“Let's look for a brighter future”

What Steven asked Ajaib Hussain, Chair of Medway Inter Faith Action.

This weekend, Medway Inter Faith Action had its annual Walk for Peace, which we discussed with chair of the organisation Ajaib Hussain here. We carried on after that conversation to discuss how Ajaib came to be the chair of MIFA, Ramadan, and what brought his family to the Medway Towns.

Ajaib Hussain

What is your official occupation?
I'm a consultant in electronics. Electronics is a wide world, it's what we call semiconductors, which is chip technology. Not the eating-type chips, the silicon type.

How did you get into that?
Well, my degree was in electrical and electronic engineering back in the day when electronics was just in its infancy. I would say, as a Muslim, we believe in Qadr, which is destiny. It was not through my choices, but how it pans out, a lot of it is to do with our belief that it's God who led me there and helped me make some of the choices. It's very interesting, back in the day, this is 1980, very early days of computers, my final year project, I had a choice between making something with old electrical motors, and well, that might have come in handy, because wind turbine is now quite popular, but it was a dying industry, and I thought I'll go for something new, the semiconductors. I'm glad I made the right choice, and I'm thanking God that helped me make the right choice.

What additional roles, paid or unpai,d do you do?
In the latter years of my life, hopefully I'm still fairly young, I realised that I’ve learned a lot throughout my career as a professional semiconductor chip designer and manager. I had taken a lot from the community, so a few years ago, I decided to start giving back by helping out wherever I can.
I do a lot of voluntary work wherever I can. If I say yes, I really commit 110%. Volunteering is something which I now put more value in my own personal life to help the community. Fundamentally, actually, you're helping the community, but you're also helping yourself, because you become a better human being doing it. When I first came to Medway, I've always been faith-oriented, always been connected to the mosques. I'm from the Muslim faith, I've always looked for where to live, proximity to a mosque and the community, and that helps me centre myself. I looked at a few places, I looked at Gillingham, that's got a very nice mosque, and I went there. There's also a mosque in Rochester. There's several mosques now. But I decided to go for Rochester. I live in Rochester, I pray everywhere.
One day, I was asked to help with Medway Inter Faith Action, and it's something I can do, so why not? With volunteering, if you step in once, you get bundled with other things. That's how I came into helping Medway Inter Faith Action back in 2013. I remember it was very small, only very few people that are really helping. Then they asked me to help with other things, with police and other things within the mosque itself. Wherever I could, I wear different hats. We can multitask many different things. I'll easily put a hat on for what we call arranging Taste Ramadan, which is letting people into the mosque, offering food and letting them taste Ramadan. You feel the power of fasting, and even if you're not fasting, the power of the community. Many people have told me that. This is non-Muslims and people who are not of faith, many people who come. They said what they see in that, the power of that community is amazing for them.

Readers may have heard of Ramadan without knowledge of what it is. How would you describe what actually occurs and why it happens?
Ramadan is one of the pillars of Islam. As Muslims, we have to fast for 30 days in the month of Ramadan. It's a lunar calendar, it changes year to year. In the winter, it'll get shorter, but in the summer it's very long. It can be 18 to 20 hours of fasting. We can't eat during the sun's up. It's not just eating, it's abstaining from water, food and sex, anything forbidden. You're trying to become a good person. The whole essence of Ramadan, intermittent fasting, has proven to be good for you. Muslims have been doing that for 1400 years. We know the health benefit, but also the spiritual benefit that makes you really reconnect with your creator, if you believe, or whatever you believe, systems reconnect, reconnect with your families. Because when you're eating, when you're opening bread, we all have busy lives, right? How many families can really come together and eat together and have a conversation together and pray together? In Ramadan, there's special prayers, which happen after breaking the fast, obviously getting some nourishment in. You're doing that collectively as a family and as a community. That coming together is the whole essence of Ramadan, to bring you closer to God, recharge your batteries from a faith point of view, reconnect with your community, reconnect with your families, reconnect with your loved ones. One of the things in Ramadan we're encouraged to do is to forgive and forget and move on. Many families, for various reasons, are not perfect. Muslims are not perfect. In the month of Ramadan, we're encouraged to forgive and give more, give more in charity. Even smiling is a form of charity. Smile, give presents, and enjoy each other's company. That, for me, is the most beautiful month.
We do a program where people can learn about Islam and get to ask those questions people want to ask. No one is going to go into a mosque and knock on the door and say, ‘Imam, can I ask you this question?’ But you're in an environment where we're encouraging that, we're encouraging youngsters, elders, to ask that. Another place where you can actually ask similar things, but not in Ramadan, we often do the mosque open day, which is more of an all-day event, so people can come in, have coffee, tea, some food, and learn from each other.
From the outside, it looks like a building, and if you read some of the right-wing media, there's a lot of stuff going on inside that we should all be fearful of, and we should be hiding in our basements, but that's not the case. Muslims have been around in the UK since well before East India Company went to India. The trade routes have been going on for years, and there's a trade between Africa, Middle East, and UK and Europe. It's nothing new, and they will be here for a long time. We're British and we love this country. As Muslims, there's nothing to be afraid of. There are good and bad apples in every society, and one bad apple spoils everything, right? We try to pick those bad apples out and educate them, and this goes not just for Muslims, but if they're really bad, then lock them up, let them pay. We've got to be in a system where the law is applied equally.

How did you become Chair of Medway Inter Faith Action?
When I joined MIFA, I can mention a handful of people, we were left with two choices really. Wither we continue, we elect someone else to lead and take the helm, or we let it fizzle out. That's what happens if you don't have leadership, and I volunteered to become leader. I brought a team along, including Beth Atkins, I want to mention, as a wonderful person. We have the synagogue, Rochester Cathedral, we have the Buddhist Centre, and we have other denominations for people who represent at the board, and they help us steer and approve of things.

What is the action part of the Inter Faith group?
The action is two things. We’re doing something constructive with Walk for Peace. Walking in terms of unity, getting to know each other through walking, talking and going to different faith centres. The other action, from MIFA, is that every month we hold a forum, either hybrid or a Zoom. There is a talk, and people from the community come along, and for example, this month at the Sunlight Centre, the Baptist Church is talking about the African project. It's a project which is close to their heart, and they want to share with the community what they're doing there.
I don't want to forget Inter Faith Week. Before this government sadly, wrongly in my view, pulled the funding from Inter Faith Network UK, there was a very strong Inter Faith UK network, where on a much bigger scale there's bodies in every town and so on. And through them, we got involved with Inter Faith Week, which is around about November and the whole week we were part of that planning for each centre. We organise it around Medway. Anybody who wants to take part is welcome to invite people into their service or just partake. What unites us? MIFA is taking action to break down barriers and helping within the community.