There are positive ideas within the toolkit. But the success of it lies not in the toolkit, but how it is taken, understood and then absorbed by the users i.e. teachers and SEN's.
Name
Mohamed Saad
-
Profession
London
Question
What is the toolkit's aim in your opinion and are their any hidden targets?
Answer
The Muslim communities are from various different backgrounds, ethnically and religiously. Living within a pluralistic society with people of diverse faiths and attitudes, Muslims and Muslim pupils/students on the whole share a valuable learning experience both academically and in terms of lifestyle.
Unfortunately, there have been incidents and cases of individuals whilst still young being radicalized, within Schools. It is with the express intent of safeguarding the vast majority of Muslims from being stigmatized, as extremists and terrorists that we developed our contribution to the toolkit.
We wanted to ensure that, just politically interested and active Muslims, or religious traditional Muslims manifesting sign of religiosity were not regarded as 'security threats', as most Muslims are not radical Islamists.
At the same time, we want to build awareness of the kinds of dangers that do exist and how to recognize ideological/political views which are extreme and develop a mindset that not only justifies terror but makes it an acceptable option.
We also wanted to help develop a more positive understanding of Islamic tradition and explained which measures we thought were important in that regard, especially vis-a-vis relations within a plural society with different traditions and religious outlooks.
The targets of the toolkit have been open and transparent, since the beginning of the process to develop it. It has no "hidden agenda".
Name
Mohamed Soliman
-
Profession
Writer
Question
Salam Brother,
Thanks for being here with us ļ
To which extent will the toolkit effect on extremism in the Londoner street in your opinion?
Answer
Alaikum al-Salam!
The toolkit is just one of many activities that are important in safeguarding tackling extremism and terrorism.
Alongside other initiatives, outreach and other direct and indirect measures at building both social cohesion in the wider society, and resilience within the Muslim community, to combat extremists from within.
Name
kamaal
- India
Profession
medical student
Question
Respected sir,
how do you expect to control terrorism or extremism when your government foreign policy is one of the main reason to generate terrorist?
Answer
It is important to understand that whilst grievances and bad policy can often create resentment towards a particular government, they DO NOT create terrorists - not on their own.
Someone may experience racism, they may disagree with the War in Iraq (as half of the UK population did, and almost all of the Muslims in the UK, I am sure did - I myself was against the War - one million people took to the streets in the UK to condemn the policy), but that is not a cause of terrorism.
It is an ideology which then manipulates, this legitimate concern and grievance which then adds a false religious motivation and political spin e.g. this is a War on Islam, and therefore all Muslims are against the West, and they therefore must engage in a continual war against them till they rule over the whole world according to their vision of Islam.
This mindset then provides the motivation and manipulates legitimate concerns people have, not caring anymore on the lives of the people it was supposed to be supporting. The innocent deaths in Iraq, Muslims and non-Muslims in London on the 7th of July are all a clear proof of this.
Name
Fatima
- Yemen
Profession
Teacher
Question
What is this toolkit about (I mean its contents) and is not targeted only at muslims?
Answer
The toolkit is available on-line and I advise you to have a look and read through and assess it.
It is not about 'Muslims' but rather about extremism and preventing extremism and being able to recognize it and engage when necessary.
Name
Sohaib Masudy
-
Profession
London Business school's student
Question
I am not really convinced with the idea that the same toolkit is being distributed throughout both primary and secondary schools as there is a very big gap between both mentalities of the students. Isn't this a fetal mistake ahead of starting the project which I don't feel satisfied with?/
Answer
I am sure there are many ways that it can be improved and this is something that should certainly be looked at; it has been noted already, but a good point.
Name
kamaal
- India
Profession
medical student
Question
salaam , how much confidence do you have in UK govt. can handle extremism when they are one who are responsible for all the problems regarding -palestine , kashmir, kurdistan iraq etc.
Answer
This is an issue that we are all responsible for - not just the government. If we have issues with government policy we should engage, advise, and correct the policies that we believe are problematic.
