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U.K. plan against extremism

London: Moderate imams from South Asia are to be invited to Britain by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to help Muslim communities counter the threat of extremism, following her recent talks in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The move appears to represent a shift in thinking as the Home Office has voiced concerns about imported imams and tried to encourage the recruitment of home-grown clerics more in touch with British Muslim youth. A spokesman on Wednesday night insisted that this was not a contradiction but complemented work already underway to ensure imams are firmly rooted in the communities they serve.

In a speech to police divisional commanders in London on Wednesday, Ms. Smith said the idea was part of a move to build a new international network that tackled the “propagandists for violent extremism who sit offshore” and the ideology that can inspire “the small minority” in Britain from overseas.

The move is part of a wide-ranging, £90 million-a-year plan to prevent the spread of violent extremism in Britain agreed by the Cabinet on Tuesday. It follows Ms. Smith’s weekend confirmation that the police and security services are monitoring more than 200 groups or networks involving around 2,000 individuals. The package to be set out in detail next month also includes extra funding and support for imams working in prisons, as well as training for prison staff to tackle the problem of convicted terrorists radicalising other inmates.

This follows a warning earlier this week by Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons, that inadequate efforts to tackle extremism in prisons were alienating Muslim inmates.

The Home Secretary also disclosed that the joint terrorism analysis centre, which monitors the terrorist threat, was setting up a prevent unit to improve the understanding of what and who drives violent extremism.

She also said that “despite recent court rulings” she was determined to continue her attempts to deport foreign terror suspects. — ©Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

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