Mayor tells vigil Reading community ‘shall not be divided’ by terror attack

June 27, 2020 Article

The mayor of Reading has said the town’s community “shall not be divided” by the recent terror attack at a vigil held in memory of the victims one week on.

Cllr David Stevens said the Berkshire town would always be “inclusive and diverse” at a private memorial event held in Market Place on Saturday evening.

David Wails, 49, Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39, and James Furlong, 36, lost their lives after the incident in Forbury Gardens that took place shortly before 7pm on June 20.

Following short speeches by local officials, family members of the three men were the first to lit candles in their memory.

Afterwards, the small group of relatives embraced in a huddle for a few moments, before speaking and laughing together.

Home Secretary Priti Patel joined a host of representatives from the Reading community in also lighting candles.

Cllr Stevens told the vigil that the attack had left Reading “feeling a mix of horror, disbelief and immense sadness.”

He added: “Just one week ago, friends and families were sat in Forbury Gardens, just a few yards from here, making the most of the warm weather on a summer’s evening and enjoying one another’s company.

“It was around now, the happiness and tranquillity of the evening was shattered in the cruellest and most horrific way.

“Three men lost their lives and several people sustained injuries. Others were forced to witness the most horrendous scenes.

“Last Saturday, Reading lost James Furlong, Joe Ritchie-Bennett and David Wails. To their families and close friends, we can only imagine your grief.” Around 50 people invited to the vigil stood in front of their socially distanced chairs for much of the half hour long event.

In the distance, behind a small podium set up for speakers, police tape from the large cordon still shutting off the roads connecting to Forbury Gardens could be seen.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Reading Borough Council was due to stream the event on its Facebook page to avoid a crowd gathering in Market Place.

But a large screen was also erected on nearby Broad Street for residents to watch proceedings.

The Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, James Puxley, paid tribute to Mr Wails, Mr Ritchie-Bennett and Mr Furlong at the vigil.

He said: “From what I hear they were honest lovely outstanding people and good law abiding citizens. “They did not deserve what happened to them. They had so many years ahead of them.

“Who knows what they would have achieved in life had they lived to an old age. Doubtless they would have achieved many good things that the community is now deprived of benefiting from.”

He also praised the emergency services and members of the public who helped the victims of the attack, some of whom “tore off their shirts to make bandages”.

Thames Valley Police chief constable John Campbell added his force’s condolences to the family of the victims.

He told them that Mr Wails, Mr Ritchie-Bennett and Mr Furlong had been “cared for and comforted by my officers and others who came to help them in in their final moments”.

Mr Campbell said Reading should take “pride” in how it has responded, which highlighted a “coming together of a diverse community, joined by the bond of humanity and a shared sense of injustice”.

Hailing the work of his officers, he also vowed to “seek justice for those who lost their lives and those that were harmed” in the incident.

Before the lighting of candles, the Bishop of Reading, The Right Reverend Olivia Graham, read a poem by Irish poet John O’Donohue.

Among those also lighting candles were the co-headteachers of the Holt School where Mr Furlong taught.

The post Mayor tells vigil Reading community ‘shall not be divided’ by terror attack appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: mayor, News, Reading, terrorist attack

The Preacher Hustle

May 13, 2020 Article

As the COVID-19 lockdown has progressed, Mosques and other religious venues have been eerily empty. Ramadan has started and the COVID-19 induced disruption of the rituals that Ramadan usually consists of, has given Muslims a unique opportunity to examine the religious status quo.

Religion is like marmite; there are those who love it, those who hate it and those who feel everything in between. It is extremely personal. One thing I can say for certain is that in most cases religion creates a glass ceiling that inhibits true human unity because there is the inevitable othering of the non-believer. When this othering becomes absolute, it is often the first step for many of those who I have worked with on the other side of a terrorist conviction.

