British Government's Relations With Islam at Home and Abroad
http://www.gaash-online.com/articles/64/1/British-Governments-Relations-With-Islam-at-Home-and-Abroad.html
News Team
Gaash news team. By News Team
Published on 06/9/2006
In a speech at Oxford, an event organised by Centre for Islamic Studies on Wednesday 7 June, FCO Minister, Lord Triesman recognised that Muslims have been an integral part of Britain for centuries. Over the past five years, he said, Britain has spent £5 billion on development aid in the Muslim World. The Minister went on to express an urgent need to address the alienation of Britain's Muslim community. Speaking about a programme which sends British Muslims overseas to speak about their identity, he said: 'Many of them have very strong feelings against some of our current foreign policies. The fact that they can disagree with government policy and still be involved in a government-backed initiative highlights the fundamental right of freedom of expression enjoyed by all British citizens.'
British Government's Relations With Islam at Home and Abroad
In a speech at Oxford, an event organised by Centre for Islamic Studies on Wednesday 7 June, FCO Minister, Lord Triesman recognised that Muslims have been an integral part of Britain for centuries. Over the past five years, he said, Britain has spent £5 billion on development aid in the Muslim World. The Minister went on to express an urgent need to address the alienation of Britain's Muslim community. Speaking about a programme which sends British Muslims overseas to speak about their identity, he said: 'Many of them have very strong feelings against some of our current foreign policies. The fact that they can disagree with government policy and still be involved in a government-backed initiative highlights the fundamental right of freedom of expression enjoyed by all British citizens.'
Following is the full text of Lord Triesman address
Dr Nizami, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. It is both a pleasure and a great honour to address the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
The University of Oxford, well over 800 years old, is of course one of the world's leading academic institutions, attracting scholars and experts in every area of learning from around the world. It has taken this Centre just twenty years to establish an international reputation for its scholarship and its international work to promote greater understanding of Islam.
Not that this should come as any surprise. After all this University, like Cambridge, has had a chair in Arabic studies since the seventeenth century. And Britain's links with the Islamic world go back even further. The British Museum in London contains an eighth century gold coin minted by King Offa of Mercia with Arabic text on both sides. No one really knows why Offa would have inscribed a coin with Arabic text but it does represent one of the earliest known connections between Britain and the Islamic world.
Muslims have been an integral part of Britain and of our way of life, at home and abroad, for centuries. In 1940 the Government donated £100,000 towards the building of the first mosque in London - now the Regents Park Mosque - in recognition of the bravery and courage of Muslim soldiers who fought and died for Britain in the First World War. And, lest we forget, 1.4 million Indian soldiers served in the First World War and over 2.5 million in the Second World War, the largest volunteer force in the world - many of them Muslim, winning many gallantry awards and several Victoria Crosses.
Today Britain is home to nearly two million Muslims who are central to our political, business and social life. There are an increasing number of Muslims in the Armed Forces, in the Police and in Parliament. Just ten years ago there were none. Their faith is, of course, central to their lives just as it is for others of different faiths. But they are there, in positions of great influence, because of their skills, their talent and their commitment to creating a better and fairer society for everyone. Irrespective of our faiths we share the same values of mutual respect and tolerance - the values which underpin civil society everywhere.
But a divide has grown between some Muslim and non-Muslim communities. And that divide, born out of misperceptions and ignorance on both sides, is being ruthlessly exploited by radicals and extremists in pursuit of their own warped ideology.
That is the issue we all face today. And we must tackle it vigorously and urgently if we are to preserve the unity and harmony of our society and ensure our long-term security. The balance between harmony and security is vital for one thing is certain. Every country must ensure that its citizens are safe from attack, that terrorism will never be tolerated. To achieve that goal we need all the effective methods within the law at our disposal. But we also need harmony among all our people, consent among all our people to the work of the state. That, in turn, means we must address perceived grievances that diminish our sense of harmony.
I want to consider briefly three areas which, I believe, give rise to the most grievance and set out what the Government is doing to address the issues.