Extremist politics is about manipulating people’s concerns, about issues such as Palestine, and Iraq for the sake of achieving their own political agenda.
They then give a warped reading of scripture which is inconsistent with classical Muslim tradition, which justifies acts of terror, or praises them.
Islamists such as Hizb ut-Tahrir believe that the world is Dar ul-Harb (a war zone) that acts of terror are 'legitimate' Islamic acts (even though they may not undertake them themselves, and in their opinion believe them unacceptable, they still believe that they are rewardable and Islamic acts). Others will undertake acts of terror believing in the same political ideology and that acts of terror are legitimate in both Muslim majority and Muslim minority countries.
It is this mindset that abuses the concern Muslims have for such issues and manipulates it into justifying and promoting terrorism.
The grievances are real, but not all people - like the Million who marched against the war in Iraq - become terrorists; almost all Muslims do not, but it is this ideology which abuses people, their concerns, and their faith in Islam - which then creates the mindset that creates terrorists.
Name
Farida
-
Profession
mum-to-be
Question
I got terribly confused when I first read the toolkit, but when reading it again and as a Muslim mother-to-be, I now feel secured and I am sure my child will not be extremist in case he would be subjected to this guidance…What do you think and is their another role a mother can play at home in order to keep her child away from any extremist ideas?
Answer
Salam Farida.
There are many things that we can do not to prevent our children from becoming extremists, but becoming positive citizens who can contribute to wider society as full members of that society.
Inculcate within them a positive a pluralistic understanding of Islam and an appreciation of human diversity, and different religious traditions.
A firm respects for creation - but importantly an active role in our communities - not a segregated role away from our societies.
Also we should be aware of our children, and all of the different influences that they have.
Importantly, we need to inculcate our children with an inclusive understanding of Islam as advocated by learned scholars who understand our life in the West. The likes of Sheikh Hamza Yusuf and T J Winter are great role models for us.
Name
Saad el-faresy
-
Profession
Question
What is the basic theme of this toolkit?
Answer
I would advise you to downlaod the toolkit and assess it for yourself.
Name
Qutb
-
Profession
Question
Will the toolkit be rolled out to other countries ?
Answer
We have been speaking with people from across Europe and they are interested in doing so.
Name
Ibraheem
-
Profession
MBA Student
Question
What are the reactions to this toolkit so far from the Islamic schools' representatives or even the non-islamic schools?
Answer
I think that it is very early on, and we will have to wait and see.
I have already experienced both positive feedback and concerns - both of which are positive as it generates a very needed and vital discussion in many cases, and in others clarifies misconceptions that people may have.
Name
Ahmad Anas
-
Profession
Question
Has your foundation particpated in supporting the toolkit project by any mean?
What are the other activities that Q.Foundation offers?
Answer
The Quilliam Foundation was a part of a huge group of different and diverse body of individuals and groups that took part in this process.
We did however provide an annex which is available on-line and can be found at:
We have a variety of different activities ranging from outreach activities, training, research and policy advice around this agenda. Please check out our website (which will be revamped very soon)
www.quilliamfoundation.org
Name
A Muslim Teacher
-
Profession
Birmingham
Question
The editor has already mentioned that this project has the same idea of a previous one targeted university and has proved its failure. What are the benefits of this one then and how can we avoid the disadvantages of the first one while applying this one?
Answer
I cannot comment on the success and failure of previous attempts, as I am unaware as to the aims and objectives that were sought and how success was measured.
In this case, I cannot comment on the toolkit as whole in that regard, but we can only advise with what we believe is best and hope that it is correct and taken on board.
Name
Radwa Khorshid - Editor
-
Profession
Question
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Answer
This session has come to an end.
We would like to thank Rashad Ali for speaking to IslamOnline.net audience today, and we also thank all those who participated in this dialogue.
We apologize for not being able to accommodate any further questions. We request our readers to join us in the upcoming sessions.
