At the 3D Centre, Bolton election candidates were asked the questions on everyone’s lips thanks to the Engage Bolton team.

The national Engage team are getting Muslims more interested in Election day and have already started getting their message across. They are not concerned who you vote just that you do.

This event took place on Sunday March 28 and saw a good crowd gather. In the hot seat were Yasmin Qureshi (Labour), Susan Williams (Conservatives) and Paul Ankers (Liberal Democrats) They weren't from the same constituencies though.

The hustings event started with a prayer and then advice from Sufyan Ismail, a Trustee of Engage, reflecting on why it was so vital for Muslims to engage in the political process and more significantly to vote in this year's election due to be held in May.

In which the Muslim vote could have a significant outcome in key seats.

The programme was hosted by Islam Channel's Carl Arrindell who quizzed the panel on local and national issues.

They were also challenged by the audience with a variety of questions including questions about the hijaab, transparency & trust and the conflicts between Palestine and Israel. There were waves of emotion and applause when issues regarding international politics and the recent EDL protest in Bolton were mentioned.

The event was crucial for Bolton as it provided a direct platform for the candidates to express their views and at the same created a unique tool of empowerment for the community to help make an informed and intelligent vote in May.

ENGAGE Bolton (Reach) is a local independent initiative for British Muslims to voice their opinions on Media, Political and Social related issues in Bolton.

The Group consists of local Muslim men and women who are actively working hard to ensure Muslims are educated in many aspects of Media, Social and Political Awareness within the local community to engender a constructive and participative community.

Audience and prospective parliamentary candidates alike, received the hustings function very positively; 'The event is something that I haven’t seen happen before here in Bolton. I felt the set up and the organisation was very well managed, it was a very much needed thing and helps us make an informed view on particular candidates as well as political party views.”