The Hindu : International : U.K. spotlight on foreign imams

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 07, 2004

International

International

U.K. spotlight on foreign imams

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Muslim clerics wanting to come to Britain to be employed as imams would be specially vetted under new government plans to check Islamist extremism. Visas would be given only to those who are considered fit to preach in British mosques. The move follows allegations of widespread misuse of mosques by extremist groups to spread their propaganda under the garb of religious discourse. Some of the most high-profile terror suspects arrested in Britain in the wake of the September 11 attacks have been described as `regular' worshippers at mosques controlled by extremists. The planned clampdown on clerics is prompted by calls from moderate Muslims for measures to prevent infiltration of mosques by militants masquerading as `imams'. The Muslim Council of Britain has appealed to all mosques to be vigilant and report suspicious elements to the police. The Home Office is reported to have proposed that prospective imams must show a "command of English language and an understanding of the UK society''. While officials have been quoted as saying that the new norms would apply to all foreign clerics, irrespective of their religions, media reports suggested that they are aimed at checking "extremist infiltration into British mosques''. Currently, many of the mosques are run by imams from rural areas of Pakistan and Bangladesh who do not speak English, have no understanding of British society and are vulnerable to pressures from fundamentalist groups.

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