AUGUST 31 2014 The Mail on Sunday

27 COMMENT
A
S A proud Muslim and
proud Rotherham lad,
who came here from
Kashmir in Pakistan
with my parents
aged 11, I was shocked
by the disclosure of
appalling sexual abuse of young
girls in the town.
All of us in Rotherham par-
ents, police, councillors and
politicians must ask ourselves
how we came to fail our young
people so badly.
It comes hard on the heels of
the realisation that hundreds of
young British Muslims have
gone to Syria and Iraq to fight
for Islamic State (IS) and one may
have been involved in behead-
ing US journalist James Foley.
On the face of it, there is no
obvious connection between the
two. But I believe if we are to
prevent a repeat of these dis-
turbing events, the British-Paki-
stani community must confront
some uncomfortable truths.
One of the most important of
these is that most of Britains
1,400 mosques which tradition-
ally provide moral leadership
and guidance to Muslim com-
munities are incapable of per-
forming such a role in 21st
Century Britain.
Some mosques try hard to help
young Muslims deal with the
pressures and are respected and
revered. But others fail dismally
and, in my view, this has been a
major contributory factor to the
problems we face with young
British-Pakistani adolescents.
Many mosques have no idea
how to lead or guide young men
struggling to come to terms with
being a Muslim in a modern
country. These men need help
with issues such as sex educa-
tion, teenage pregnancy, drink
and drugs all the things other
young people have to cope with.
But they are taboo in most
mosques. If a British-Pakistani
boy tried to talk to an imam about
it, he would look at him blankly.
M
ANY mosques are
dangerously cut off
from the rest of
society, rooted in
the ancient world,
not the modern one.
This approach is
reflected by the way imams
behave. Many rarely mix with
other faiths, which is wrong.
They should be encouraged to
visit other places of worship to
break down barriers between
faiths and learn how others
tackle these problems.
This inward-looking view is
mirrored by the proliferation of
satellite TV stations, on which
rival British-based Sunni and
Shia imams attack each other.
They get big audiences, with
some Muslim families in Britain
never watching the BBC or Sky,
increasing the sense of aliena-
tion from the community. I have
expressed concern at the way
some of these stations receive
funding in the UK under the
guise of charitable donations.
But, as with other sensitive
issues concerning Islam in Brit-
ain, the authorities do not
want to know. Political leaders
pay lip service to the Muslim
community, turning up at
religious events, usually when
in need of votes. They should go
to mosques and look closer at
what is going on.
But it would be wrong to lay
all the blame with imams. The
heart of the problem lies in the
way mosques are run and who
runs them. Mosques are much
more than a place of worship:
they are about money and power,
too. Most are wealthy and,
unsurprisingly, the people with
their hands on the purse strings
wield much influence meaning
they have become power bases.
Mosques are run by what are
known in Muslim communities
as tribal elders. No qualification
is needed to become one it often
has more to do with age or family
connections than wisdom.
Sometimes elders appoint
themselves and, once there, it is
impossible to remove them, no
matter how badly they perform.
Some do not speak English
or cannot read or write. Some
have never had a job in Britain
or ever held the most junior
position in public life.
So is it any wonder people with
such an antiquated view have
no idea how to relate to a young
British-Pakistani boy whose
non-Muslim mates go to discos,
go out with girls and drink?
Even if an imam wanted to dis-
cuss these matters, they could
not do so for one simple reason:
the elders would refuse to pay
them and they would be sacked.
The elders are oblivious to the
fact that growing up in a town
such as Rotherham is more com-
plicated than in a remote village
in the mountains of Pakistan.
But mosques will never be
reformed until there are drastic
changes to the way they are run.
Typically, small groups of peo-
ple in towns like Rotherham
often from the same village or
area of Pakistan raise the
money for a mosque and run it.
T
HERE is no formal
structure, no trans-
parency, no financial
accountability, no elec-
tions, nor are they
accountable to any
form of body.
I cannot think of any other
organisation in this country
with such influence and vast
resources that is allowed to
operate with such little scrutiny.
This is not acceptable.