I learned the term “preacher hustle” from Ismael when he questioned me after one of the informal talks I gave at Cafe Sara off Edgware road. Cafe Sara was a fashionable sheesha venue that was a second home for middle eastern professional criminals. I later found out Ismael was a former PKK assassin who was now selling his trade on the street. His question was whether what I was doing, speaking to them about connecting to a higher consciousness beyond imagination and appetite, was a “Preacher Hustle”; he was puzzled by my continued talks and regular support for this community without the presence of a charity bucket.

The evangelical vigour of the 90’s Dawaah movement was a powerful force pre-9/11 and the Islam that it propagated had less of the political top down ambition and more of a relational understanding that emphasised brotherhood and community. Something attractive to those coming from a underclass background like myself. Perhaps it was the fact that my early experience was idealistic and I was surrounded by converts whose experiences echoed Malcolm X’s words;

“I have eaten from the same plate, drank from the same glass, slept on the same bed or rug, while praying to the same God— with fellow‐Muslims whose skin was the whitest of white, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, and whose hair was the blondest of blond—yet it was the first time in my life that I didn’t see them as ‘white’ men. I could look into their faces and see that these didn’t regard themselves as ‘white’”.

However, this entry level romantic humanism was soon hi-jacked by the religious paradigm. Religion as a concept in the west relates to a set of beliefs that is held by a group of people reflected in a world view and often expressed with some form of ritual. The divine laws dictated within these belief systems are based on texts. This creates a transactional system where the religious observer abstains from sin to be awarded with a divinely authorised version of the same thing in the next life. This reward system fits perfectly into a consumer system that also relies upon imagination but never liberates the individual from his lower consciousness or reptilian mind. So in other words, anticipate and dream over buying that expensive leather coat, restrict yourself by not spending on anything else then you will be rewarded with the leather coat. And see yourselves as part of the cooler group and look down upon those without.

This text based simplistic understanding and its validation through proselytising was something that I saw a lot of when I first discovered Islam with the Malcolm X craze in the nineties. I had grown up in a single parent family on a white underclass estate in Farnborough just outside of the army town of Aldershot. The area was also one of the drugs hubs for the south of England. We had moved there when I was 8 from East London and my father left shortly afterwards leaving my mother to care for three children through being made homeless and living in a hostel to the daily racism and violence of a xenophobic community where we were the only asians.

Ben, who was one of the elders in our gang initially started looking into Islam. I recall watching Ahmed Deedat debate Christian preachers on video tape. Each of the debaters would be grasping his text book whether Quran or Bible and trying to prove the other wrong by referring to the text.

In the 90’s the concept of atheism was not within mainstream thought and schools still sung hymns but the paradigm that Islam was taking was distinctly western. Ahmed Deedat’s methodology of debate was something formalised in Europe during the reformation.

This was in contrast to what had happened in the 60’s when Europeans were travelling to the East to study Islam as an Eastern Philosophy and bringing back the teachings of Maulana Rumi and Ibn Arabi but in between we had the re-contextualisation of the term Jihad in order to propagate recruitment to the Afghan conflict and Saudi sponsored Mosques with £20000 pound sponsorships.

As someone who has spent over a decade in the rehabilitation of the some of the toughest Terrorists and most recently IS members, I cannot help but raise my head above the pulpit and ask “Is anyone looking at the BS that these guys are following?” As the late great Robert Anton Wilson said “Your always following someones belief system, someones b s!”

Let me be clear that I am not attacking the ritualistic practice or an individual searching for spiritual awakening within a collective through moral symbolisms of systems like Islam, Hinduism, Judaism etc. I am simply asking all of us who proscribe ourselves to a particular group to consider the possibility of stepping back from own imagined allegiances to a more universal perspective. To consider the fact that everyone is searching for tranquility and that if someone is aggressive towards you, it is a veil borne of their own vulnerability. To consider we approach each other without ego and with compassion and truly understand and practice the othering does not separate us from the one true community of this earth; the community of humanity. I do not claim any enlightenment but I do bask in the reward of love and stillness that such an approach delivers and it is this that compels me to invite you to join me.

