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June 4, 2007 - Guardian
Blair launches fund to improve teaching of Islam
Matthew Tempest
Tony Blair today launched a passionate defence of Islam as a religion of "moderation and modernity", as he announced a £1m government fund to aid teaching of the religion and train UK imams.
The prime minister, in his final days in Downing Street, placated an audience of more than 200 Muslim scholars by saying that many Christians as well as Muslims disagreed with his foreign policy over Afghanistan and Iraq.
But he said the voices of "calm" Islam had been hijacked by extremists, who were no more representative of the true faith than Christians in the Middle Ages who used torture to convert people to their faith.
And he praised a book called The Muslim Jesus as highlighting where the two religions overlapped.
Mr Blair was opening a two-day conference on Islam hosted by Cambridge University, which also marked the publication of a government-commissioned report into the teaching of Islam in the UK.
Written by leading scholar Dr Ataullah Siddiqui for the Department of Education, it says that teaching of Islam fails to reflect the "realities" of the faith in modern day multicultural Britain, instead focusing too narrowly on the Middle East.
The PM pledged a fund to implement the report's findings, such as helping train Muslim imams in UK universities to reduce mosques' reliance on overseas ministers who may not understand British society or speak good English.
The government will also announce that Islamic studies will be designated "strategically important" to the British national interest - allowing tighter official scrutiny of university courses.
Mr Blair told the conference its purpose was to "let the authentic voices of Islam ... speak for themselves.
The PM said most Muslims complained more about the image of their faith as violent and extremist than about UK foreign policy.
"The predominant complaint [from Muslims] is about how they believe their true faith is constantly hijacked and subverted by small, unrepresentative groups who get disproportionately large amounts of publicity."
But the prime minister was himself attacked over the conference.
The Labour peer Lord Ahmed of Rotherham accused Mr Blair of using Cambridge University as a "front" to organise the event and exclude political opponents.
He told Radio 4 "The conference is fronted by Cambridge University, but organised by Downing Street, the Foreign Office, and the communities department, who have deliberately chosen to exclude those Muslims who disagree with government policy."
The peer, who has not been invited to the conference, said Mr Blair was engaging in "divide and rule" tactics.
"It's a colonial style of governing," he added. "Frankly, it's appalling that Cambridge University is being used for political purposes to see off a last speech."
However, Catriona Laing of Cambridge University's interfaith programme, insisted there had been no political interference.
"Cambridge University has been planning this conference for some time now.
"We have sent out invitations in consultation with all the partners that we're organising this conference with, and we have got a range of academics, policy-makers, thinkers, religious leaders, from all over the world coming."
Gordon Brown, the prime minister in waiting, is hosting a reception for the conference tonight, while David Cameron will address it tomorrow.
Among the 200-plus clerics invited from around the world are the grand mufti of Egypt, Shaykh Ali Gomaa, and the grand mufti of Bosnia, Mustafa Ceric.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,2094977,00.html
DAWN Pakistan – June 4, 2007
Interfaith conference on Islam begins in UK
By Our Special Correspondent
LONDON, June 4, 2007: The two-day interfaith conference on ‘Islam and Muslims in the World Today’ began here on Monday with Prime Minister Tony Blair emphatically declaring that the voices of extremism are no more representative of Islam than the use, in times gone by, of torture to force conversion to Christianity, represented the true teachings of Christ.
He said Islam was not a monolithic faith, but one made up of a rich pattern of diversity, albeit all flowing from the same fount. This rich diversity needs to be more clearly appreciated and to inform our public debates more fully is something that this conference needs to debate.
Defending his decisions on Afghanistan and Iraq, he said many Christians disagreed with these two decisions. “Leave aside for a moment whether they were the right or wrong decisions. What is damaging is if they are seen in the context of religious decisions.
“The religious faith of either country was as irrelevant to the decision as was the fact that the Kosovo Albanians we rescued were Muslims, suffering under a Serbian dictatorship, whose religion happened to be Christian Orthodox; or in helping the people of Sierra Leone, 70 per cent of whom are Muslims.” This point, he said, was an important point because it is crucial at a number of different levels. The problem between faiths and communities, as too often in life and in politics, is not where there is disagreement about decisions; but where there is misunderstanding about motives. In turn, this is often derived from a misunderstanding of a deeper sort: a basic ignorance about the other person's faith. “I recommend the book "The Muslim Jesus" to anyone interested in this aspect.” Prince Charles in a message sent to the conference said: For more than 20 years I have been fascinated by the relationships between the Abrahamic faiths of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. This fascination stems partly from the particular interest I have in the ethnic, religious and cultural diversity which makes up modern Britain. For me, this ‘unity through diversity’ can represent a great richness and a great strength for our society. But my fascination has been leavened with a concern that while there is much which binds the children of Abraham together, there is also much which prevents us from coming closer. This concern has been steadily growing. As long ago as 1993, some of you may recall that, as its patron, I gave a speech at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, in which I said:
"... I believe wholeheartedly that the links between these two worlds matter more today than ever before, because the degree of misunderstanding between the Islamic and western worlds remains dangerously high, and because the need for the two to live and work together in our increasingly interdependent world has never been greater".
He said he had hoped fervently to be proved wrong. “Sadly, events have shown that there was at least some truth in my analysis. Despite advancing these thoughts nearly 15 years ago, however, I have never subscribed to the view that a so-called 'Clash of Civilisations' is somehow inevitable. Indeed, I believe that by redoubling our efforts to promote tolerance and understanding, people at all levels of society can make all the difference. This, of course, is very easy to say. But I have a feeling that the 'doing' may also be within our grasp...” Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in a message to the conference said that he and President Musharraf have been in the forefront within and beyond Pakistan to support moderation and tolerance instead of extremism. “We believe that it is an essential issue of our times. To achieve this in an environment of freedom and rule of law is a challenge we all face in democratic societies.
He said his government engaged in educational reforms across the board. The attention is particularly focused on mainstreaming the Madressahs, which includes curriculum reform and introduction of subjects like science, mathematics and information technology. Today's societies are poly-ethnic and multi-cultural. Mainstreaming of minorities, therefore, is of crucial importance. Isolation and marginalisation are the destructive forces that affect the unifying fibre of nations and societies. We must learn to celebrate the diversities in our societies. We must do all we can to integrate minorities in our national mainstream.
“The onus of mainstreaming should not be only on the minority groups but should equally be the responsibility of the majority. To defeat and fight terrorism and extremism we must comprehend its true nature and its causes which are invariably political.
“Some terrorism is local, some is global, the campaign against terrorism whether local or global will not succeed until we pursue a comprehensive and holistic approach combining military, security, political, economic, social and cultural actions.”
Guardian – June 4, 2007
Blair can no longer deny a link exists
between terrorism and foreign policy
Rather than insisting on Muslims' own duty to integrate, British society must reconcile itself with its self-professed values
Tariq Ramadan
Let us look closely at recent developments in government policy toward Muslims. The British Muslim reaction to the July 7 attacks was exemplary, as Ken Livingstone pointed out, and this was a proof that they were well integrated into society. A policy of constructive engagement would have spared no effort to make the best of these tragic events.
Instead, the British government has adopted an attitude of double denial, at home and abroad. Obsession with the "terrorist threat" rapidly colonised debate and drove the government headlong into an approach restricted to the "fight against radicalisation and extremism". Though it appeared normal to deal with the issue, the "Muslim question" could in no way be reduced to one of security. Further, this policy was accompanied by a demeaning - and frequently paternalistic - argument on the necessity of "integration". Muslims, so it went, must accept those British values (liberty, tolerance, democracy, etc) that make up the essence of "Britishness".
This reductive argument is dangerous on two counts. First, it tendentiously associates terrorism with integration. It is common knowledge that the authors of the terrorist acts were thoroughly integrated: they were educated, held jobs and were culturally westernised. Second, in today's social and political debate it normalises a formula that only parties of the extreme right once dared to articulate: that Muslims, on the whole, have a problem with western values and must offer more convincing "proof" that they accept them. On December 8 last year, Tony Blair called on minorities to conform to "our essential values", stating that they have "a duty to integrate". The Muslim community, because it is perceived as "badly integrated", has become suspect.
Terrorism requires analysis of the religious rhetoric and the political strategies of its authors; they must be confronted firmly. It is equally clear that an accurately targeted security policy is a necessity. But this cannot justify sweeping measures applied to an entire segment of the population on the basis of a misdiagnosis. The vast majority of British Muslims have absolutely no problem with the British values cited above. Their cultural and religious integration is already a fact, as proven by the millions of citizens who live peaceably in this country.
The problem today is not one of "essential values", but of the gap between these values and everyday social and political practice. Justice is applied variably depending on whether one is black, Asian or Muslim. Equal opportunity is often a myth. Young citizens from cultural and religious "minorities" run up against the wall of institutionalised racism. Rather than insisting that Muslims yield to a "duty to integrate", society must shoulder its "duty of consistency". It is up to British society to reconcile itself with its own self-professed values; it is up to politicians to practise what they preach.
