LONDON, 5 June 2007 — British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday called on the “authentic voices of Islam, in their various schools and manifestations” to speak for themselves, and to reclaim from extremists “the true essence of religious belief.” The prime minister was addressing the Cambridge Inter-Faith Program in central London, which according to the organizers gathered some of “the most distinguished (Islamic) scholars and religious leaders the world over.” The voices of extremism, stressed Blair, “are no more representative of Islam than the use, in times gone by, of torture to force conversion to Christianity, represents the true teaching of Christ.”
The conference organized jointly by Cambridge University, the Coexist Foundation and the Weidenfeld Institute for Strategic Dialogue, attracted representatives from over 30 Muslim countries, including Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and courted controversy especially by those groups who felt left out. Labor peer, Lord Nazir Ahmed, who was not invited to the conference, told the BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the conference was hijacked by the British government and “fronted” by Cambridge University. He added that the government had “deliberately chosen to exclude those Muslims who disagree with government policy.” It is clear that the debate on Islam and British Muslims in the UK is now well beyond the clichéd approach of yesteryear when the Home Office and the Foreign Office almost exclusively cooperated with the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) in the belief that the MCB represented the majority of Muslims in the UK. In reality the MCB is closely allied to the Pakistani-dominated Jamaat-e-Islami and groups such as the Deobandis. Indeed Lord Nazir lamented that none of these groups were invited to the conference.
Perhaps Lord Nazir was crying over sour grapes, or perhaps he simply misunderstood the very raison d’etre of the conference, which according to the prime minister “is not about government lecturing the Muslim world, or our Muslim communities. It is rather an opportunity to listen; to hear Islam’s true voice; to welcome and appreciate them; and in doing so, to join up with all those who believe in a world where religious faith is respected because faiths respect each other as well as those of no faith; and are prepared in holding to their own truth, not to disrespect the truth clear to others.”
The conference coincided also with the launch yesterday of the Siddiqui Report, which was commissioned by the UK Department of Education (DfES) to assess the way in which Islam is taught and to improve support and advice available to Muslim students. Dr. Ataullah Siddiqui, the author, concludes in the report that the teaching of Islam in British universities is based on “out-of-date and irrelevant issues” and argues that more emphasis should be placed on Islam in a modern context. In a post 9/11 and 7/7 world, the British government sees Islamic studies as a “strategic subject” because of its role “in preventing extremism.”
Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell yesterday reiterated “the effective and accurate delivery of Islamic studies within our universities is important for a multitude of reasons including wider community cohesion and preventing violent extremism in the name of Islam.”
More importantly, Tony Blair confirmed that the government intends to follow up on many of Dr. Siddiqui’s recommendations and will be providing significant funding to deliver on this commitment. He added that the government was allocating an immediate extra funding of one million pounds for Islamic studies at British universities.
Britain is today a country of two million Muslims in a Europe that has over 20 million Muslims.
Tony Blair paid tribute to British Muslims, stressing that they are successful in all areas of British national life — business, sport, media, culture and the professions. Britain also has Muslim MPs and peers. The next election may also bring the first women Muslim MPs.
The prime minister said that the predominant complaint Muslims make to him across the UK is about how they believe their true faith is constantly hijacked and subverted by small, unrepresentative groups who get disproportionately large amounts of publicity.
The prime minister further promised that the government would be studying the outcomes of the conference with the keenest interest, especially to consider how the messages from the conference could be best conveyed to grassroots communities.
He praised the efforts round the world today in promulgating the true voices of Islam, especially in the field of education. These included in Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, and even in the UK, where new and more interactive teaching methods have been introduced, thus moving away from teaching by rote to teaching, which is specific to particular age groups and more relevant to the wider context in which students live. Similarly, in madrasas in Bradford, for example, they are now teaching classes in good citizenship.
He also highlighted the reform process in Muslim countries, which included the improving role of women in public life including the political process.
