THE Knutsford U3A was pleased to welcome Mahmoud Elamin as a guest to our AGM on 14th May.

He joined other guests, including the mayor and mayoress, to hear an excellent talk as part of our 10th anniversary celebrations.

In his talk, entitled ‘Understanding the role of Islamic Extremism in Nigeria, Somalia and Kenya’, Ernie Rea explained the history and development of Al Shahaab and Boko Haram in the context of the 19th century European expansion in Africa and the Middle East where previous caliphates had existed.

As an expert in his field Ernie Rea was careful to ensure we understood the number of people involved in both organisations was small and that their actions did not speak for all Muslims.

Mr Elamin’s perception of the talk did not match those of our members and I think he may have misunderstood the purpose of our meeting.

Our meetings are not intended for members or guests to engage in open discussion on the topic of the talk but are opportunities for us to listen, learn and ask questions.

My interruption, after Mr Elamin had been speaking for some time, was simply to ascertain whether or not he had a question.

We are very grateful to Ernie Rea’s professional and authoritative delivery of a most interesting subject.

His was an exemplary talk and, in-keeping with the U3A ethos, we certainly learnt a lot and understood far more.

Lynda Harris Chairman and the committee Knutsford U3A