A Tale of Two Thornhills

BY Kim Zarzour - YorkRegion.com 

May 6, 2010 @ 21:58

BY Kim Zarzour - YorkRegion.com 

May 6, 2010 @ 21:58

For the longest time, it seemed as if Shaun Maddox was the proverbial one hand clapping.

"Why can't we all just get along?" he'd ask his neighbours as his community struggled with racial unrest - but his words drifted unheard in his pastoral hometown of Thornhill, England.

Then Mr. Maddox discovered Thornhill, Ontario, and things started to change.

You may remember Mr. Maddox.

He's the wall plasterer and father of three who is trying to bring unity to his tiny village on the River Calder.

Thornhill, England is just three miles from Dewsbury, where one of the London underground bombers came from. The neighbouring community of Savile Town is infested with rumours of radicalism and no-go zones, and violence flares occasionally between Muslims and non-Muslims.

One day Mr. Maddox stumbled across news stories on the internet about Muslims, Christians and Jews all working together for the community of Thornhill.

Impossible, thought Mr. Maddox.

Then he read further and discovered this was a different Thornhill - in Ontario, Canada.

Hoping for insight and guidance, Mr. Maddox reached a hand across the water to this rosier-looking sister town, and now Thornhill, Ontario has extended a helping hand back to him - with people like Mubarak Nazir, spokesperson for Canada's Ahmadiyya Muslim community, who says he was inspired by Mr. Maddox's efforts.

"Maybe now," says Mr. Nazir, "the two Thornhills can begin clapping together, and they will be heard."

It seems it has started.

In synagogues, churches and mosques across Thornhill, word has spread about the plucky bloke from England.

"Kudos to this guy, he's well worth recognizing," says Thornhill Councillor Alan Shefman. "This is a journey, and he is taking the first step."

That first step was an email Mr. Maddox sent to the editor of The Liberal last fall. He wanted to know how this Ontario town manages to have so many diverse faiths and cultures living in harmony.

The second step, last month, involved meeting with Muslims in the UK.

And the third step happens today. Mr. Maddox is hoping to win a seat in today's municipal election.

Mr. Maddox's original question ? - how do we all manage to get along so well here? - prompted a variety of responses on this side of the pond.

Some Thornhill, Ontario residents have experienced multiculturalism from both sides - in Canada and England - and have seen that difference first-hand.

Fran Isaac, co-chair of Mosaic Interfaith Group, was raised in Great Britain.

"I find they do seem more insular, more scared of each other, while the Canadian attitude is more open to finding out about other cultures."

That view is shared by David Rawcliffe, co-coordinator of the Mosaic Interfaith Out of the Cold program, located in Thornhill United Church.

"I grew up in Britain and it was always a very stable community, not used to people coming in. It's a bit of a shock for folks .... One of the differences between here and there, is that Canada is an immigration society and comfortable with the idea of change."

Immigration and integration have become key issues in today's UK general elections. More and more Britons are voicing anger about their country's approach to newcomers. Not only is there contention between "indigenous" Brits and newcomers from Asia and the Caribbean, but now there's protest over immigrants from Eastern Europe who can enter Britain at will under the terms of the European Union.

In tiny Thornhill, located in West Yorkshire, the unrest simmers beneath the surface, occasionally bubbling over when newcomers and old-timers come to blows as they did last November when a series of mobbing and rock-throwing incidents hit the headlines, causing teenagers to ask Mr. Maddox to seek help.

Mr. Maddox was able to get the teens an audience with the local council, but he is still campaigning for interfaith meetings. While he believes he is making progress, he concedes his community has a long way to go. "After all, the government alienated the Muslims of Dewsbury 40 years ago."

He's talking about the UK's approach towards multiculturalism which was based on the notion of protecting difference by keeping people apart.

It was thought this would lead to peaceful co-existence, but it's time to move on, suggests Jennifer Tankard, spokesperson for the Institute of Community Cohesion, established in Great Britain in 2005 to try to smooth troubled race relations.

"We need a greater emphasis on what we have in common."

Many blame the UK approach for creating "cultural ghettos", something Canada has avoided even though there are ethnically distinct areas here, says Mr. Shefman. "They haven't become exclusive, or spark plugs for conflict, just enclaves of interesting, different communities."

