Pollokshields: Glasgow's Muslim Community

How these curiosities would be quite forgot, did not such idle fellowes as I put them down.'

- John Aubrey

Welcome to my wee photoblog on Glasgow, where we feature the  joys and unjoys of walking and cycling through a fascinating, beautiful and often badly run city. For the blog's origin and a  list of all posts see the  'Introduction' post  -

http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/02/introduction.html


Today is Saturday, 5 May, and we are off for a walk down Albert Drive in Pollokshields, the heart of Glasgow's Muslim  community.

And here we are on the 66 bus about to cross Clyde St

Interesting wee scene over there

Sinks for sale

Hurry darling! Secondhand sinks and WCs!

We've got off  the bus at Victoria Rd and are now in Albert Drive - this is Pollokshields East railway station. The fine wiki entry on Pollokshields is here -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollokshields

We're going to walk up Albert Drive past that church in the distance. From wiki: Pollokshields 'is a conservation area which was developed in Victorian times according to a plan promoted by the original landowners, the Stirling-Maxwells of Pollok, whose association with the area goes as far back as 1270.' The area has a large South Asian community which is mainly Muslim: there are three mosques in  the area - also three churches, a Sikh Gurdwara and other religious buildings.

Albert Drive is where many of Glasgow's Muslims come to celebrate at Eid. Ken Loach's film Ae Fond Kiss is set in Pollokshields.

The campaign against forced marriage in Britain began among Glasgow Muslims -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-17908548

as did the  campaign against child sex abuse among the south Asian communities -

http://www.roshni.org.uk/

For an unusual sighting of what is very likely to be graffiti by disaffected young Muslims in Glasgow  see

http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/gorbals-3-saltmarket-to-tradeston.html

And for Glasgow's Sikh community  see
http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/04/glasgows-sikhs.html
Glasgow's Sikhs 2: a Sikh Wedding
http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2011/08/glasgows-sikhs-2-sikh-wedding.html

About to cross Forth St

Islamic Relief

Bush Knew: a troofer website

Looking back from the roundabout

Looking up from the roundabout

Looking back

A lost soul. Diane Lann's body was found a few days after on 11 May in Springburn. See
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2012/05/11/body-found-in-glasgow-identified-as-missing-woman-diane-lann-47-86908-23855829/

Coming up to Shields Rd now

Looking back

Looking down Shields Rd. As I have  observed several times in the course of this album, Glashow is a city of long vistas. For the other end of Shields Rd, see http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/welcome-to-my-wee-photoblog-on-glasgow.html

Shall we look in the Gardens? Not enough time really

Heading back down Albert Drive

The Rangers crisis. Many Pollokshields Muslims are diehard Rangers fans. Great headline on left: GERS BID BILL"S BEAUTY QUEEN LOVER

A transparent bag dancing in  the wind like a living thing

A message from  Nicola Sturgeon MSP over there.  For  a pre-election pic of Nicola's team in George Square see
http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/when-worlds-collide-bothams-great-walk.html

Aamer Anwar was of course Tommy Sheridan's lawyer. See http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/12/swingergate-day-37-andy-coulson-doesnt.html

Christian Aid poster

Looking back

The Tramway theatre

A look inside the Tramway

Looking back at Albert Drive from Pollokshaws Rd

The same scene a  week later. A poster has appeared on the hoarding opposite the Tramway

It is for a Glasgow rally by Pakistani politician Imran Khan

The rally is a sell-out. The poster reminds me of the posters for Billy Graham in my childhood: the hero  has come to save his people through God. Khan is fond of posing among groups of rifle-waving tribesmen like a camp actor in an old melodrama and argues that Pakistan must become an Islamic welfare state. Khan also claims that the west took the concept of the welfare state from Islam and that the Scandinavian welfare states in particular take their inspiration from Islam ('They call it Omar’s law there').

UPDATE  2 July 2012


From the website http://scottishpol.blogspot.co.uk/2012_05_01_archive.html -

'A LABOUR councillor in Glasgow is facing calls to be stripped of his MBE after he made “crass and insensitive” claims about Sikhs and Indians.

Hanif Raja, who received his honour for services to “inter-faith relations”, accused both communities of trying to block his election over his support for Kashmir.

