20 July 2015

Cameron's extremism speech gets mixed response from Birmingham Muslims

Muslims in Birmingham gave a mixed reaction to David Cameron’s speech on tackling extremism, with some echoing his condemnation of British Muslims who had travelled to Syria to join Islamic State, while others argued that he was unfairly stigmatising people.

Below the glass panels of the Bullring shopping centre, Fatema Bandali, a 24-year-old architect from Birmingham, said of the young men and women travelling to Syria to join Isis: “They’re not practising Muslims.

“Islam as a whole is about brotherhood. These people probably don’t feel part of anything and are looking outside to be accepted. Maybe they felt judged within the community and there were expectations they couldn’t meet.” [The Guardian] Read more