10 January 2012

Large numbers of young Muslims in jail because imams are out of date and some don’t speak English

Out-dated teaching in mosques is behind a dramatic rise in the number of young Muslims going to prison, a top cleric has said.

Ahtsham Ali, an adviser to the Prison Service, said that mosques in the UK fail to engage with the young men that come through their door because they use imams from overseas who are unable to preach in English.

He said that more needs to be done to understand problems in society like family breakdown, arranged marriages and drugs.

.... Mosques in the UK operate independently, according to Mr Ali, and many import imams from abroad.

The lack of an ability to speak English is also compounded by a problem with imams not being able to relate to young Muslims, many of whom have been brought up in the UK and have a different outlook on the world. [MailOnline] Read more