The post The Preacher Hustle appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Community, mosques, Opinions, Preacher Hustle

Italian woman returns home after 18 months as hostage in eastern Africa

May 10, 2020 Article

A young Italian woman returned to her homeland on Sunday after 18 months as a hostage in eastern Africa.

Silvia Romano lowered her face mask briefly to display a broad smile after she stepped off an Italian government plane at Rome-Ciampino International Airport.

She hugged her mother and other family members, and touched elbows instead of shaking hands with Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio.

Ms Romano, 24, was working as a volunteer with an Italian humanitarian group when she was abducted in November 2018 during an attack by gunman in Kenya.

Italian premier Giuseppe Conte has thanked the Italian intelligence agents who worked for her release, which took place on Friday in Somalia.

Ms Romano was taken to the Italian Embassy in Mogadishu after she was freed.

Rome-based prosecutors investigate crimes committed abroad against Italian citizens, and they are expected to question her about the kidnapping.

Italian news reports said the abductors eventually passed her into the hands of militants linked to Somalia’s al-Shabab Islamic extremists. Al-Shabab has been blamed for a series of kidnappings of foreigners along Kenya’s coast.

Friends and acquaintances in the Milan neighbourhood where Ms Romano’s family lives applauded from windows, balconies and on the streets when the plane carrying Ms Romano home landed in Rome.

Italian media also have reported that she converted to Islam while in captivity.

Neither her family nor Italian officials have commented on the assertion.

When she got off the plane, Ms Romano wore a loose-fitting garment over her hair and African outfit while she also sported a surgical mask, disposable gloves and booties to guard against Covid-19.

The post Italian woman returns home after 18 months as hostage in eastern Africa appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Africa, Al Shabab, Kidnapping, News, Somalia

Home Office confirms environmentalists referred to anti-terror programme

April 14, 2020 Article

Environmental campaigners have been referred to the Home Office’s anti-terror Prevent programme amid fears they may become radicalised, it has emerged.

Data obtained by The Times newspaper under Freedom of Information laws found at least 45 activists were referred to Prevent over alleged environmental extremism between April 2016 and March last year.

The figures come at a time of increased global focus on climate change and environmental issues, with activists such as Extinction Rebellion orchestrating synchronised mass protests around the world.

The prominence of teenage campaigner Greta Thunberg has also helped raised the profile of green causes.

The data does not contain information on whether any of those referred to Prevent were aligned to any particular cause or organisation, and the Home Office said the “vast majority” of cases were closed with no further action.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Prevent is about safeguarding people at risk from being drawn into all forms of terrorism, rather than targeting a particular ideology.

“Activists engaged in peaceful protest for environmental or other causes are not extremists.

“All referrals to Prevent are carefully assessed – if an individual does not meet the threshold, the case is immediately closed.”

The strategy, launched in 2003, is one strand of the Government’s multi-pronged national counter-terrorism programme.

It relies on tip-offs from members of the public, schools and other organisations in identifying those who may be at risk of becoming radicalised to commit acts of terrorism.

In the vast majority of cases, the person identified will either leave the process requiring no further action, or will be signposted to other services.

When authorities conclude there is a risk that the person could be drawn into terrorism, they can be supported through another scheme known as Channel.

Prevent has also been criticised for its impact on free speech, placing an additional burden on teaching staff, and has been described as being heavy-handed in its approach.

Allan Hogarth, head of advocacy and programmes at charity Amnesty UK, said the referral of environmental activists was “deeply concerning”.

He said: “The Government must respect the rights of those peacefully protesting and ensure that the voices of those demanding action on tackling the climate crisis can be heard without fear of being labelled ‘extremists’.

“Under the guise of Prevent and the incredibly vague definition of ‘extremism’ the Government has been able to profile, use surveillance, compile data and infringe on the personal freedoms of many individuals and minority communities.

“This cannot go on.”

Green Party peer Baroness Jenny Jones said: “The use of Prevent to deal with social campaigners and environmentalists shows that the Home Office and politicians need to urgently define domestic extremism and give the police a tight legal definition that they have to stick to.

“I want the police to be focused on dealing with serious crimes, rather than chasing round after people who are peacefully taking part in the democratic process.”

Last summer the Government ordered a review into the programme, which is due to report back to Parliament later this year.

The post Home Office confirms environmentalists referred to anti-terror programme appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: counter-extremism, counter-terrorism, Environmentalists, Home Office, News, Referred to Prevent

Tommy Robinson ‘arrested over assault at Center Parcs pool’

March 3, 2020 Article

Former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson has been arrested after a fight broke out at a holiday park, it has been reported.

The Sun said on Monday that 37-year-old Robinson got into a row with another man in the pool at Woburn Forest Center Parcs in Bedfordshire.

Witnesses claimed that Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, confronted another man before punching him in the face, it added.

Bedfordshire Police confirmed that officers were called to reports of an altercation between two men at the holiday park at around 1.10pm on Sunday.

A spokesman added: “One man sustained an injury to his face, and received first aid at the scene.

“A 37-year-old man from Bedford was arrested on suspicion of common assault and has been bailed until April 2. An investigation is ongoing.”

A Center Parcs spokesman confirmed that police attended an incident at Center Parcs Woburn Forest on Sunday afternoon.

The post Tommy Robinson ‘arrested over assault at Center Parcs pool’ appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Center Parcs, News, Stephen Yaxley Lennon, Tommy Robinson

Germany’s leaders look to blunt advance of extreme right following mass shooting

February 22, 2020 Article

Germany’s leaders are struggling to work out how to counter a recent rise in right-wing hate, 75 years after the Nazis were driven from power.

Wednesday’s shooting rampage that began at a hookah bar in the Frankfurt suburb of Hanau was Germany’s third deadly far-right attack in a matter of months and came at a time when the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has become the country’s first political party in decades to establish itself as a significant force on the extreme right.

In the wake of the latest spasm of violence, Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced the “poison” of racism and hatred in Germany, and other politicians similarly condemned the shootings.

The rampage followed October’s anti-Semitic attack on a synagogue in Halle and the killing in June of a regional politician who supported Mrs Merkel’s welcoming policy toward migrants.

But Germany’s top security official, interior minister Horst Seehofer, said the trend goes back further, noting a 2016 attack on a Munich mall against migrants and a years-long cross-country killing spree against foreigners by a group calling itself the National Socialist Underground.

“Since the NSU and the rampage in Munich through today, an extreme-right trail of blood has run through our country,” he said.

Extremism is no new phenomenon in modern-day Germany, where the Red Army Faction and other radical-left groups waged a campaign of kidnappings and killings from the 1970s through the 1990s, and where some of the key September 11 plotters lived and schemed before heading to the US to attend flight school ahead of the 2001 attacks.

Germany has strict laws prohibiting any glorification of the Nazis, with bans on symbols like the swastika and gestures like the stiff-armed salute, and denial of the Holocaust is illegal.

But security officials have frequently been accused of being “blind in the right eye”, for intentionally or inadvertently overlooking some far-right activity.

That was said to be the case with the NSU, which was able to kill 10 people, primarily immigrants, between 2000 and 2007 in attacks written off by investigators as organised crime.

It was only after two NSU members died in 2011 in a botched robbery that the group’s activities were uncovered.

Mehmet Gurcan Daimaguler, a lawyer who represented victims’ families at the trial of an NSU member, said German authorities need to give more than “lip service” to fighting racism.

“We haven’t really begun yet a real fight against neo-Nazis, and one of the reasons, for me, clearly is the victims,” he said.

“The victims of Nazis are not members of the German middle class, but Muslims, migrants, LGBT people, immigrants.

“As long as the victim pool, so to say, was limited to minorities, it was not considered a real threat for society.”

Mr Seehofer said that has changed, noting increased resources are being devoted to fighting far-right crime, including the addition of hundreds of new federal investigators and domestic intelligence agents.

In addition, stricter laws have been passed, and the Cabinet approved a bill just this week, before the Hanau attacks, to crack down on hate speech and online extremism.

Under the bill, which is awaiting passage in parliament, internet companies would have to report a wide range of hate speech to police, and retweeting such material to a wide audience, or explicitly condoning it publicly, could be subject to prosecution.

“We are not blind in any eye,” Mr Seehofer said.

Still, with national elections coming next year, politicians are grappling with strategies to confront AfD and blunt its appeal to disgruntled voters.

The AfD does not espouse violence, but many are accusing the party of producing a climate where right-wing extremism can flourish.

The seven-year-old party now has members in all 16 state parliaments and is the largest opposition party nationally, though with less than 13% of the vote in the last election.

“One cannot see this crime in isolation,” said Norbert Roettgen, one of several members of Mrs Merkel’s party hoping to succeed her as chancellor when her term ends next year.

“We need to fight the poison that is being dragged into our society by the AfD and others.”

Alexander Gauland, an AfD leader, accused Mr Roettgen and others of trying to exploit the Hanau violence for political advantage.

“Everything that we know is that it was a totally crazy person,” Mr Gauland said.

The gunman, 43-year-old Tobias Rathjen, posted rambling writings and videos online ahead of the attacks, advocating genocide and espousing theories about mind control.

Mr Gauland, who once got in trouble for downplaying the Nazi era as a speck of “bird poop” in German history, said Rathjen had probably never heard any of his speeches, and he rejected any connection between the bloodshed and his party’s anti-migrant platform, as did several other AfD leaders.

But Mr Seehofer said the power of words cannot be discounted.

“I can’t deny that a statement that Nazism is a speck of bird poop in history provides this fertile soil,” Mr Seehofer said.

“There are also many other remarks that, in my view, mess up heads, and something bad comes from messed-up heads far too often.”

Holger Muench, head of the BKA, Germany’s equivalent to the FBI, said the threat from mentally disturbed people has grown in recent years, as they latch on to ideas often found online and turn violent.

“The fact that there are mentally ill people in society, that is unchanged for the most part,” he said.

“But the fact that there are mentally ill people with a world view that makes them a risk to serious acts of violence, that is changing.”

No evidence has emerged to link Mr Rathjen to the AfD.

But people in Hanau were quick to suggest at least an indirect connection.

Dieter Hog watched as the police descended upon Rathjen’s house after the shootings and said he did not know his neighbour or what might have motivated him.

“But it might be the seed of Mr Hoecke,” he said, referring to Bjoern Hoecke, an AfD leader who called Berlin’s memorial to the victims of the Nazi Holocaust a “monument of shame”.

And Hatice Nazerzadeh, the woman who shouted at German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during the candlelight vigil, said that with the party’s ascent, attacks are becoming common.

Parts of AfD are already under close scrutiny by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, but she said more should be done.

“The core problem is the AfD,” said Ms Nazerzadeh, whose cousin was shot in the head by Rathjen and killed.

“As long as the AfD is legal, racism is legal.”

The post Germany’s leaders look to blunt advance of extreme right following mass shooting appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Extreme Right, Germany, Mass Shooting, Nazis, News

‘Institutional squeamishness’ over tackling violent extremism in jails

February 21, 2020 Article

Violent extremism is “clearly not under control” in jails and there is an “institutional squeamishness” among Government officials to tackle the problem, a former prison governor has claimed.

Ian Acheson, who led an independent review of Islamist extremism behind bars in 2016, made the comments after it is feared a convicted killer allegedly attempted a jihadist attack on prison guards at HMP Winchester.

An improvised weapon in the shape of a blade was found on the prisoner, who is not behind bars for terrorist offences, during a search after the incident.

