So proud of our city

AS we say goodbye to 2017, I would like to pay tribute to the resilience and compassion of our city as we recovered from the horrific terrorist attack in May 2017.

With 22 killed by a brutal and barbaric terrorist, our city responded in the only way we know – with compassion, solidarity, tolerance, love and defiance.

On that dreadful night, we saw the worse of humanity and the best of our city and its citizens in the response we provided.

From the taxi drivers offering free rides home for those stranded in the city centre, to the emergency services who didn’t hesitate to go towards the Arena to help the injured not knowing about the risks.

I want to pay my personal tribute in remembering the victims and their families at these first New Year celebrations since the attack.

I would like to pay tribute to the people of Greater Manchester and offer our continued support for the families of the victims.

The United Kingdom has had a bleak year with terrorist attacks in Westminster Bridge, Manchester Arena, London Bridge and Finsbury Park Mosque. The terrorists, whether from within the Muslim community or from the far right, have one thing in common – they want to divide communities and in that they have surely failed.

Our nation united against the terrorists, reaffirmed our commitments to tolerance and mutual respect and came together to remember the victims and their families.

We call out the huge spike in hate crimes directed towards Muslims both in this country and around the world.

The Ramadhan Foundation has been at the forefront in projecting the real image of Islam and Muslims in the media; we have conducted hundreds of media interviews, supported journalist requests for help, arranged six counter-terrorism events across the UK and engaged with the British government and police on how we can defeat terrorism.

We pledge to continue our important work against terrorism and extremism and look forward to the New Year with optimism.

I would like to pray for a peaceful 2018 where terrorists and their evil crimes are eradicated, where we can live together in peace, tolerance and celebrate the things we have in common. Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation