Author:
Publication: The Daily Excelsior
Date: May 8, 2001
Pakistanis top the crime chart among
expatriates in the United Kingdom with the country accounting for more
than two per cent of the prisoners in British jails.
"Crime rate among Pakistanis is
higher than any other community in Britain," the Friday Times said quoting
Prof Mohd Anwar of the Warwick University.
"More than two per cent of the prisoners
rotting in British jails are Pakistanis, the highest from any country,"
it said.
Pakistanis form the third largest
community in the UK with their number touching more than 700,000 now from
5000 in 1951.
Negative role of the Muslim clergy
was also a cause of concern as their sermons arouse fear of 'Talibanisation'
in the UK.
Radical groups like the Hizbul Tahrir
and the Al Mujahideen- were responsible for unrest among the unemployed
British-Pakistani youth, the daily said.
The Pakistani clergy control most
of the 1500 mosques in Britain, which are being manned by 'Imams and Khateebs'
belonging to the Deoband School of Thought. The school is considered responsible
for the creation of the Talibans and the recruitment of youth for fighting
in Jammu and Kashmir.
The paper said expatriate Muslims
are reluctant to integrate with host societies when compared with other
communities.
With Pakistan politics becoming
more and more religious, it leaves its impact on the expatriate community.
"It is difficult for a British-Pakistani
to try consciously to participate in the UK's secular politics. The community
should have eight members in the House of Commons. At present, there is
one Pakistani in the House," Prof Anwar said.
The recent British decision to ban
21 militant outfits including three from Pakistan, was also a cause of
concern.
The Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Jaish-e-Mohammed
and the Harkatul Mujahideen are all powerful Deobandi "Wahabi" outfits
carrying out "Jehad in Kashmir". The Muslim Council of Britain has protested
over this decision.
The community has also been hit
hard by the death of Britain's textile industry. Earlier, 20 per cent Pakistanis
were involved in the sector.
Prof Anwar said in the next ten
years, the Pakistanis would suffer further decline in integration and prosperity.
(UNI)