With Birmingham set to become the UK’s first ethnic majority city in just two years, a debate will take place on how businesses are adapting to the rise of a new multi-faith workforce. On January 31, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry will debate the issue along with a number of panellists. The event, chaired by The Birmingham Post editor Marc Reeves, will discuss whether there is a place for faith in business. One of the four members of the panel Mohammed Hasan put forward his views on the subject. Hasan, managing consultant, Catalyst Consulting Associates, reportedly described himself as a “fundamentalist Muslim” who, although born a Brummie, but raised in Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Australia, New York “and a couple of other places in the US”. He was reported to have said: “I am what you would call a fundamentalist Muslim. I am a passionate believer in British values, I am committed to democracy, I have zero tolerance for violence and all of that happens because of my religion. I grew up in a mono-cultural environment in Saudi Arabia and was raised religiously in the _Wahhabi’ establishment. I have stayed away from the diversity issue because I never understood why it was a problem. I arrived back in the UK ten years ago and had to plough my own way. I called and met people I read about in The Birmingham Post and some of them are now friends, advisers or contacts.”http://www.themuslimweekly.com/newsdetails/fullstoryview.aspx?NewsID=EC97FA2BA83C1B791BC9ABA4&MENUID=HOMENEWS&DESCRIPTION=UK%20News
