ACCLAIMED journalist Sarfraz Manzoor enthralled an audience with a daring speech on race diversity, last Tuesday.
The 36-year old guardian columnist tackled controversial questions on second generation Muslims living in Britain from members at Brunel University, as part of their ‘One World Week’ event.
His comments stimulated plenty of questions from the responsive group on why various race relations are divided, which met with a positive debate.
Manzoor took time out from his busy schedule to relish the opportunity in attending ‘One World Week’, an annual event held at the university for people from diverse backgrounds to integrate and learn about other cultures.
On his view on British-Asian Muslims, Manzoor remained impartial and said: “Some second generation Muslims should branch out more, because in effect they can be pigeon-holed in the background”.
However he defended his opinion by adding: “Perhaps there may be a greater fear of bringing people together after the 9/11 attacks, which dominates their fears of pushing themselves forward”.
Despite the journalist’s forthright comments triggering an intense argument, his challenging views inspired ideas from the group.
One audience member, wanting to remain anonymous, responded: “We need to look forward, not back, and talk about race issues. You can’t have progression in society if everything is boxed-up”.
The discussion generated a positive feedback from students and staff members who attended and approved of the journalist’s approach to raise the importance of sensitive topics.
Third Year Social and Political student Raizia Quereshi, 22, said: “Everyone is entitled to a liberal response and should take a risk on it.”
The 36-year old guardian columnist tackled controversial questions on second generation Muslims living in Britain from members at Brunel University, as part of their ‘One World Week’ event.
His comments stimulated plenty of questions from the responsive group on why various race relations are divided, which met with a positive debate.
Manzoor took time out from his busy schedule to relish the opportunity in attending ‘One World Week’, an annual event held at the university for people from diverse backgrounds to integrate and learn about other cultures.
On his view on British-Asian Muslims, Manzoor remained impartial and said: “Some second generation Muslims should branch out more, because in effect they can be pigeon-holed in the background”.
However he defended his opinion by adding: “Perhaps there may be a greater fear of bringing people together after the 9/11 attacks, which dominates their fears of pushing themselves forward”.
Despite the journalist’s forthright comments triggering an intense argument, his challenging views inspired ideas from the group.
One audience member, wanting to remain anonymous, responded: “We need to look forward, not back, and talk about race issues. You can’t have progression in society if everything is boxed-up”.
The discussion generated a positive feedback from students and staff members who attended and approved of the journalist’s approach to raise the importance of sensitive topics.
Third Year Social and Political student Raizia Quereshi, 22, said: “Everyone is entitled to a liberal response and should take a risk on it.”
For further information on journalist Sarfraz Manzoor, visit his website:
and news on Brunel's one world week:
1 comment:
Self-reflective Report: Religious Debate 3
My course director sent an email regarding Sarfraz Manzoor’s arrival at the university, and I was able to attend the event.
Given the short time that Manzoor made his speech, there were numerous issues raised on race diversity, which made it difficult to focus on an angle which devoted to one theme. I decided to concentrate on the most gripping topic and asked him questions relating to religion, which generated more opinions from the audience. Manzoor spoke rapidly but also drifted into another subject disconnecting to religion, which made taking notes a challenging task.
I intended the article to be written in a style that was assertive and appealing to readers, although I was concerned on many levels on whether the theme would raise significant ethical matters. However, after talking to the event’s organizer and the participants involved, I realized these familiar topics reflected a positive indication on raising demanding issues.
The introduction style was chosen to be written using bright vocabulary such as ‘enthralled’, and ‘daring’, to reflect Manzoor’s liberal character. However, the piece could have been more effective by shortening sentences to produce a clearer summary of the debate.
If there was sufficient time for an elaborated discussion, the article most probably would have taken a different direction. I would have liked to ask additional questions to audience members, searching for more in-depth or diverse views. Questions which stem from religion such as race, segregation, and why certain regional areas have substantial religious attacks, could have been raised. Furthermore, I would have liked to have interviewed Manzoor to discuss his insight of how and if religion affected him growing up, and whether it still plays an importance in his life.
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