Author: Editorial
Publication: The Times, UK
Date: December 27, 2001
Courage, vigilance and quick thinking
averted a catastrophe aboard the American Airlines fight to Miami. But
the discovery that the man accused of trying to blow up the plane came
from Bromley is further alarming evidence that terrorists based in Britain
still pose a deadly global threat. Almost as disturbing is the revelation
that the would-be suicide bomber was a petty criminal who converted to
Islam while in prison and who was recruited by extremists targeting converts
and gulling young worshippers at Brixton mosque.
The implications are as distasteful
as they are unacceptable, to Muslims are non-muslims alike. They suggest
that Islam is increasingly attracting the drifters, petty criminals and
underdogs; that these people are being courted by politically motivated
extremists; and that mosques are being used as recruiting grounds beyond
the arm of the law. How should mosques protect themselves from such unwanted
associations? How can the majority of moderate, loyal Muslims expose the
extremists in their midst, thwart their intentions and reassert the central
message of Islam that is being drowned by those who preach hatred,
jihad and martyrdom?
The first place to start is the
mosque itself. Muslim scholars readily admit that all too often the imams,
the men placed in charge of individual mosques, are not up to the job.
Many speak poor English, have little contact with the non-Muslim community
around them and are ill-suited to deal with issues facing Muslims, especially
young Muslims, in a western, urban environment. Many are recruited directly
from Koranic schools in Pakistan. Taking advantage of immigration regulations
that allow clergy accelerated entry into Britain, they arrive in
industrial cities with a poor grasp of the language, no concept of Western
society and narrowly sectarian view that stops them from reaching out to
other Muslims and other faiths. Pastoral care in such circumstances is
impossible.
Command of the language is vital
if a preacher is to instill ideal and inculcate morality. But not only
must the imams be able to speak the English used on housing estates in
Bradford and Oldham; they must also be well qualified in Arabic, the language
of Koran. Al-Qaeda has taken advantage of its adherent's native Arabic
to insists on a militant interpretation of passages in the Koran that non-Arabic
speakers cannot authoritatively refute.
There must also be much stricter
regulation of the financial and administrative affairs of mosques. Too
often the accounts are not transparent ; those sent to the Charity Commission
are often wholly fictitious. A recent survey found that some 37 British
mosques are in trouble, mainly because of feuds caused by a faction gaining
control of the council, ousting the imam and installing one with family
connections or form the same clan. The Charity commission is understandably
wary of prying into ethnic and community affairs, but it should be far
more robust in insisting on transparency, especially of imam's incomes.
A lapse into waywardness often begins with financial sloppiness.
Thirdly, Muslim leaders should not
hesitate to inspect and close some of the 300 "schools" for young people
that are really indoctrination centers, where Taleban style influence is
strong. Respected figures such as Zaki Badawi have long been calling for
these changes; indeed the Muslim college, of which he is principal, was
set up specifically to raise the educational level of imams. It should
be supported, by state grants if necessary, and certainly by the wider
Muslim community. A mosque should be a beacon, not a gateway to extremism.
