We have all seen the terrible impacts on communities of the nihilistic pull of ISIS. Yesterday, a group of 3 women and their children disappeared whilst returning from Saudi Arabia and are purported to be in Turkey, on their way to ISIS.
Any theological material that undermines the rhetoric of ISIS whilst placing British Muslims within the context of being able to live their lives as Muslims in the United Kingdom, is to be applauded. This means placing Islam and Muslims within the values of citizenship which do not run counter to the faith. It also means ensuring that they can play a positive and productive role in life in this country.
We therefore support and endorse the curriculum against terrorism and ISIS written by Dr Tahir Ul Qadri, under the auspices of Minhaj ul Quran. We also understand that the Ramadhan Foundation has done so and we welcome their approach.
We understand that the curriculum is to be launched in the next week and will provide a useful resource that can be utilised when working with young people. We value that to ensure that lives may be saved.
Speaking about the curriculum, the Director of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal OBE stated:
“On this issue and in relation to the curriculum that Dr Tahir Ul Qadri has developed, we warmly welcome and applaud his efforts. We have to defeat extremism of all forms and particularly when the virulent and nihilistic nature of ISIS means that we are losing young people to this obscene and destructive group.”