Rochdale Facebook Campaign against Govt ICE project for Mosques

In light of the launch of the ICE (Islamic citizenship and Education) Curriculum, Majeds Blog has organised a Facebook campaign against this project. The ICE Curriculum is going to be launched on Friday 9th October in Rochdale.

This Facebook campaign wishes to mobilise Muslims in Rochdale specifically against such projects which have been crafted out and endorsed by the Government. This Project will be launched in Central West Minister Hall on the 24th October which highlights a clear governement connection to the this allegedly “independent” campaign.

The ICE curriculum has recieved £360,000 funding to promote Islamic classes licensed by the British Government which in itself speaks for the credentials of what type of Islam the Government wants. Hazel Blears, Communities Secretary until she resigned on June 3, said the project aims “to ensure young people are equipped with the skills they need to stand up to violent extremists”

Government’s New Islam and Citizenship Education (ICE) Curriculum for Mosques and Madrassah’s- Too cold for the Muslim Community

 By Majed Iqbal- In the last few years there has been an intense effort by the government in taking direct hands on approach in the affairs of the Muslim community in the name of tackling ‘radicalisation’ and combating ‘extremism’.

For some, this has been a welcoming gesture, seeing the Government playing a ‘positive’ role in understanding the issues of the Muslim community. For the majority, this has been viewed as intervention and a concentrated effort to make Muslims swallow ideas with a carrot and stick approach.

No other faith group in the country has been subject to so much scrutiny as the Muslim community has with project after project being designed to tackle all possible sectors and groupings of Muslims.

Muslim women groups like the Muslim women’s assertiveness course, Youth groups, National Mosque Groups like MINAB, ‘Extremism’ tool kits for schools and Colleges for Muslim pupils, New Government endorsed curriculum’s for Mosques in the North West titled ‘Nasiha’ and local councils given thousands of pounds to give to groups to promote key ideas which the government is interested in imparting to local Muslim residents- the list can continue with numerous more examples.

Are British Muslims “Attention Seekers”?

  By Majed Iqbal- A report issued this month has found eye-opening evidences that Muslims living in Britain suffer disproportionately more from discrimination, racial abuse and racial attacks than any other faith group, and the more openly devout they are, the more likely they are to experience harassment and abuse.

The Study titled “Muslims under siege- Alienating Vulnerable Communities” was used as part of the Channel 4 Dispatches program aired this month which went out actively to prove that Islam and Muslims are used as political tools for Politicians, Propaganda stories by press and consequently left open to ridicule.

Report commissioners Peter Oborne and James Jones in their Report Introduction write “The seed for this pamphlet was planted in October 2006 when Jack Straw and other cabinet ministers raised the issue of Muslim women wearing the veil. It soon became clear that this was more than a random rumination from a member of the government. Rather Labour appeared to have made the extraordinary decision to try to identify with a general mood of resentment and anxiety about the presence of Muslim communities in this country and to intervene in the politics of religious identity”.