Dr Hojjat Ramzy, director of the Oxford Islamic Information Centre

As one of the representatives of the Muslim community of Oxford, I am very glad that Parliament voted against the decision to take military action in Syria on Thursday, and that the Government has chosen to stick to the democratic principles of this country and adhere to this decision.

Of course opinions do vary across the country but this decision does come as a great relief to the majority of Muslims in the UK and across the world for a number of reasons.

Firstly, this situation bore great resemblance to the decision to go to war in Iraq, which was ultimately a disaster, and saw thousands of lives sacrificed and a country ruined. I am personally very pleased that, this time, members of Parliament realised that taking such military action without the approval of the United Nations is illegal according to the UN Charter of 1945 and would be inadvisable, and voted against it. It is vital that we wait for strong and clear evidence and UN backing before any such action is considered.

I am pleased that Parliament chose not to undermine the UN and is allowing them to continue with their inspections.

Secondly, military action would have put thousands, if not millions, more lives at risk. Within Syria and neighbouring countries millions have fled their homes and are in dire need of food and shelter. Military action would have destroyed even more lives and would have displaced thousands more people, putting greater strain on individuals, families and neighbouring states.

Furthermore, military intervention of this kind, I am sure, would have had dire repercussions for Britain and the rest of the world, and would have caused the violence to spread beyond the borders of Syria, to Iran and Russia. This would have put the UK and the British people at great risk.

I am glad that Parliament recognised this, rather than make a rash decision which would have put the public in danger. This action saved many lives. I believe we could, and should, go even further and instead of putting money into weaponry that takes lives, spend such funds on feeding and sheltering those who have been displaced by the violence to help save and rebuild their lives.

William Hague is right in saying we cannot stand by and do nothing, but I do not believe following America into yet another war is the answer. Britain has a strong history of diplomacy, and we must not belittle the effect and success that this root can deliver.

In the words of Ban Ki Moon, we must “give peace a chance, give diplomacy a chance” and not shoot it dead in the water by resorting to military force. I have full confidence in Britain’s strong diplomatic abilities.

We must concentrate on peaceful solutions and not resort to violence, since these options have not been exhausted. Talk of military intervention is a distraction which takes away effort from diplomacy and undermines it.

Peaceful solutions are the only way to ensure peace, violence only breeds violence. We must put all our efforts into diplomatic solutions and pray that these bring a quick and permanent end to the terrible situation in Syria, both for the sake of the Syrian people and the rest of the world.