Multifaith Soul in the Machine

British Prime Minister David Cameron has told us that 'multiculturalism is dead'. Either Mr Cameron doesn't understand or he does not want to understand the city I live in! And it's not just the Conservative party since Labour politicians too [fearful of the BNP] have banged on about the dangers of diversity and stigmatised the whole Muslim community since 9/11 through the Preventing Violent Extremism strategy....But there is a multifaith soul still beating, alive and kicking in the machine. We are told by people that don't know or understand that the community of Sparkbrook in Birmingham is a 'Muslim ghetto', although strangely the same people don't refer to all white suburbs as 'White ghettoes'! This evening in Sparkbrook I shared in a moment that subverted the so called 'clash' of civilisations at The Hubb art centre run by a friend of mine the Muslim graffiti artist Mohammed 'aerosol' Ali. It wasn't a Muslim event or a Christian event or a Sikh event or a Hindu event or a Buddhist event or a Jewish event....It was a moment of shared spirituality in the city, a moment of clarity, shared journeying towards dialogue and justice, a witness to our common humanity and to the multiflavoured, multicoloured, multifaith, multicultural soul in the urban machine. No relgious 'leaders', no elected politicians, no academics absorbing 'data' for their next book but the people of the city exploring identity and hope together through graffiti art, dub poetry and drumming...Listen Mr Cameron and listen carefully...multiculturalism is not dead, it's alive and kicking. People of faith listen, it's not your truth or mine but shared journey inwards, outwards, together...a pilgirmage amongst the concrete towards a more human shared city.