UK Muslims Clean Park, Offer Role Model

CAIRO – Two British Muslim organizations have joined hands in a clean-up campaign in South Tyneside, northeast England, offering upstanding citizen role models for fellow citizens in order to create a more pleasant environment for people of all faiths.

“It went really well. We had about 20 volunteers but we had a lot of words of encouragement from passers-by as well," project manager Abu Tayeb told The Chronicle on Sunday, October 5.

“We have done these neighborhood clean-up programs before in Newcastle but we wanted to spread it out more and encourage more people to get involved.

“The government’s austerity cuts have had knock-on effect [I have no idea what this is] things like littering and, as a Muslim, part of our duty is to be active in the community and help our communities," he added.

Abu Tayeb was referring to a new clean-up campaign led by volunteers from UK Islamic organizations One Community and the Islamic Diversity Centre (IDC).

Rejecting anti-social conduct in the borough’s biggest parks, members of both groups embarked on their clean-up campaign at the Riverside Park, in Hebburn, South Tyneside.

By cleaning the park, the Muslim groups offered a true image of Islam which instructs its followers to preserve the environment.

“Indeed, it is reported that the Prophet Muhammad said 'removing a harmful thing from the path is a charitable act.' If we are true to the teachings of our religion, we should be having a positive effect on the world around us, and this initiative is a great way to do just that," Abu Tayeb said.

“The beautiful thing about this campaign is you don’t have to be of a certain religion to get involved - it’s about coming together for the common good.”

South Tyneside’s Lord Mayor joined the volunteers in the clean-up campaign.