By: Maureen Newman

Maureen Newman
Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:54:29 +0000

In the early 1970s Idi Amin threw out of Uganda thousands of Asians and a small number came to my little town in Northumberland. My family embraced the Ladha family who
are Ismaili Muslims. Their Imam is the Aga Khan who tells his followers to adapt to the country they find themselves in. To this day our friendship with them continues and has been a mutual blessing. Now in 2025 I’m approaching my 80th year and have a 6 year old grandson in a primary school with a large proportion of Muslim pupils. When I take him to or from school, I take every opportunity to engage with the Muslim parents and am blessed with smiles and many warm greetings. I suppose I’m trying to say that over the years I’ve come to see that the effort to engage with the ‘stranger’ is usually very rewarding and allays understandable fears. The Ahmadiyya Muslims believe ‘love for all, hatred for none’. Although a small group in Britain, they are a blessing. The Sunnis are very Conservative and I believe SOME are a grave threat to those who are not part of them. Any future Government must identify only those Muslims who are a threat to Britain and especially to our Jewish community, in the context of deportation or remigration. From Maureen Newman.

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