The remarks have been condemned by the ‘Sikhs in Scotland’ organisation and have triggered a complaint to the UK Government’s honours committee.
Immediately after his election this month, Raja gave an interview at the count to Pakistan television network Geo TV on his victorious campaign.
The Kashmiri-born politician, comfortably returned on the Labour slate in Pollokshields, told the broadcaster that his success had come in spite of problems from Sikhs and Indians.
Although he spoke in Urdu, four separate translations confirming his incendiary claims. '

Feel free to drop me an email with suggestions, offers of £20 notes etc. The address is damnyouebay@gmail.com

My other wee blogs are

http://parkeddogs.blogspot.com/

http://buddhasblackdog.blogspot.com/

Reviews of Scotland: 1000 Things You Need to Know


RADIO AND TELEVISON

'I love it - I'm giving this copy to a friend and buying another for myself' - Darren Adam, Presenter, Radio Forth, 17 November 2008

‘It’s a great wee book’ – Stephen Jardine, introducing Edwin Moore on Scottish Television’s Five-Thirty Show

'A fantastic book' - Scott Wilson , talk 107 Breakfast Show host

'A great read' - Dougie Jackson, Drivetime host, Smooth Radio 105.2

THE PRESS

'Despite its apparently humorous format, this is a serious and extensive dictionary on all things Scottish; from Jean Redpath to Lorne sausage, from Flodden to the Corries. Is particularly good on history and minutiae. There's a useful chapter on famous Scottish legal cases and another on literature. Excellent' - Royal Scottish Legion, Feb 2009

'This is the ultimate Scottish reference book' - Waterstones Christmas catalogue, 2008

'This is a fascinating look at the history of Scotland: its languages, politics and great achievements, from its origins in the ancient landmass of Laurentia 400 million years ago, to devolution and Billy Connolly. Edwin Moore has collected a thousand important facts about this beautiful country, covering Scottish history and culture, correcting misconceptions, and examining the mysteries of haggis and bagpipes with insight, warmth and impressive attention to detail' - The Good Book Guide, November 2008


'This is a recipe for revealing how horribly ill informed you are about your country. Although, if you are skillful, you can nod sagely as you read some new fact and mutter 'Ah, yes!' as if recalling the information from your excellent schooling. Where else will you find a real recipe for making haggis from scratch side by side with a potted biography of David Hume; a section of the Declaration of Arbroath and the curiously touching fact that Lulu was only 15 when she had a hit with 'Shout'? The whole thing is of course, silly - but oh so addictive.' - Matthew Perren, i-on Glasgow, December 2008


'. . . well crafted and witty' - Bill Howatson, Aberdeen Press and Journal, 18 October 2008


‘While most of Edwin’s entries are entertaining and scholarly – he writes like a Scottish Bill Bryson – it is when he takes an interest in the backwaters of history, the details lost down the back of the sofa, that he is at his best’ – Jack McKeown, The Courier, 27 October 2008


'History, it is said, is written by the victors. Trivia, meanwhile, is written by the guys with the smeared spectacles and the breathable rainwear. The first discipline is linear and causal; to quote from Alan Bennett’s play The History Boys, history is “just one f****** thing after another”. Things look different, though, when viewed through the prism of trivia. The past is reduced to one big coleslaw of fascinating facts that in their randomness tell a more mixed-up tale entirely.
The first approach leads to big, frowning books by the likes of Tom Devine and Michael Fry. The latter results in small, cheerful books such as Scotland: 1,000 Things You Need to Know, Edwin Moore’s valiant attempt to navigate the more trivial contours of enlightenment and clearances, crown and parliament, dirt and deity.
Moore proceeds from a sincere and controversial first principle: Scotland is really a rather pleasant and interesting place. . .As a work of popular scholarship, though, it’s in a different league to the Scottish novelty titles that get stocked next to the bookstore tills as potential impulse purchases, those little handbooks of parliamo Caledonia and regional braggadocio, such as Weegies vs Edinbuggers.' - Allan Brown The Sunday Times, 21 September 2008

'In his book, Scotland: 1000 Things You Need to Know, Edwin celebrates all that sets us Scots as a race apart - our language, law, flora, food, and of course, our people. From our poets, architects and inventors, to our artists, entertainers and fighters. But he doesn't shy away from the more unpleasant aspects of our history. . .' - Robert Wight, Sunday Post, 14 September 2008

‘We think we know all about William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and the Union of the Crowms. However, according to Edwin Moore, author of , Scotland: 1000 Things You Need to Know, we’re still in the dark about many aspects of our history and culture. . . The Big Issue looks at 20 of the most astonishing examples of secret Scotland.’ – The Big Issue, 18-24 September 2008