The first is international. Western governments, including the UK, have been accused of pursuing an anti-Muslim foreign policy. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Finding a permanent solution to the Arab-Israel conflict, based on two viable, contiguous states living in peace and normality with each other, remains one of our top international priorities.
Over the past five years the British Government has provided well over £5 billion in development aid to much of the Muslim world. Alongside the EU and the US, Britain is one of the largest humanitarian donors to the Palestinian people.
And we are the second largest international donor of humanitarian assistance to the millions caught up in the Darfur crisis. Resolving the tragic tangle of deadly conflicts in Sudan where Muslims are pitted against Muslims and so many innocent people have lost their lives remains a key objective for us.
The Government alone gave more than £128 million to support the relief effort in Pakistan following the earthquake. And we backed up with substantial additional funding the huge generosity of the British public in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami which struck Indonesia, in particular, so harshly.
The UK has provided over £20 million since 2003 to help the re-building and reconstruction of Bosnia. And it is important to remember that it was NATO intervention in Kosovo, a predominantly Muslim country, which averted a humanitarian catastrophe not seen in Europe since the Second World War.
And, of course, right at the top of our international priorities are Afghanistan and Iraq. We will continue to support the governments of both countries in their Herculean efforts to defend the fragile democratic process taking root and to establish long-term security so that Afghans and Iraqis alike can enjoy the freedom to determine their own and their country's future which they voted for so overwhelmingly.
On Monday the Development Secretary, Hilary Benn, announced a further £30 million in assistance to the people of Helmand province in Afghanistan for the provision of basic services, infrastructure and loans and assistance to farmers to help them start new businesses and farm legal crops. That is in addition to the £45 million we have given to Afghanistan over the past year.
There is no greater evidence of our commitment to partnership with the Muslim world than the EU agreement, reached under Britain's Presidency last year, to open accession negotiations with Turkey. We remain fully committed to Turkey's membership of the EU which, I believe, will show conclusively that the Muslim and non-Muslim world is united in a shared respect for justice, tolerance and individual rights.
That brings me the second area of grievance felt by many, particularly young people in parts of the Muslim world. And that is the lack of political, economic and social opportunity. As the world has increasingly globalised and grown richer - particularly in Asia - much of the Arab world has lagged behind in political and economic development. People are frustrated that the extraordinarily rich heritage of the Islamic world in science, mathematics, the creative arts and indeed international trade, is not coming through into the modern world as forcefully as it should, although I believe that is changing. That is because Arab leaders have recognised that if their countries are going to flourish in today's highly competitive world, people must have the opportunity to develop skills, to pursue economic opportunities and to participate freely and openly in every aspect of public life.
Since 2004 governments of the G8 and Middle East and North African countries have met annually to discuss progress on political, economic and social reform in the region. Last year's meeting, chaired by the UK, included, for the first time, non-governmental organisations working alongside governments debating key issues including political pluralism, women's empowerment, the rule of law, transparency and human rights and recommending priority areas for action.
Two major new initiatives were launched: a fifty million dollar Foundation to support democracy and civil participation and a hundred million dollar Fund to support entrepreneurs and the growth of small and medium enterprises.
The G8 are working on a whole range of issues with regional governments, non governmental organisations and business groups to support political, economic and educational reform initiatives and to stimulate investment, innovation and enterprise throughout the region.
The EU too is actively engaged with its Mediterranean partners to support, with funding and technical assistance, improved governance, trade liberalisation, wider and deeper education opportunities, particularly for children and the difficult and sensitive issue of migration.
The UK co-hosted with Spain last year's Summit of the EuroMed partners. Again non-governmental organisations were able to participate directly, for the first time, in the Summit discussions. They play a critical role in holding governments to their commitments.
The UK is fully behind all these initiatives. Indeed we have led from the front on many of them. Three years ago we introduced our own bilateral assistance programme, supported by the FCO's Global Opportunities Fund, to complement the many multilateral initiatives underway. Since its inception we have committed £16 million to over 100 projects set up and managed locally in Muslim countries, all in support of expanding political, economic and social opportunities.
