The list of famous British Muslims is very long; Britain has a long history of close relationships with both Arab and non-Arab Muslim countries : Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Aden etc. So it's no  surprise that today 1.8 million Muslims are living in U.K.

We all know of Sadiq Khan, London's new mayor. Other celebrities include Iqbal Sacranie, the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain; Zaki Badawi who, as chairman of the Muslim Law (Sharia) Council UK, has issued a statement condemning  terrorism as contrary to Islam. Waheed Alli, a famous businessman, has become a Lord (Baron Alli of Norbury in the London Borough of Croydon); Sarwar Ahmed, newspaper publisher (Asian Times) ; Sir Anwar Pervez, a businessman and Britain's richest Muslim ; Shami Ahmed, businessman (Joe Bloggs jeans); Lady Pola Uddin, Labour peer ; Naseem Hamed, boxer ; and so many others.

Wikipedia has issued a longer list : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Muslims

WHEN WILL IT ALL STOP ?

Dear London friends, dear Londoners,

You are a marvellous people, everyone is hard put to be more welcoming than you are, and yet, once again, blind terror has struck. We know it won't have the last word but still ... . Today we mourn your dead like you did ours. You've said it : love will overcome. One day.

Thousands Gather For Vigil To Remember Westminster Terror Attack Victims (170323) Credit : The Guardian

Inspired by New York homeless people’s Street News, The Big Issue was founded in 1991 (John Bird and Gordon Roddick) in reaction against UK's growing numbers of homeless people, and is now the world’s most widely circulated street newspaper.  The Body Shop offered $50,000 as start-up capital; initially published monthly, the magazine went weekly in June 1993 ; it has regional  editions now (Northern England, England's South West Region,  Scotland, Wales, and overseas : Australia, Japan, Namibia etc.). 

Since 1995, The Big Issue  (from the phrase “Now, what’s the big issue ?”, in French “c’est quoi le problème?”) has also been known as a foundation offering support to vendors (housing, health, personal finance and addiction). 

In 2001, the magazine sold nearly 300,000 copies, then declined from 167,000 to less than 125,000. between 2007 and 2011. Vendors have to prove they are homeless and jobless, and have to buy each copy (£1.25 ; it is then sold £ 2.50).

There has been controversy over the new format (January 2012; the magazine focused more on political journalism), the new price, the strong proportion of Romani vendors (40 %), its part in enabling migrants to access the benefit-system in this way. Prime Minister David Cameron spoke in defence of the Foundation. New columnists were added, including the Premier League footballer Joey Barton, Rachel Johnson and Samira Ahmed.

See : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Issue

and : http://www.bigissuenorth.com/

especially the music pages : http://www.bigissuenorth.com/2015/10/music-qa-editors/14827

« Hi ! everyone, can you guess who I am ? --  I was designed by Sir Alexander Binnie, and constructed by John Cochrane & C°. I once replaced a ferry and would daily enable workers to reach the London docks and shipyards. My lifts were installed in 1904. I am found  50 ft deep and my length is 1,215 ft. I link Greenwich and the Isle of Dogs. You can still admire my glazed domes : I am … I am … ? »

 Well, the answer is Greenwich Foot Tunnel. Incredible : you will even hear the Tunnel if you  log in to this website : < sonicwonders.org/greenwich-foot-tunnel >

We're in the 1960s. England has just organized (and won) the F.A. World Cup. Transformed by the irruption of Rock n'Roll in the media, the British scene is changing, and there will be no backward move : pop music, the miniskirt, youth subculture. Sometimes violence spoils everything, like the Mods and Rockers conflict ...

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