Another uncomfortable truth
for the British-Pakistani com-
munity is the way it responds to
the malign influence of so-called
radical Muslim clerics in the
UK, such as Anjem Choudary.
He said the beheading of
James Foley was justified under
sharia law, has defended the
September 11 attacks in New
York and one of the killers of
soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich.
Decent law-abiding British Mus-
lims are appalled by his antics.
Most think he should be locked
up. Imams should take the lead
in condemning people like him
and make it clear that we dont
want people like that in our
country, influencing impression-
able young people.
This brings me back to my
argument that, although worlds
apart, the British Muslims in the
Rotherham sex abuse scandal
and those fighting for IS have a
common factor: you can be sure
that they regularly went to their
local mosque.
Clearly, no responsible Muslim
would claim the actions of either
were anything other than a
betrayal of their faith as well
as being illegal. But, in my opin-
ion, it is equally clear that
mosques are not doing enough
to provide strong moral leader-
ship to young British Muslims.
Nobody would suggest that the
answer to all these problems
can be found by changing the
way mosques are run. But given
their hugely important role,
they are a good place to start.
This issue must be addressed
now and not swept under the
carpet, as I fear it will be by
many mosques.
By LORD
AHMED
The bell tolls
for Camerons
cosy clique
DOUGLAS CARSWELLS defection to
Ukip shook Westminster out of its
summer torpor, releasing a series of
powerful political tremors.
A shocked No 10 tried to insist that
Mr Carswell was a lone wolf backed by
protest voters.
But our exclusive poll shows the scale
of the earthquake one which could
reverberate for years.
Backing for Ukip in Clacton is at
an astonishing 64 per cent, while Tory
support has crashed by 33 points.
If Mr Farages party can retain this
advantage he will secure the largest
by-election swing in history. A 12,000
Tory majority would turn into a Ukip
majority of more than 15,000.
Just a protest vote? It seems not: more
than nine out of ten of those planning to
back Mr Carswell say they will do so
again at the General Election.
The Carswell coup has highlighted
the growing disconnect between the
Prime Minister and core Conservative
supporters.
Mr Carswell was inspired to join the
party by Margaret Thatchers leader-
ship and has been compelled to leave
it by David Camerons.
Worryingly for the PM, with just nine
months to go until the General Election,
Mr Carswell is not alone. Far from being
a lone wolf, it looks as if he is prowling
with a large pack.
The Government is relying on the eco-
nomic upturn to bring back its voters.
However, our poll says that this is not
filtering through to the electorate.
There is overwhelming support for Mr
Carswells reasons for defecting:
the PM is too keen on the EU, has lost
control of our borders and is part of a
cosy Westminster clique.
Mr Camerons difficulties stem from
his failure to address this substance,
while being distracted by the style
what Thatchers biographer Charles
Moore yesterday called his weakness
for the political equivalent of Botox.
Time is running out for Mr Cameron.
If he does not reconnect with his lost
Thatcherites then Ed Miliband will be
our next Prime Minister.


BRITAIN has just three weeks to save
the United Kingdom.
While conversation in Scotland has
been energised by the referendum cam-
paign, the debate south of the border
has been more lethargic: although the
polls have been tight, not a single one
has shown Alex Salmonds nationalists
in the lead.
This has engendered a dangerous level
of complacency.
It is not just a 400-year-old union which
would be placed at risk by a yes vote.
It would create the most serious
constitutional crisis for the UK since
the Irish Wars of Independence a
century ago, plunge the stock markets
into turmoil and trigger calls for the
Prime Ministers resignation.
Now Sir Paul McCartney has become
one of the most high-profile celebrity
opponents of independence by asking
Scots to heed the bonds of citizenship
which unite British people.
Sir Pauls love of Scotland, as demon-
strated by his attachment to the Mull
of Kintyre, makes his intervention
powerful, authentic and right.
Sage of Kintyre
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Two crises... with one cause? A leading Muslims damning analysis
BRITAINS FIRST
MUSLIM PEER
What links
UK jihadis and
Rotherham
sex abusers?
Mosques
failing to
give them
moral
leadership
Q
A