Tony Blair and his government have obliged civil servants to deny that a link exists between terrorism and British foreign policy. While the invasion of Iraq can never be claimed as ethical justification for terrorist attacks against innocent citizens in London, it would be absurd to deny the reality of the political connection between the two. The illegal invasion of Iraq, blind support for the insane policies of George Bush, British silence on the oppression of the Palestinians - how could these issues not have a direct bearing on the deep discontent shared by many Muslims toward the west in general, and toward Britain in particular. Even though this is not the sole explanation for terrorism, it is certainly part of the explanation (without arguing that it can be justified).
We must be bold enough to take the measure of this foreign policy, and listen to the voices of millions of citizens who have democratically and peacefully opposed the war, citizens whose voices were not heard. The negative effects of this policy - in terms of confidence - are deep, not to mention what we now know about the horrors of Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib, and the secret flights that carried prisoners without rights through Britain to the black sites of the torture gulag.
Tony Blair will make his last gesture toward the Muslims of Britain today at an international conference on Islam and Muslims in the World. The spirit of the initiative seems at first glance praiseworthy but, on closer inspection, it stands revealed as little more than an exercise in fence mending or public relations. While I have been invited to participate in the conference, not a single representative of the leading British Muslim associations has been invited to speak, not a single sensitive subject has been touched upon. It is as though these associations and their leaders were part of the problem, and could not become an active part of the solution. It is as though we could hope to solve deep-seated problems by refusing to see them for what they are. So many fine intentions and words about openness, while the facts speak instead of petty politics.
If Muslims, in Britain and throughout the world, are to refuse to cast themselves as victims and instead assume their responsibilities and develop a critical political awareness, the process must begin by resisting political manoeuvres designed to lull them, to select their representatives for them, and even to make cynical use of them. The imperative is theirs, but it can only be a positive development for democracy in Britain.
[Tariq Ramadan is the president of the think tank European Muslim Network and author of The Messenger, The Meanings of the Life of Muhammad]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2094484,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=11
IslamOnline.net - April 9, 2007
Fingerprinting school kids stuns Britons
CAIRO — A growing tendency in British public schools to fingerprint students, even without the approval of parents, is sending shock waves among Britons, already seeing their country edging closer than ever to a Big Brother society, the Daily Mail reported on Monday, April 9, 2007.
"This is an abrogation of moral duty," said Phil Booth, of the NO2ID campaign, a UK-wide, non partisan campaign opposing the government's planned ID card and National Identity Register. "It is a disgrace."
Fingerprints of a million children are believed to have already been taken with more than 3,500 British schools using pupils' thumbprints in borrowing library books and gaining access to school dinners.
A further 4.9 million sets of prints of children could now by added to the figure after local education authorities sanctioned the practice.
Some schools were "tricking" students to get their fingerprints.
The headmaster of Ghyllside Primay School in Kendal, Cumbria, scanned the pupils' prints by leading them to believe it was part of a spy game.
"... there's no need to tell your parents," he told them.
"Schools should be teaching children to look after their biometric information," said an infuriated Booth.
He said that in a world where keeping one's biometric information secure is very important, kids are being taught to hand it over "for the most trivial of matters."
Britons in great numbers have already rejected the government's new biometric identity cards, fearing that their very personal information could be misused.
Under the multi-billion plan, people as young as 16 applying for their first adult passport as of 2008 will have to attend a police station where they will be subject to background checks, questioning to test their story against official records, photographs, and fingerprinting.
Watched
Critics say fingerprinting school students is part of a "softening-up" exercise to prepare them to accept life in an increasingly watched society.
"The surveillance state is creeping up on us, and it needs resisting," insisted Tory frontbencher Damian Green.
"We must not allow children to assume they are growing up in a world where their private information belongs to someone else."
Human rights group Privacy International has described Britain as the worst EU member in terms of protecting individuals' privacy.
British Information Commissioner Richard Thomas recently admitted that Britain was turning into a "surveillance society".
There are 4.2 million CCTV cameras spreading across Britain with each Briton being captured about 300 times a day on camera.
The government is planning to install "talking" CCTVs allowing security staff to shout at people spotted committing anti-social behavior.
Firms also monitor their own employees either by tracking their movements in company vehicles via the use of GPS satellites or by counting the number of key strokes they make on their computers.
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1176025522412&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
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