'What's the connection between Homer Simpson and Larbert, and why are generations of lawyers grateful to a Paisley snail? Need to know more? Author Edwin Moore has gathered 1000 facts like these about Scotland in a quirky new book. Brian Swanson selects a few favourites. . .' - Scottish Daily Express, 13 September 2008

'The palm for Christmas-stocking books seems to have passed recently to popular science, with best selling titles every year such as Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze? This year there has been a gallant attempt at a historical fight back. Scotland: 1,000 Things You Need to Know(Atlantic Books, £12.99) asks (and answers) such post-turkey questions as ‘How many kings of Scotland died in their beds?’, ‘Who on earth decided that the Declaration of Arbroath was the cornerstone of modern democracy?’ or ‘Why is iron brew spelled Irn-Bru?’ Mark Mazower,History Today; The Best of History in 2008, December 2008

'A real treat for the serendipitous Scotophile' - Reginald Hill

FROM THE INTERWEB


www.Booksfromscotland.com (on the new paperback edition)
Book of the Month, May 2010
'Whether it's Scottish lochs or Enlightenment philosophers, the facts of the devolution referendums or the mysteries of Irn-Bru, myths will be debunked and truths revealed in this light-hearted but rigorous overview of Scottish history and culture.'


Also available for download on Amazon's e-book store is my 100 Brief Encounters (only £3.06!)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/100-Brief-Encounters-ebook/dp/B006CQ8G84/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322393003&sr=1-1

Here are some reviews of the print edition (published by  Chambers in 2007) -


Edwin Moore's quirky collection of a hundred encounters between (mostly) important historical figures is a gem of a book. Where else could you get concise enlightening accounts of Henry VIII wrestling with Francis I, Geronimo surrendering to General Miles, Ernest Hemingway presenting Fidle Castro with a fishing trophy or (as seen on the books cover) a baby faced Bill Clinton shaking hands with John F Kennedy. A marvelous 'little window on human history. ' - Dominic Kennerk, Waterstone's Product Planning and Promotions Co-ordinator (From the Waterstone's 'We Recommend' list for 2008)


Witty, light and packed with information -- The Sunday Herald


In 1936, in the wake of winning a clutch of gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, the great athlete Jesse Owens was snubbed by an imperious leader, on racial grounds. Popular belief would have it that the leader was Hitler, who is said to have stormed off, furious to see a black man beating European athletes. In fact the man in question was President Roosevelt, who worried that paying attention to Owens' triumphs might be a vote loser. Although Owens and the German Chancellor never talked, Owens claimed that Hitler greeted him with an enthusiastic wave. Such near-misses, shakings of hands and ships-in-the-night meetings are the subject of Brief Encounters – Meetings between mostly remarkable people, a likeable new book by Edwin Moore (Chambers £7.99). Flicking through the index, you will find some expected encounters (Dante stares at Beatrice, Corday stabs Marat, The Beatles strum along to a Charlie Rich record round at Elvis's house), and the book's intriguing and memorable cover shows a baby-faced Bill Clinton manfully gripping the hand of JFK. But Moore has navigated past some of the more obvious collisions, collusions and confrontations of history (there is no Dr Livingstone, I presume) and much of the book's pleasure derives from lesser known incidents.

Inevitably, some of the accounts of earlier meetings are somewhat sketchy but Moore offers some piquant speculation, laced with humour (the book is tagged Reference / Humour, rather than History and this feels right, but the book, though wry and opinionated, never stoops to wackiness). I was intrigued to discover that, though Attila the Hun did die on his wedding night, it was not in drunken and lecherous debauchery, as his enemies maintained, but supposedly because he was generally a simple and clean-living man who had a few too many which brought on a particularly bad nosebleed.

Moore's book is full of such tales – it would be wrong of me to steal the tastiest morsels of his research and pepper this article with them, but look out for a subsidiary reason for the Gunpowder Plot (too many dour and powerful Scots in Parliament); a great meeting of great beards, as Castro wins the Hemingway prize for sea-fishing; Dali bringing a skeptical Freud round to the art of the surrealists; Buffalo Bill's wife claiming an aged Queen Victoria had propositioned him; Oscar Wilde getting a kiss from Walt Whitman, while Walter Scott was more taken with Burns's charismatic eyes. This is an enjoyable and vigorous rattle through some fascinating and believable yarns. My only quibble is that it's a little on the short side – let's have Volume 2 please Chambers! - Roddy Lumsden, www.Books from Scotland.com