The Association of Muslim Industrialists and Businessmen have held their traditional Ramadan iftar meal sailing down the River Thames.
(left to right) businessmen Nuri Bulgurcu and Osman Cinik; Bülent Turan MP; Ambassador Abdurrahman Bilgiç; MUSİAD president Hakan Camuz and attaché Fatih Ulusoy
The event, which was jointly organised with Wharfma, the Canary Whaft Muslim Association, was held to raise funds for the Children Plus charity.
It also saw the first public appearance of Abdurrahman Bilgiç, the new Turkish ambassador to London, who attended with his wife.
In his speech Mr Bilgiç referenced Prime Minsiter David Cameron’s Ramadan message, which pointed to the charitable generosity of Britain’s Muslim population.
Around 350 people attended the iftar meal sailing down the Thames
“I find it very important that Mr Cameron said this, because the month of Ramadan is a time in Islam when aid and charitable work increases. I am pleased to see Muslims make a positive contribution to Britain’s social and economic life.
“Britain today is one of the most important trade partners of Turkey, the world’s 16th largest economy. Our efforts are continuing to meet the objective set by the prime ministers of both countries in 2010 to double the trade volume between the two countries from $11.8 billion over the next five years.”
Also speaking at the event was Bülent Turan, an MP for the governing AK Party, who said he brought Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s greetings and pointed to the rising instances of racism and Islamophobia in Britain and other European countries.
MUSIAD UK president Hakan Camuz and AK Party MP Bülent Turan
MUSAID director Hakan Camuz also spoke at the iftar meal, which last three hours and was attended by around 350 Muslims, many of them of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin.
He said his organisation was particularly effective at developing networking opportunities between Muslim businessmen in Turkey and the UK.
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