One unique project, run by the BBC World Service Trust, has been the creation of an Afghan 'Woman's Hour' which is broadcast weekly throughout Afghanistan. It is providing a forum, which has never existed until now, for women and, as it has turned out, men as well, at every level of Afghan society, from every walk of life and throughout the country to share issues of real concern and to be motivated and inspired by the example and experience of others. This project has proved so successful that the World Service Trust hopes to be able to extend it elsewhere, including to Iraq.
So there is a huge amount going on. In the FCO all this work is co-ordinated by a highly skilled and dedicated team of experts including special advisers on Muslim issues, formed just 3 years ago, to expand our outreach to the Islamic world both at home and abroad.
We also have an Islamic Media Team, including Arabic and Urdu speakers. They work closely with the media in Britain and overseas and talk directly and on air to pan-Arab and national media outlets in the Middle East explaining our policies which are often unknown or misunderstood in the region. The Team also supports the work of our Embassies to promote greater understanding of our policies and our way of life.
The British Council, one of our main public diplomacy partners, has been running an innovative programme over the past five years entitled 'Connecting Futures'. Through a series of projects, the programme has brought together over 30,000 young people from 44 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe to help build mutual understanding and respect. One of the projects - as some of you may know - involved working with the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies on the Oxford Muntada, bringing together young leaders from the Islamic World and the UK.
I have focussed so far on what the Government has been and is doing with Muslim countries and communities overseas. Because of our long tradition as an inclusive multicultural and multifaith society, government has, in the past, been less directly engaged in individual communities, including Britain's Muslim community. But the July bombings in London last year threw into sharp focus the need for us to address urgently issues of alienation and exclusion here at home - the third area of grievance I want to address.
That is not to say that the Government did not already have excellent links into the Muslim community through its leaders. Indeed in 2004 the Government stepped up its engagement with faith communities which led to the formation of a new Faith Communities Consultative Council. But, after 7/7 it was clear that we needed to do more.
The Home Office set up a series of working groups to tackle extremism, underachievement in schools and unemployment. Many of proposals emerging from these groups are being taken forward by the Muslim community with the Government acting as a facilitator.
Amongst the many recommendations of the groups was to encourage further debate between young British Muslims and influential international scholars of high repute to encourage a stronger challenge to the extremist rhetoric. We are supporting an International Roadshow of Islamic Scholars run by the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, the Young Muslim Organisation and Q-News to bring Islamic scholars to the UK to talk to young Muslims. More than 30,000 young Muslims have taken part in roadshows in London, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Leicester and Luton so far. The programme is hoping to reach more than 100,000 by the end of the year.
To help explain to Muslims overseas what life is like for a British Muslim the FCO has helped organise visits by British Muslims to thirteen countries so far. A delegation to Nigeria in April included the editor of a leading British Muslim magazine, the Chair of the Association of Muslim Schools in the UK and an Islamic scholar from Warwick University.
What is important about these visits is that the delegates are not government spokespeople. Indeed many of them have very strong feelings against some of our current foreign policies, particularly in the Muslim world. But the fact that they can disagree with government policy and still be involved in a government-backed initiative highlights the fundamental right of freedom of expression enjoyed by all British citizens.
Government Ministers and senior officials have had a series of meetings with Muslim communities across Britain to hear at first hand the problems they face and to get a dialogue going on how to tackle the issues. We hope that new channels of communication will develop enabling particularly young Muslims and women to voice their concerns direct to the Government.
Last September the Faith Communities Capacity - building Fund was launched, the first of its kind, to support projects to strengthen community cohesion.
We are expanding our Chevening Scholarship Programme which offers potential future leaders in society the opportunity to study in the UK for a year to enable more scholars from Islamic countries to take part. Over this past academic year 120 scholars from Islamic countries have been awarded scholarships. Last year we introduced a new three month fellowship scheme at UK universities, focussed on Islam, governance and security issues. This year we are already doubling the number of fellows taking part to over 200.
