Matthew Holehouse
The Government has taken the unprecedented step of writing to every mosque in the country to tell Muslim leaders that they must do more to root out the “men of hate” who are preaching extremism.
Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, has written to 1,100 imams and Islamic leaders urging them to publicly condemn the Al Qaeda terrorists behind the Paris massacres, the Daily Telegraph has learned.
Whitehall is unable to defeat jihadist ideology alone and Muslim leaders have “a responsibility” to prevent young men and women from becoming radicalised, Mr Pickles said in a letter sent last Friday.
The letter says that Imams must explain to young people what it means to be British. And it says that mosques who identify hate preachers within their midst can receive free legal advice to force them out.
Mr Pickles’ letter comes at a time when tension between communities in Britain is running high.
The Metropolitan Police announced it had increased security around police buildings and would be increasing the number of armed officers.
Lord Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi, on Sunday said that anxiety among British Jews is at a “record high” with many scared to attend synagogue or go to the shops.
But while the government’s letter is an attempt to remind Muslim leaders of their responsibilites to quell extremism, it runs the risk of being seen as divisive and angering Islamic leaders, with many Muslims feeling they have been unjustly associated with radicals.
In the letter Mr Pickles and Lord Ahmed, the communities minister, said imams must declare “more clearly than ever before” that Muslims should be proud to be British.
Young Muslims must be told that there are “other ways to express disagreement” and that jihadism has “nothing to offer them”.
The ministers said they were “proud” of the reaction of the Muslim community so far, which has been “sickened” by the “heinous crimes” of Kouachi brothers in France. But they went on: “There is more work to do.”
“We must show our young people, who may be targeted, that extremists have nothing to offer them.
“We must show them that there are other ways to express disagreement: that their right to do so is dependent on the very freedoms that extremists seek to destroy.
“We must show them the multitude of statements of condemnation from British Muslims; show them these men of hate have no place in our mosques or any place of worship, and that they do not speak for Muslims in Britain or anywhere in the world.
“Let us assure you that the Government will do all we can to defeat the voices of division, but ultimately the challenges of integration and radicalisation cannot be solved from Whitehall alone. Strong community-based leadership at a local level is needed.”
“You, as faith leaders, are in a unique position in our society. You have a precious opportunity, and an important responsibility: in explaining and demonstrating how faith in Islam can be part of British identity.
“We believe together we have an opportunity to demonstrate the true nature of British Islam today. There is a need to lay out more clearly than ever before what being a British Muslim means today: proud of your faith and proud of your country. We know that acts of extremism are not representative of Islam; but we need to show what is.”
Mr Pickles has previously written to imams to offer support after arson attacks and invasions by far-Right groups, but it is the first time he has challenged them to stand up against Islamist extremism.
Ibrahim Mogra, the assistant general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, said imams had been working for years to “better educate” young people angered at Western foreign policy, and that the demand could fuel anti-Muslim sentiments in British society.
He warned that young Muslims are becoming angry at imams who feel obliged to condemn terrorist attacks that they have no culpability for.
The letter will strike some imams as “hypocritical”, with Muslims being “picked on” at a time of rising far-Right extremism. “When has a minister ever written to other religious groups like this?” Mr Mogra said.
The main source of radicalisation is the internet, not mosques, he said. “This is not a problem we can lay at the doorsteps of imams and mosques for them to solve.”
Baroness Manningham Buller, the former head of MI5, this week warned the Government’s counter-radicalisation Prevent programme is “clearly not working” given at least 600 Britons have gone to fight with Isil in Syria and Iraq.
David Cameron said at the weekend that he disagreed with Pope Francis’ remarks that people who insult religion could “expect to get punched.”
Mr Cameron, on a trip to Washington, told CBS News: “I think in a free society, there is a right to cause offence about someone’s religion.
“I’m a Christian – if someone says something offensive about Jesus, I might find that offensive, but in a free society I don’t have a right to, sort of, wreak my vengeance on them.”
