The Muslim News - UK Muslims challenge ‘anti-extremism’ initiatives

Issue 205, Friday 26 May 2006 - 29 Jumad al-Awwal 1427

UK Muslims challenge ‘anti-extremism’ initiatives

By Hamed Chapman

British Muslims this month set up their own ‘roadshow’ and separately presented their own findings at mosques that challenge Government-sponsored initiatives launched in the wake of last year’s bombing attacks in London.
Muslim scholars, imams, academics and spokespersons held their first roadshow, entitled the ‘Roles and Responsibility for Muslims’ in Glasgow on May 13. Similar events are planned in London, Bradford, Blackburn, Leicester and Walsall. On the same day, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) published recommendations of their new report ‘Voices from the Minaret’ at the West Didsbury Islamic Centre, Manchester.
The separate grassroots initiatives rival the implementation of two of three major recommendations made by the Government sponsored Muslim taskforces that were accepted by the Home Office last year. The third, the setting up of a National Forum against Extremism and Islamophobia, is not being launched until later in June.
Launching the new roadshow, Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA) said they aimed to address “the real issues” facing British Muslims and exploring their roles in modern day Britain. “Unlike the Government initiated roadshow, widely believed to be a political exercise to add pressure to Muslim communities, this tour has over 30 respected figures committed to take part, all from a variety of backgrounds,” said Ismail Patel of the FOA. He said he hoped the grassroots events send a “clear message to Muslims encouraging them to know their rights and act on them; and an additional message to the Government to stop making British Muslims scapegoats for failed British foreign policy.”
In Manchester, MCB Secretary General, Iqbal Sacranie, alerted scholars and imams of attempts to divide the community and sideline its main representative body. “We assure the Muslim community that the MCB will continue to engage with all other Muslim organisations to preserve the total independence of Islamic institutions,” he said. The MCB’s mosques report, carried out by independent consultants, highlights the concerns of Muslims and those employed in their places of worship on the “altered environment” in the wake of the so-called war against terrorism and particularly after last July’s London bombings.
The launch of the Report comes amid concerns at the lack of consultation and independence of the planned Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body (MINAB). Sacranie said that while there was “much scope for improvement and development in our mosques, there were excellent local examples of good practice that can be emulated more widely.” This, he said, will lead to an “improvement of standards and also increase awareness of the positive role of mosques in society.”
The Report found that more than 1,000 mosques in the country were providing a remarkable range of social, welfare and educational services and often served as an essential focal point through which many disadvantaged people accessed services. The imams and mosque trustees present at the meeting also agreed that while the Home Office proposed MINAB may have a useful role, it should be fully independent, democratic, self-regulated and self-financed.
At the meeting, a range of opinions was expressed about the Government’s proposed MINAB. Some felt that the MINAB initiative was too closely associated with the Government and hence would be rejected by the Muslim community. According to the MCB, another view expressed strongly by some younger imams was that its Mosque and Community Affairs Committee should take the lead in this area. Others expressed the view in favour of the MCB and its affiliates continuing their engagement with MINAB as long as its independence was made clear and ensured. The consensus that emerged from the meeting was that a steering group led by community organisations which would include the MCB as well as others, must work together to establish an independent inclusive advisory board to deal with specific issues related to mosques and imams in the UK.
In Glasgow, Patel said he hoped the grassroots roadshows would go towards “addressing an essentially dictatorial message from the Government, as it is calling for Muslims to be treated as equals with other minority groups in this country.” While the Muslim community faces increased social challenges, he said “it now has the added burden of Government applied pressure to put ‘their house’ in order.” Patel insisted that Muslims, like others, have a “right to criticise our Government without being labelled as extremists.” They also have “as much right to champion the cause of Palestinians or Global Warming as any other British individual does.” FOA pledged that the roadshows “will not be impeded by political interests and therefore the real issues of concern to Muslim communities can be, and will be, addressed.”

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