My colleague, Bill Rammell, at the Department for Education and Science is encouraging vigorous debate and wide consultation within the higher education sector to build bridges between faith communities to reinforce mutual respect and understanding.
The late Zaki Badawi, one of the most revered Islamic scholars of his time, expressed optimism that, as he put it: 'our society will march forward in unity with confidence that we shall overcome the threats to our peaceful life and live in harmony'.
It is critical, if we are to achieve that goal - and I am sure we will - that we have an open, informed and rational debate about all the issues which threaten to disrupt that harmony. I have no doubt that the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies will remain at the centre of this debate.
The high level of scholarship you achieve, the international connections you make and the partners you nurture are fundamental to strengthening understanding between the Islamic and non-Islamic world.
I respect and value your contribution greatly and look forward to continuing our partnership in the years ahead.
Following is the full text of Lord Triesman address
Dr Nizami, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. It is both a pleasure and a great honour to address the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
The University of Oxford, well over 800 years old, is of course one of the world's leading academic institutions, attracting scholars and experts in every area of learning from around the world. It has taken this Centre just twenty years to establish an international reputation for its scholarship and its international work to promote greater understanding of Islam.
Not that this should come as any surprise. After all this University, like Cambridge, has had a chair in Arabic studies since the seventeenth century. And Britain's links with the Islamic world go back even further. The British Museum in London contains an eighth century gold coin minted by King Offa of Mercia with Arabic text on both sides. No one really knows why Offa would have inscribed a coin with Arabic text but it does represent one of the earliest known connections between Britain and the Islamic world.
Muslims have been an integral part of Britain and of our way of life, at home and abroad, for centuries. In 1940 the Government donated £100,000 towards the building of the first mosque in London - now the Regents Park Mosque - in recognition of the bravery and courage of Muslim soldiers who fought and died for Britain in the First World War. And, lest we forget, 1.4 million Indian soldiers served in the First World War and over 2.5 million in the Second World War, the largest volunteer force in the world - many of them Muslim, winning many gallantry awards and several Victoria Crosses.
Today Britain is home to nearly two million Muslims who are central to our political, business and social life. There are an increasing number of Muslims in the Armed Forces, in the Police and in Parliament. Just ten years ago there were none. Their faith is, of course, central to their lives just as it is for others of different faiths. But they are there, in positions of great influence, because of their skills, their talent and their commitment to creating a better and fairer society for everyone. Irrespective of our faiths we share the same values of mutual respect and tolerance - the values which underpin civil society everywhere.
But a divide has grown between some Muslim and non-Muslim communities. And that divide, born out of misperceptions and ignorance on both sides, is being ruthlessly exploited by radicals and extremists in pursuit of their own warped ideology.
That is the issue we all face today. And we must tackle it vigorously and urgently if we are to preserve the unity and harmony of our society and ensure our long-term security. The balance between harmony and security is vital for one thing is certain. Every country must ensure that its citizens are safe from attack, that terrorism will never be tolerated. To achieve that goal we need all the effective methods within the law at our disposal. But we also need harmony among all our people, consent among all our people to the work of the state. That, in turn, means we must address perceived grievances that diminish our sense of harmony.
I want to consider briefly three areas which, I believe, give rise to the most grievance and set out what the Government is doing to address the issues.
The first is international. Western governments, including the UK, have been accused of pursuing an anti-Muslim foreign policy. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Finding a permanent solution to the Arab-Israel conflict, based on two viable, contiguous states living in peace and normality with each other, remains one of our top international priorities.
Over the past five years the British Government has provided well over £5 billion in development aid to much of the Muslim world. Alongside the EU and the US, Britain is one of the largest humanitarian donors to the Palestinian people.
