Plenary, 17 Nov 2004

Meeting date: Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Official Report 442KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. As with every Wednesday, the first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Farkhanda Chaudhry, a member of the Muslim community in Scotland.

Bismillah-hir-Rahman-nir-Rrahim. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

I am honoured to be addressing the Scottish Parliament in this day's reflection. As we move into a time of festivity and celebrations for many different faith groups—such as the Diwali celebrations, Eid and Christmas—I see a Scotland strengthened and enriched by this great diversity. This difference needs to be acknowledged, because it is as strong as the commonalities that we all have as humans—in the desire for a job and a safe community to live in, and in the desire to know that we have equality and equity in the structures that support our social, political, economic and spiritual development. Ultimately, the majority of us have a desire to live in a just society.

The aspect of justice is a key concept in Islam and is embedded strongly in Qur'anic messages to all people. It is actually stronger than the aspect of love. In order to be just and to create a just society where justice is paramount, one needs to think about those in a minority, those on the fringes and those who are disenfranchised, as part of a political and economic approach to finding solutions. What is required is recognition of the individual's right to life and safety, as well as community rights.

That must be matched with a sense of responsibility. I think that that needs to be the cornerstone of the Scottish Parliament, to ensure that, among MSPs, the desire for justice is at the forefront of how business is conducted. That sense of responsibility must also be seen in each and every one of us. We live in an interconnected world and our actions have implications and impacts on people whom we will never know or meet.

That reminds me of verse 11 of chapter 13 in the Qur'an, in which God addresses us and says:

"Verily, Allah does not change the condition of a people unless they change their inner selves."

That verse says to me that ultimately our attitudes shape our commitments to the type of change we want. As someone who works in the equalities field, I feel that this rings very true. Attitudes towards others are translated into our policies and practices and into how we deal with one another on a daily basis. A stark example of this is apartheid.

Finally, I reflect on a future landscape where we all feel that we have a sense of belonging, a desire to contribute to the development of that sense of belonging and a longing for this vision to become a reality.