Thousands of young British Muslims have converged for a "Muslim pride day" at the third Global Unity and Peace (GUP) conference, which wraps up in the British capital London later on Sunday, November 25.

"They are clinging on to anything that expresses their Islamic identity even Arabic letters of which they cannot make head nor tail," Taleb Shamsudin, an active member at the Muslims for Labour organization, told IslamOnline.net.

The young wore unmistakably Islamic dresses including traditional jilbabs (loose-fit coats or garments) and T-shirts printed with the logos of several Muslim organizations and charities.

A T-shirt with a "Proud to be A Muslim" print was among the most common.

Islamic banners and emblems decorated the corridors of the Excel Conference and Exhibition Center, the conference venue.

Arabic phrases such as as-salamu `alaykum (peace be upon you) and al-hamdu lillah (thank God) resonate across the conference, piercing the pure British accept of the third generation of Muslims.

Beautiful earliest Islamic calligraphy showcased in fringe galleries and a variety of Islamic fashion trends have also added to the compelling Islamic aura.

"We want to have a young generation proud of Muslim identity," said Othman Azem, a member of the Al-Fitrah (intuition) organization.

"Our Islamic identity should be a source of strengthen in the face of a growing Islamophobia in Britain."

The two-day GUP, organized for the third year by the free-to-air, English language, Islamic-focused Islam Channel, brought together some 50,000 people from all over the world.

Young Activists

The young portrayed a more positive view of British Muslims at the conference, displaying an inbred and impressive sense of integration and activism.

"We approached this conference to get more British Muslims acquainted with our organization," said Shamsudin, of the Muslims for Labour.

"We have established this organization at the request of British Muslim youths, who belong to the Labour Party, who wanted to create some sort of a Muslim lobby inside the party to serve British Muslims."

Muslims for Labour was launched in 2003 in parliament to create a new strong channel of communications between the ruling Labour and the two million Muslims, many of them traditional supporters of the Party.

Many Muslim youths have since become involved and active in the group.

For Al-Fitrah organization, Muslim unity is the first and foremost priority.

"Takes `Eids as an example of Muslim disunity," said Azem.

"Muslims were divided on the first day of the last `Eid Al-Fitr. We want to see all Muslims, in Britain and elsewhere, united in observing their religious festivals."

Young participants highlighted at the conference the burning issue of Muslims' human rights in Britain.

"Dozens of innocent British Muslims have been victimized by the unfair anti-terror laws," said Sakhir Hassan, the founder of Cage Prisons, a Muslim advocacy group.

British Muslims took the brunt of a series of anti-terror measures and police crackdowns launched after the 9/11 attacks and intensified in the wake of the 2005 terrorist attacks in London.

"These laws had been tailored to tighten Muslim freedoms in Britain."



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