LONDON, 20 April — The inauguration of the first Memon center in the United Kingdom was officially performed recently by Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, who told a gathering of Muslims that cultural diversity was crucial to unity in Britain. Praising the Memon community for its help in creating a multi-cultural society, Prince Charles told the members of the community they had set an example for people of all faiths to emulate.

The idea of having a community center in London was first conceived in 1973. At that time the number of Memons in the UK was growing, with many families coming to Britain in the wake of troubles and uncertainties in some East African countries. Many families were also coming from Pakistan and India and making UK their new home. A 30,000-strong Memon community presently lives in the UK.

The Memon Association in UK came into existence in 1973. Its objectives are to serve the community in the following areas: i) to render assistance and facilities for the performance of religious, educational and social activities such as marriages, deaths, recreation and education, ii) to organize educational, religious and social activities; iii) to cooperate and coordinate with other national and international organizations having similar aims and objectives.

The association acquired a building at Balham, London, at a cost of 200,000 pounds. The building has now been converted into a fully equipped community and sports center.

While inaugurating the center, Prince Charles called for more tolerance and understanding of other faiths and cultures. Earlier, verses from the Qur’an were recited.

Welcoming Prince Charles, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Association Iqbal Sacranie, said: “The opening of the Memon center in south London is a major landmark in the short history of the Memon community in Britain. Like the universal Muslim community of which it is a part, the Memon community is a community based on faith. The center will be of tremendous benefit to the local community, particularly to the youth and women, as well as to the larger community in the UK, he said.”

Referring to two major statements made by Prince Charles as of great significance, Sacranie observed: “Your October 1993 address at the Oxford center for Islamic studies was the first ever authoritative statement against Islamphobia. The timing was crucial. It had come at a time when Muslims in Britain were being subjected to a barrage of abuse and vilification and your intervention brought not only recognition of the problem but led also to policy initiatives aimed at promoting civility in public life and amity in community relations. As against the paradigm of civilization clash put forward by scholars like Huntington, you had underscored the fact of mutuality between Islam and the West.”

He continued: “Wilton Park was another first where you reminded us all about the ‘Sense of the Sacred’ and its relevance not only to the problems of understanding between Islamic and western worlds but you had also highlighted other problems caused by the separation between materialism and spirituality.”

About the aims and objectives of establishing the multi-purpose Memon community center, Sacranie said it was to provide “our youth with a healthy social, moral and recreational environment and help them grow as useful members of the community. We do not want them to grow up as angry or alienated young people. We want them to become productive members of the society.” This center will now be able to provide a platform to organize a number of useful activities for all ages, including sports, youth recreation, meetings, weddings and social and cultural functions.