And we are the second largest international donor of humanitarian assistance to the millions caught up in the Darfur crisis. Resolving the tragic tangle of deadly conflicts in Sudan where Muslims are pitted against Muslims and so many innocent people have lost their lives remains a key objective for us.
The Government alone gave more than £128 million to support the relief effort in Pakistan following the earthquake. And we backed up with substantial additional funding the huge generosity of the British public in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami which struck Indonesia, in particular, so harshly.
The UK has provided over £20 million since 2003 to help the re-building and reconstruction of Bosnia. And it is important to remember that it was NATO intervention in Kosovo, a predominantly Muslim country, which averted a humanitarian catastrophe not seen in Europe since the Second World War.
And, of course, right at the top of our international priorities are Afghanistan and Iraq. We will continue to support the governments of both countries in their Herculean efforts to defend the fragile democratic process taking root and to establish long-term security so that Afghans and Iraqis alike can enjoy the freedom to determine their own and their country's future which they voted for so overwhelmingly.
On Monday the Development Secretary, Hilary Benn, announced a further £30 million in assistance to the people of Helmand province in Afghanistan for the provision of basic services, infrastructure and loans and assistance to farmers to help them start new businesses and farm legal crops. That is in addition to the £45 million we have given to Afghanistan over the past year.
There is no greater evidence of our commitment to partnership with the Muslim world than the EU agreement, reached under Britain's Presidency last year, to open accession negotiations with Turkey. We remain fully committed to Turkey's membership of the EU which, I believe, will show conclusively that the Muslim and non-Muslim world is united in a shared respect for justice, tolerance and individual rights.
That brings me the second area of grievance felt by many, particularly young people in parts of the Muslim world. And that is the lack of political, economic and social opportunity. As the world has increasingly globalised and grown richer - particularly in Asia - much of the Arab world has lagged behind in political and economic development. People are frustrated that the extraordinarily rich heritage of the Islamic world in science, mathematics, the creative arts and indeed international trade, is not coming through into the modern world as forcefully as it should, although I believe that is changing. That is because Arab leaders have recognised that if their countries are going to flourish in today's highly competitive world, people must have the opportunity to develop skills, to pursue economic opportunities and to participate freely and openly in every aspect of public life.
Since 2004 governments of the G8 and Middle East and North African countries have met annually to discuss progress on political, economic and social reform in the region. Last year's meeting, chaired by the UK, included, for the first time, non-governmental organisations working alongside governments debating key issues including political pluralism, women's empowerment, the rule of law, transparency and human rights and recommending priority areas for action.
Two major new initiatives were launched: a fifty million dollar Foundation to support democracy and civil participation and a hundred million dollar Fund to support entrepreneurs and the growth of small and medium enterprises.
The G8 are working on a whole range of issues with regional governments, non governmental organisations and business groups to support political, economic and educational reform initiatives and to stimulate investment, innovation and enterprise throughout the region.
The EU too is actively engaged with its Mediterranean partners to support, with funding and technical assistance, improved governance, trade liberalisation, wider and deeper education opportunities, particularly for children and the difficult and sensitive issue of migration.
The UK co-hosted with Spain last year's Summit of the EuroMed partners. Again non-governmental organisations were able to participate directly, for the first time, in the Summit discussions. They play a critical role in holding governments to their commitments.
The UK is fully behind all these initiatives. Indeed we have led from the front on many of them. Three years ago we introduced our own bilateral assistance programme, supported by the FCO's Global Opportunities Fund, to complement the many multilateral initiatives underway. Since its inception we have committed £16 million to over 100 projects set up and managed locally in Muslim countries, all in support of expanding political, economic and social opportunities.
One unique project, run by the BBC World Service Trust, has been the creation of an Afghan 'Woman's Hour' which is broadcast weekly throughout Afghanistan. It is providing a forum, which has never existed until now, for women and, as it has turned out, men as well, at every level of Afghan society, from every walk of life and throughout the country to share issues of real concern and to be motivated and inspired by the example and experience of others. This project has proved so successful that the World Service Trust hopes to be able to extend it elsewhere, including to Iraq.