The PA news agency understands he was afterwards overheard by officers shouting to a fellow inmate in a nearby cell that it was “a J thing” – which it is believed officials are taking to mean jihad or jihadi.

No staff were injured and the incident is not currently being investigated as terror-related.

The news comes amid growing concerns over radicalisation behind bars in the wake of three terror attack in as many months – one of which took place inside a jail while the other two involved convicted terrorists recently released from prison.

Speaking on Radio 4’s World at One programme, Mr Acheson said violent extremism was “clearly not under control inside prisons” and “presents a lethal threat” both inside and outside jails.

He said prison staff are “increasingly being confronted with a lethal extremist-inspired threat for which they are patently not equipped to deal with”, adding: “I think there is an institutional squeamishness at the top of the prison service to deal with this problem which unfortunately has now led to the situation that we see where we have got violent extremism that is at best delayed inside custody and at worst weaponised.”

Meanwhile Jonathan Hall QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, suggested keeping prisoners behind bars for longer could “expose them to worse influences” than if they were released.

In the published analysis on the emergency laws the Government has proposed to keep terrorists behind bars for longer, he warned the changes could create a “cliff edge” when offenders are instead freed without any restrictions at the end of their sentence.

There had been “foot dragging” over bringing in changes to tackle the problem, Mr Acheson claimed, adding that he was not convinced all recommendations for improvements he had made – such as ensuring prison imams had faced security checks – had been implemented.

Xeneral Imiuru had been segregated in the prison over concerns of violent behaviour towards staff, PA understands.

It is thought prison officers attended his cell in the segregation unit to check on his condition after he was seen lying on the floor.

But a struggle took place after he was found to be conscious.

The 20-year-old, also known by the surname Webster, was the first person to be convicted of an acid attack killing and was jailed for 17 years in 2018.

He pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Joanne Rand, a 47-year-old carer for dementia patients.

The innocent bystander had been visiting her daughter’s grave when she was hit with the high-strength sulphuric acid which Imiuru had armed himself with and was knocked out of his hand during a row with another man nearby.

The mother-of-three had 5% burns on her body and died 11 days later from multiple organ failure after contracting septicaemia.

A Prison Service spokesman said: “Police are investigating an incident at HMP Winchester on February 13.

“Violence against our hard-working staff will not be tolerated and those responsible will face tough punishment, including more time behind bars.”

The POA, formerly known as the Prison Officers’ Association, called for the investigation to be carried out “quickly” and said questions were being asked over how inmates might have access to weapons, particularly in segregation.

Hampshire Constabulary said an investigation was in its early stages as the incident was only reported to police on Tuesday.

It is understood officials contacted the force on Monday after the incident was initially reviewed by an internal adjudicator who deals with prison discipline matters.

Earlier this month Sudesh Amman wore a fake suicide belt as he grabbed a knife from a shop in Streatham High Road, south London, on Sunday, before stabbing two bystanders.

The 20-year-old had been jailed for possessing and distributing terrorist documents in December 2018, but was freed automatically halfway through his sentence less than a fortnight ago.

He was put under 24-hour police surveillance on his release after it is understood security services regarded him as an “extremely concerning individual”.

Two inmates wearing fake suicide belts stabbed a prison officer at maximum security jail HMP Whitemoor in January.

Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt were killed by Usman Khan in November when he launched his attack armed with two knives and wearing a fake suicide vest during a prisoner rehabilitation programme near London Bridge – nearly a year after he was released halfway through a 16-year jail sentence for terror offences.

The post ‘Institutional squeamishness’ over tackling violent extremism in jails appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Ian Acheson, Institutional squeemishness, Jails, News, Prison, violent extremism

Islamic school accuses Ofsted of ‘draconian’ practices after inadequate rating

January 30, 2020 Article

An Islamic girls’ school has accused Ofsted of “draconian” practices, after it was rated inadequate by inspectors who found an inflammatory leaflet in its library.

