23 Jun 2005 - Faith communities join efforts to make poverty history
Faith communities join efforts to make poverty history
By Hamed Chapman
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has praised Muslims and other religious communities for contributing to efforts to Make Poverty History during the Britain's chairmanship of the G8 industrial countries and forthcoming presidency of the European Union.
"I thank all the churches and faith groups, not only in Britain but throughout the world for the work that they have done so far in putting the issue on the agenda," Brown told Parliament on May 26. He said he believed that by the time of the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, "we can achieve an historic agreement that will make possible greater aid and substantial debt relief."
The issue of the role of faith communities was raised by Muslim Labour MP, Sadiq Khan, during his first participation in Treasury Questions since being elected last month. "It is a credit to the Chancellor and this Labour Government that poverty and the developing world is a mainstream issue," Khan told The Muslim News. "I pay tribute to all our faith communities for all their hard and inspiring work on this," he said.
Brown was asked about his recent visit to meet local faith communities in his south London constituency of Totting and what advice he would give to churches, mosques, temples and other communities helping the Jubilee 2000 campaign to cancel debts owed by poor countries. Khan said he was "tremendously proud of all the work faith and our non faith community have been doing" to raise awareness of this issue. "A few years ago it was only the churches talking about the need to reform trade, give aid and cancel debt. Now it is a main stream issue," he told The Muslim News.
Source: The Muslim News
By Hamed Chapman
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has praised Muslims and other religious communities for contributing to efforts to Make Poverty History during the Britain's chairmanship of the G8 industrial countries and forthcoming presidency of the European Union.
"I thank all the churches and faith groups, not only in Britain but throughout the world for the work that they have done so far in putting the issue on the agenda," Brown told Parliament on May 26. He said he believed that by the time of the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, "we can achieve an historic agreement that will make possible greater aid and substantial debt relief."
The issue of the role of faith communities was raised by Muslim Labour MP, Sadiq Khan, during his first participation in Treasury Questions since being elected last month. "It is a credit to the Chancellor and this Labour Government that poverty and the developing world is a mainstream issue," Khan told The Muslim News. "I pay tribute to all our faith communities for all their hard and inspiring work on this," he said.
Brown was asked about his recent visit to meet local faith communities in his south London constituency of Totting and what advice he would give to churches, mosques, temples and other communities helping the Jubilee 2000 campaign to cancel debts owed by poor countries. Khan said he was "tremendously proud of all the work faith and our non faith community have been doing" to raise awareness of this issue. "A few years ago it was only the churches talking about the need to reform trade, give aid and cancel debt. Now it is a main stream issue," he told The Muslim News.
Source: The Muslim News