support and help you. This is where the faith kicks in.

My advice to you young people is: don’t give up and don’t be afraid to speak up.

Do not fight or argue just explain calmly what it is your doing and how you see yourself, in response to how they are seeing you.

Set them straight.

Talk.

Firstly listen and then explain.

Remember: first educate yourself – so that you can educate others.

If you can clear up one misunderstanding you will be educating not just this person, but their family, their friends and their children as well. Here you would be dealing the root of the problem and you will be preventing misunderstanding and even violence in the future.

We Muslims must pull our socks up. We must set a good example to the rest of the country and the world. It’s no good blaming the press and the Media and non-Muslim ignorance. Muslims have their part to play too.

Muslim arrogance towards non-Muslims is as unacceptable as any racism in this country.

We live in a Britain where the majority of people are non-Muslims. We have to learn to live in this environment – but at the same time people of different faiths need to open their arms and embrace us.

It is every person’s duty to better themselves by following their faith correctly: finding peace, respect and understanding with others. If you know ten people of ten different faiths, then put yourselves in their shoes try and understand where they are coming from.

Question them, talk to them; the fact that you have bothered to ask questions shows that you acknowledge them.

Learning about Islam is a process – one that took me nine long years to understand and I’m still learning Subhanallah (Glory be to Allah).

So be patient and moderate in your learning; give priority to study the Qur’an and the Hadith. But also give time to learn about other religions so that you can have a better understanding of yourself and those around you.

At the time of the Prophet Muhammed, pagans, Muslims and Jews all lived in the same village harmoniously and we need to return to those times again.

We as Britons need to set a good example to the rest of the world.

I Pray to Allah Tala (God) that may this blog be means for people to benefit from and help them in their lives, not just for them but for all their loved once too.

Ameen.