Islam Expo

Islam Expo is an Islamic exhibition held in London in July 2006 and July 2008. In 2005 it was held at the Alexandra Palace in London, a city with a large Muslim population and it was described as being the largest Islamic exhibition ever held in Europe.

There was stalls by Islamic businesses and charities like Muslim Hands and Islamic Relief. There was also stalls selling Islamic music, clothing, food and books. There was also opportunities to get free henna tattoos and your name written in Arabic. There was also an interactive section on the Five Pillars of Islam, an exhibition of young British Islamic art, and a section on famous Islamic scientists and mathematicians. There was also a fun fair in the grounds and lectures by various people from within and outside the Islamic population like Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens and Muslim BBC news reporter Asad Ahmad. There was screenings of Islamic films, and Islamic musicians.

Aims

The aims of the exposition was to:
*Introduce the British public to Islam as a global culture and faith that spans continents, races and languages.
*Shed light over the Islamic civilisation’s great achievements in the various fields of knowledge; from science to technology and from art to literature.
*Create stronger foundations for Muslims to understand their heritage and develop their identity as major pioneers of human civilisation.
*Combat the myths, misconceptions and misunderstandings of Islam.
*Encourage positive interaction between Muslims and the different races and cultures of British society. Working towards a more open, tolerant and pluralistic Britain.
*Promote multi-culturalism as an enrichment of British identity.

Guest speakers

A number of guest speakers made lectures at the 2006 expo including:
* Asad Ahmad, BBC News presenter
* Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London
* Norman Kember, former hostage in Iraq
* Yusuf Islam, former pop star Cat Stevens
* Sadiq Khan, British MP
* Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain
* Rageh Omaar , journalist of Al Jazeera, author
* Wadah Khanfar, Director General of Al Jazeera Network
* Yasmin Alibhai Brown
* Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London 2000-2008
* Dr Tariq Ramadan, Teacher of Islamic Theology at Oxford University
* Seumas Milne, British Journalist, writer
* Peter Oborne, British journalist, author, commentator

External links

* [http://islamexpo.info The Official site]
* [http://www.islamexpo.com IslamExpo - 11-14 July 2008]
* [http://www.alexandrapalace.com/IslamExpo.htm Alexandra Palace entry]