Inspectors gave the lowest available rating to Birchfield Independent Girls’ School in Aston, Birmingham, after discovering the leaflet giving details of a meeting held in London in 1994 to promote “total rulership of Muslims over the world”.

An Ofsted report, stemming from a three-day inspection in November last year, said the leaflet claiming “the sons and daughters of Islam are under continuous attack by the forces of non-Islam” meant pupils at the school were not safe.

The report noted: “Leaders have not made sure that pupils are protected from inflammatory and unsuitable literature.

“Therefore, pupils are not safe from potential radicalisation.

“School leaders could not say how the leaflet that was found got into the library, nor why it was openly displayed on a library shelf. Leaders could not say why staff had not spotted and removed the leaflet.”

The report said pupils at the school were taught to accept everyone, whoever they are, and that the broad curriculum was delivered in fun and interesting ways, providing a good quality of education.

But Ofsted said the leaflet found at the site meant all the independent school standards had not been met.

In a statement confirming that the report was being challenged, and referring media inquiries to a law firm, the school said: “We are deeply disappointed with the judgments.

“They in no way reflect the paramount importance that we place on safeguarding, nor the evidence base collected by inspectors.

“The leaflet identified has no place in our teachings, curriculum or ethos. We work hard to promote fundamental British values and the rule of law at our school.

“Our pupils are well equipped to combat radicalisation and inspectors were able to verify this as part of the inspection process.

“Sadly, we are not the only faith-based independent school to fall victim to Ofsted’s draconian and inconsistent inspection practices.

“It is simply unacceptable for Ofsted to undermine all of the hard work put in by staff and pupils when coming to wholly inaccurate judgments of schools.”

The post Islamic school accuses Ofsted of ‘draconian’ practices after inadequate rating appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Birchfield Independent Girls’ School, Islamic School, News, Ofsted, School

Burkina Faso enlist civilians in fight against Islamic extremism

January 24, 2020 Article

Burkina Faso’s parliament has approved legislation allowing the military to use civilian volunteers in the fight against Islamic extremism.

The decision underscores how outnumbered soldiers are amid rising attacks across the West African country.

The tactic is not without risk.

Burkina Faso’s military has been criticised for killings carried out during its crackdown on extremism, and placing arms in the hands of minimally trained civilians could lead to more allegations of human rights abuses, observers warn.

The country’s defence minister Cheriff Sy said this week that all recruits would undergo two weeks of training, with topics ranging from how to use weapons to matters of discipline.

“It is not a question of making cannon fodder,” he said.

“We want to prevent these volunteers from becoming militias.”

Volunteers must be 18 years old and will undergo a “moral investigation” before being allowed to serve, he said.

Demobilisation bonuses will be provided to each volunteer in an effort to reintegrate them in the future.

Health benefits will be paid to those who are wounded while on duty, he added.

Burkina Faso’s military, despite training and assistance from France and the United States, has struggled to contain the spread of extremism.

Mr Sy said the use of civilian volunteers would allow the military to cast a wider net, acknowledging that: “Yes, we are understaffed.”

For years, Burkina Faso was spared the kind of Islamic extremism that affected neighbouring Niger and Mali, where it took a 2013 French-led military intervention to dislodge jihadists from power in several major towns.

Militants staged a January 2016 attack in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, that killed at least 30 people at a cafe popular with foreigners.

The following year, 18 people were killed at a Turkish restaurant in the capital.

Deaths from attacks have risen dramatically in the last few years, from about 80 in 2016 to over 1,800 in 2019, according to the United Nations.

Burkina Faso’s military has been criticised for committing abuses in the ensuing crackdown.

Human Rights Watch said last year that more than 150 men, mostly ethnic Peuhl herdsmen, had been killed by Burkinabe security forces after being accused of supporting or harbouring extremists.

Such killings by security forces have only increased the ranks of the jihadists, according to activists.

The post Burkina Faso enlist civilians in fight against Islamic extremism appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Burkina Faso, Faso's Military, Islamic extremism, News