Wed 21st May 2025: The UKIM West London Islamic Centre has joined over thirty key UK Islamic institutions by sending an open letter to the Prime Minister, calling for urgent, substantive measures to end the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. The letter condemns the “harrowing scenes of intolerable human suffering” and urges the UK Government to uphold international law and protect civilian life.
The Letter Calls For:
1) An immediate reinstatement of a ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and an end to the military occupation of Palestinian territories.
2) Immediate lifting of the Gaza blockade and unfettered delivery of humanitarian aid, opposing all forms of collective punishment.
3) Formal recognition of the State of Palestine, aligned with international consensus and United Nations resolutions.
4) A halt to UK arms sales and military support to any party violating international humanitarian law.
“As famine looms, thousands of malnourished and emaciated children and babies now face the prospect of inhumane, agonising and preventable deaths.”
“though we welcome recent statements…we are profoundly concerned by the UK Government’s failure to act determinedly, not having adopted a consistent, firm and principled stance in response to policies that have constituted collective punishment and potentially, war crimes with the ethnic cleansing of the civilian population in Gaza.”
Read the full letter here.
“The application of international law cannot be selective. Human rights, non-discrimination, and anti-racism must be universal. These principles cannot be withheld from a people based on their ethnicity or religion, nor should they be compromised by borders or systems of apartheid.”
The joint statement was endorsed by leading mosques, scholarly bodies and community organisations across Britain, including the East London Mosque & LMC, The Islamic Cultural Centre at Regents Park, Finsbury Park Mosque, Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, Muslim Welfare House, Al Muntada Al Islami, Birmingham Central Mosque, Sheffield Grand Mosque, and many others.
Gaza: The Suffering Continues
Mon 20th Jan 2025: Having witnessed 15 months of indiscriminate destruction and bloodshed in Gaza, we welcome the long overdue ceasefire, as an important step towards ending one of the most horrific and well-documented acts of collective punishment in modern times.
Over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, thousands of them children, with medical journals stating the figure is as high as 70,000. Countless others remain unaccounted for, including journalists, aid workers and medical staff. Nearly two million people have been displaced, their homes, hospitals and places of worship reduced to rubble, leaving a barren, unhabitable and desolate landscape.
Humanitarian aid must now be allowed to flow freely into Gaza to meet the dire needs of a population facing starvation. The UK government and international community must uphold their obligations and seek accountability under international law, taking decisive action to prevent a recurrence of the atrocities perpetrated on innocent civillians over the past 15 months.
The fact remains that the conflict will only truly end when the unlawful military occupation ends, and the undaunted, spirited people of Palestine are able to live as equals, with dignity and freedom, something that all fair-minded and freedom-loving people the world over identify with.
We would like to express our thanks to all members of our community, who have so far helped raise over £275,000 for the WLIC Gaza Appeal, this included the purchase and delivery of the second WLIC Gaza Ambualnce in April 2024. Donations can still be made in the office or online for our Save Gaza January 2025 Appeal. We must continue to do everything within our capacity, to stand in peaceful solidarity with the oppressed, to promote justice and foster understanding between communities.
Call for a Ceasefire Now
Wed 1st November 2023: In light of the ever deteriorating and appalling situation in Gaza, with thousands of innocent, defenceless civilians killed and injured, WLIC has written to all London Borough of Ealing’s parliamentarians and councillors. Outlining key sentiments and concerns from within our community, we are calling on them to take action and demand an immediate ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors, anything less would be deemed unacceptable.
View the LBE correspondence here.