Faith Matters launches iPad/iPhone Application to inspire Asian youth living in Britain today

20 January 2012

In collaboration with Lord Sheikh, NGO Faith Matters will launch their new iPad/iPhone Application entitled The British Indian Army on Thursday 19th January in the House of Lords. The program will promote the remarkable and heroic acts that many Indian soldiers of Muslim, Sikh and Hindu origin undertook in the First and Second World Wars. Moreover, it hopes to instil a sense of pride within the Asian youth living in Britain today, allowing them to feel confident about their history and heritage.

The application is aimed towards young people aged 15 – 25 and will teach them about the key Indian soldiers who fought to protect Britain. It will give them an insight into Indian soldiers' diverse and engaging history and most importantly, it will allow the Asian youth in Britain an opportunity to share the stories of their ancestors.

Faith Matters, Founder and Director Fiyaz Mughal explained "This program is important, not only because it will promote the inspirational work of Indian soldiers to the wider community, but because it will instil a sense of pride into the Indian youth living in Britain today, their ancestors gave their lives to protect Britain and secure its safety."

By understanding the history and sacrifices of Indian soldiers of all faiths, Faith Matters hopes that people may have a better understanding of issues facing modern-day Britain. "Groups such as The English Defense League and The British National Party continue to try and create divisions within British Society. Their warped analysis of history and uninformed standpoints aim to promote racial inequality. The blood of Muslim, Sikh and Hindu Soldiers was equally valuable in WWI and WWII and cannot be dismissed by a simplistic re-writing of history by the far right. Therefore, our application aims to tackle the views of the far-right who claim that Asians living in Britain today have not played a significant and vital role in Britain's history" said Fiyaz Mughal.

The application gives young Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims the opportunity to learn about the history of their ancestors who travelled away from their homes and villages into order to give their lives for a cause they believed in. Most importantly, the application hopes to create sense of belonging. Sadly, much of the Asian youth living in what can collectively be called 'Western' countries today, feel alienated from the societies that they call home. These feelings of alienation may stem from a sense of detachment from the community in which they live.

"Faith Matters wants the Asian youth to be inspired to play constructive and productive roles in their communities – whether in Europe, Canada, the U.S. or the Far East. What we have provided here are real facts and examples of the prominent and powerful roles that their ancestors played in history and we hope that this may help in creating a sense of mutual respect and understanding" said Faith Matters Project Manager, Rehman Anwer.

---

Press releases, papers and documents published on this page are the intellectual property of an organisation unrelated to Central Lobby. We promote their parliamentary and political campaigning activities as they are subscribers to the Central Lobby service.

As such, Central Lobby does not edit, endorse, or attempt to balance the opinions expressed on this page. The content of press releases and other such types of content are the responsibility of the originating organisation.