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	For three days during the Christmas holiday period the buildings of the K.I.S.M.C. of Birmingham became the home of the I.U.S. Winter Camp. It was the first time that they had organised one of their gatherings in Birmingham and it proved to be an enjoyable experience for the visitors and the host community. Three days of lectures, Q & A sessions, meals and socialising plus several unscheduled events demand great organisational skills which the young brothers and sisters of this organisation's committee outstandingly displayed. All of the usual problems, such as speakers over running their allotted time, were dealt with calmly and efficiently. Lectures were given by Shk. Arif, Shk. Mahmood and Shk. Amin from the Institute. Shk. Arif also gave a late night informal talk dealing with Islamic philosophy. The lecture and talks were an invaluable opportunity for those attending the camp to get to know the Institute and the scholars who work there. All of the speakers were impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm of the I.U.S. members


	Rounding off a busy year on the multi-faith front Shk. Amin had the opportunity to meet the U.K. Home Secretary, the Right Hon, David Blunkett, M.P. , to inform him about the role the faith communities play in the district of Balsall Heath. This area has been used as an example for the whole of the U.K. in the field of multi-ethnic and multi-faith co-operation for the benefit of all sectors of the community. Mr. Blunkett was particularly interested to hear of the proposed seminar/workshop, to be held in the region during early March 2002, that will tackle the issue of the interaction of the various codes of religious law with secular law. He asked for the conclusions of the seminar to be sent to him at the Home Office. Before leaving Balsall Heath Mr. Blunkett was presented with a recording of the Holy Qur'an in Arabic with an English translation.