Dear all,
Please accept an invitation to the MINAB Consultation Launch on the 29th November.
Please find attached the Draft constitution.
I have attached your invitation to the
MINAB Consultation Launch on the 29th November.
In addition I have attached the draft constitution.
I would appreciate any feedback you have.
MINAB will act as the regulatory body for
Mosque?s and Imam?s, and currently has the backing of government.
For details read below.
Wasalam & Duas
Muslim groups draft rulebook for mosques to
drive out extremists
? Blears welcomes first
attempt at regulation
? Checks on imams, and more
access for women
Patrick Wintour, political editor
Tuesday October 30, 2007
The Guardian
The first attempt by British Muslims to set out the core
standards and constitutions for Britain's
1,350-plus mosques and Islamic centres has been drawn up by a new body
representing four leading groups.
The
move was welcomed by Hazel Blears, the communities secretary. Ministers have
often complained that there is a lack of oversight of mosques, and hope the
proposals for standardised rules on governance and leadership could help to
drive out extremism.
It comes as new research found
fundamentalist literature encouraging hatred of Christians, gays and Jews in
many British mosques. Researchers for the thinktank Policy Exchange found
extremist literature in a quarter of the 100 mosques and Islamic institutions
they visited.
Some of the publications called on British Muslims to segregrate
themselves from non-Muslims and condoned the beheading of lapsed Muslims. There
were passages which supported the stoning of adulterers and violent jihad,
according to the report, The Hijacking of British Islam.
The new proposals to set out core standards for mosques have been
drawn up by the year-old Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body (Minab), set
up by the Al-Khoei Foundation, the British Muslim Forum, the Muslim Association
of Britain and the Muslim Council of Britain.
The draft constitution for the regulatory body, released yesterday
after months of internal consultation, proposes increasing the skills and
competencies of imams, developing mosques as centres of community cohesion,
citizenship and dialogue and strengthening accountability and governance. It
also proposes improving access of women and young people to mosques. The new
body, according to its constitution, would also provide advice on the
suitability of imams and scholars coming from abroad.
Mosques that sign up to the core standards framework would receive
practical advice, guidance and support from Minab, a body first recommended by
an official government inquiry in the wake of the 7/7 bombings in London .
The government has spoken of the need to improve the language and
teaching skills of imams, but has been reluctant to intervene directly for fear
of being seen to interfere in an independent faith body.
A governing council would be established to represent the
different strands of Islam in Britain,
including guaranteed seats for Shias. There have been claims that the
ultra-conservative Deobandi sect, which gave birth to the Taliban in Afghanistan, now runs more than 600 of Britain's 1,350
mosques.
The government has also been frustrated that a number of imams in Britain were born in Pakistan, speak limited English and
preach in Urdu, making it difficult for the government to know what is going on
in some mosques.
Ms Blears, due to make a speech this week on the future of the
government's community cohesion initiatives, praised the commitment by the
organisations who make up Minab to put in place a stronger system of
self-regulation to improve governance, strengthen financial management and
develop mosques as centres of community cohesion and citizenship. The Minab
board will provide practical advice, guidance and support to Muslim
communities.
Ms Blears urged mosques to cooperate with the initiative, saying:
"Strong mosques positioned at the centre of the community and effectively
governed will be better able to withstand attempts to hijack them by certain
groups supporting violent extremist interpretations of Islam. The changes are
important because they are coming from within the community itself."
If your coming please print the Invitation, write your name on it and bring it with you on the day
Regards
Yousif Khoei
AL KHOEI FOUNDATION
| Stone Hall Chevening Road, Kilburn, London, NW6
|
|
| Tel: 020 7372 4049 |
| Fax: 020 7372 0694 |
