UK:THE BRITISH government is to fund an independent board of Islamic academics and theologians as part of its attempt to bolster moderate Muslim opinion and combat extremism, writes Frank Millar.
The board, which will be hosted by Cambridge and Oxford universities, will lead a debate on Islam's place in modern Britain.
Announcing the initiative as part the government's "Prevent" strategy, community secretary Hazel Blears also disclosed that trials of new citizenship lessons will begin in a number of mosque schools in September. A spokeswoman also indicated that the wearing of the Islamic veil would be among the issues to be considered by the 20 leading thinkers invited to sit on the board.
"It will look at things like the veil, about being both Muslim and British, and whether Muslims can feel confident in voting and engaging with society," she said.
Ms Blears said: "It is not for government to dictate matters of faith or religious teaching. But Muslim communities themselves have told us that stronger leadership is needed on what are often controversial issues."
The schools initiative, she said, was intended to show young people in particular that there was "no conflict" between their religion and being British.
"We have a responsibility to ensure our young people are equipped with the skills they need to stand up to violent extremists, and this project will help them understand how their faith is compatible with wider shared values."
Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, an imam with the Muslim Council of Britain, stressed the creation of the new group was the result of Muslim pressure. "We felt we needed something of this nature to help create a better structured approach to how we are educating our children," he told the BBC's Today programme. "We feel our children need to be taught that they can be proud Muslims and proud young British people."
Sheikh Mogra acknowledged there would be reservations because of the relationship with the government. "This board has to be something owned by us, driven by us, but supported by government. We've made it clear that it's not for government to touch our theology or the way we train our people."
Ms Blears earlier told the Policy Exchange think-tank the strategy to isolate "the al-Qaeda narrative" could not be based on lessons from the Northern Ireland peace process. "You cannot conduct a negotiation with groups without hierarchical structures or a set of negotiable demands based on political or territorial outcomes."