The role of Government
It is true that Government leadership held down much of the
expected massive upturn in Islamophobia after the bombings in 2005.
This is to be welcomed. However Islamophobia is a reality for the
Muslim community in the UK and across Europe. Without urgent action
it will get worse. Progress to eradicate Islamophobia has been
mixed and many of the problems identified by CBMI have proved
resisitant to Government initiatives.
Social & Economic Exclusion
The Government has instigated large programmes to tackle social
exclusion within socially and economically excluded communities
that have indirectly been targeted at the Muslim community in
various locations. In excess of 30% of all British Muslims are
under the age of 15, while 92% are under 50. This implies that
there is a vast population protrusion of young Muslims compared
with an ageing majority population. Any strategy development needs
to take into consideration this actual demographic reality. An
important social consequence of this is that for the most part,
majority groups will just not have many dealings with Muslims, in
particular with the young people who constitute the majority of the
Muslim population, who are for the most part converged in older and
poorer urban neighbourhoods.
Preventing Extremism
In July 2005 the government launched a major initiative to address
the problem of young people being drawn into extremism,
‘Preventing Extremism Together’.
The Prime Minister and Home Secretary held summits in July 2005
with community representatives and identified the following aims,
with a community led working group set up for each:
- Engaging with young people
- Tackling extremism and radicalisation
- Supporting regional and local initiatives and community
actions
- Engaging with women
- Imam training and accreditation and the role of Mosques as a
resource for the whole community
- Providing a full range of education services, in the UK, that
meet the needs of the Muslim community
- Security – Islamophobia, protecting Muslims from extremism,
and community confidence in policing.
CBMI will examine these aims and address attempt to address and
develop them based on our own findings from feedback we have been
receiving from the Muslim community.
Promoting Cohesion
The Department for Communities and Local Governments website
describes community cohesion as, “….the ability of
communities to function and grow in harmony together rather than in
conflict. It has strong links to concepts of equality and diversity
given that community cohesion can only grow when society as a whole
recognises that individuals have the right to equality (of
treatment, access to services etc) and respects and appreciates the
diverse nature of our communities.”Community cohesion must
mean that there is a collective vision of how people would like
their society to be, as well as a discerning awareness of
‘fitting in’ for all communities, with a strong
emphasis on the value of diversity. True community cohesion should
entail comparable life opportunities for all members of a society,
as well as effective and constructive relationships being coming
into being between people from diverse circumstances, cultures and
upbringings within the spheres of education, employment and
localities.