"It's sort of a banner for who we are," adds Rabbi Cory Weiss, of Thornhill Ontario's Temple Har Zion. "We value it and that's what makes our country great.

I believe it is a model of what the world can be like. It's not perfect, certainly, but other areas can learn from Thornhill."

And there are many here who wish to help them learn, offering the peace-seeking Mr. Maddox a slew of advice.

"He's on the right path," says Sabi Ahsan, with the Ja'ffari Islamic Centre. "He just needs more people to work with him. He needs to publicize what he's doing, get articles in the local papers inviting people to come and start a dialogue."

Mr. Shefman agrees. "He can't do this alone." He points to Vaughan's yearly forum on diversity as an example of what can help. "You need to consult with people in the community."

The Mosaic program, based on different faiths' willingness to learn about each other and work on projects together, is another approach that makes for a tolerant Thornhill, says Ghulam Abbas Sajan, Mosaic's co-chair. Mr. Sajan is hoping to meet with Mr. Maddox when he visits the UK this summer.

Many community leaders suggest the way to search for peace begins with youth.

"Don't give up," Thornhill/Concord Councillor Sandra Yeung Racco tells Mr. Maddox. "You're on the right track. You need to start with the kids.

Most kids really don't want to act bad. If you keep them busy doing things that involve positive energy, there's no time to think of negative stuff... and if you get the kids' support and ideas, they'll go home and tell their parents."

TALE OF TWO BROTHERS ON PEACE MISSION

They came together to break bread and share stories.???Actually, it was fish. They came together over a masala fish dish. And it was delicious, according to our man in the UK.???This breaking of bread began with a bus.

Shaun Maddox was taking care of errands in his West Yorkshire community when he noticed a city bus with an eye-catching ad.???"Muslims for Loyalty, Freedom and Peace" it read.

Those words seemed to jibe with his own mission, bringing Muslims and non-Muslims together in peace, so he jotted down the contact info.

Turns out the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, which posted the ad, shares his goal.

"Love for all, hatred for none" is the group's nation-wide grassroots campaign to let Brits know that Islam does not stand for terrorism.

The Muslims invited Mr. Maddox to their mosque and in an interesting twist, they discovered another tie: the spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya community headquartered in the UK is brother to the spokesperson for the Canadian branch of the Muslim movement, headquartered in Vaughan.

The brothers were keen to learn about Mr. Maddox's mission, and his ties to Thornhill.

"I am happy this story has raised the point," said Mubarak Nazir, a Muslim scholar and Missionary-in-Charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Canada.

Mr. Nazir spoke recently at the first World Religions Conference held in Bradford and emphasized the word 'Islam' means peace. Extremists have defamed Islam, he said, and are a "blot on the face of a Muslim".

This thinking is the motivation behind the bus campaign undertaken in the UK. "We're just keen to restore the original teaching and beauty of Islam," said Mr. Nazir's brother, Basharat.

The Ahmadiyya Muslims (who are not accepted as "true" by all Muslims) plan to visit every one of the 27 million households in the UK over the next 10 years, leaving them with a leaflet explaining what they see as true Islam, Basharat said.

The campaign begins at a time when Islamophobia is at a height. The group points to a recent survey showing a quarter of respondents had described Islam as the worst religion on Earth.

"We want people to judge Islam by its teachings and by how the vast majority of Islamic people live, not by a tiny minority," he added.

In Canada, the Muslim group will be distributing pamphlets too with hopes of reaching two per cent of the population. "They may throw them away, they may not accept them, but at least they'll see we are trying," Mubarak said.???"We are trying to salvage Islam, take back Islam from the extremists who don't know the true teaching is not violence and terrorism ... If there is any war, it is the war of winning hearts," he adds. "Why not enjoy the fragrance of each flower?"

For his part, Shaun Maddox doesn't blame Muslims for the strife that has plagued his community, but rather an immigration policy that fostered division.

"It's up to us in the English community to break down the barriers that are keeping us apart. It's time we all lived together in peace and all worked to save this planet.

"There's people starving to death and natural disasters. We are here for a blink of this Earth's existence; let's make the most of it and make the world a better place for everyone. After all, we are all human beings at the end of the day."