So there is a huge amount going on. In the FCO all this work is co-ordinated by a highly skilled and dedicated team of experts including special advisers on Muslim issues, formed just 3 years ago, to expand our outreach to the Islamic world both at home and abroad.
We also have an Islamic Media Team, including Arabic and Urdu speakers. They work closely with the media in Britain and overseas and talk directly and on air to pan-Arab and national media outlets in the Middle East explaining our policies which are often unknown or misunderstood in the region. The Team also supports the work of our Embassies to promote greater understanding of our policies and our way of life.
The British Council, one of our main public diplomacy partners, has been running an innovative programme over the past five years entitled 'Connecting Futures'. Through a series of projects, the programme has brought together over 30,000 young people from 44 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe to help build mutual understanding and respect. One of the projects - as some of you may know - involved working with the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies on the Oxford Muntada, bringing together young leaders from the Islamic World and the UK.
I have focussed so far on what the Government has been and is doing with Muslim countries and communities overseas. Because of our long tradition as an inclusive multicultural and multifaith society, government has, in the past, been less directly engaged in individual communities, including Britain's Muslim community. But the July bombings in London last year threw into sharp focus the need for us to address urgently issues of alienation and exclusion here at home - the third area of grievance I want to address.
That is not to say that the Government did not already have excellent links into the Muslim community through its leaders. Indeed in 2004 the Government stepped up its engagement with faith communities which led to the formation of a new Faith Communities Consultative Council. But, after 7/7 it was clear that we needed to do more.
The Home Office set up a series of working groups to tackle extremism, underachievement in schools and unemployment. Many of proposals emerging from these groups are being taken forward by the Muslim community with the Government acting as a facilitator.
Amongst the many recommendations of the groups was to encourage further debate between young British Muslims and influential international scholars of high repute to encourage a stronger challenge to the extremist rhetoric. We are supporting an International Roadshow of Islamic Scholars run by the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, the Young Muslim Organisation and Q-News to bring Islamic scholars to the UK to talk to young Muslims. More than 30,000 young Muslims have taken part in roadshows in London, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Leicester and Luton so far. The programme is hoping to reach more than 100,000 by the end of the year.
To help explain to Muslims overseas what life is like for a British Muslim the FCO has helped organise visits by British Muslims to thirteen countries so far. A delegation to Nigeria in April included the editor of a leading British Muslim magazine, the Chair of the Association of Muslim Schools in the UK and an Islamic scholar from Warwick University.
What is important about these visits is that the delegates are not government spokespeople. Indeed many of them have very strong feelings against some of our current foreign policies, particularly in the Muslim world. But the fact that they can disagree with government policy and still be involved in a government-backed initiative highlights the fundamental right of freedom of expression enjoyed by all British citizens.
Government Ministers and senior officials have had a series of meetings with Muslim communities across Britain to hear at first hand the problems they face and to get a dialogue going on how to tackle the issues. We hope that new channels of communication will develop enabling particularly young Muslims and women to voice their concerns direct to the Government.
Last September the Faith Communities Capacity - building Fund was launched, the first of its kind, to support projects to strengthen community cohesion.
We are expanding our Chevening Scholarship Programme which offers potential future leaders in society the opportunity to study in the UK for a year to enable more scholars from Islamic countries to take part. Over this past academic year 120 scholars from Islamic countries have been awarded scholarships. Last year we introduced a new three month fellowship scheme at UK universities, focussed on Islam, governance and security issues. This year we are already doubling the number of fellows taking part to over 200.
My colleague, Bill Rammell, at the Department for Education and Science is encouraging vigorous debate and wide consultation within the higher education sector to build bridges between faith communities to reinforce mutual respect and understanding.
The late Zaki Badawi, one of the most revered Islamic scholars of his time, expressed optimism that, as he put it: 'our society will march forward in unity with confidence that we shall overcome the threats to our peaceful life and live in harmony'.
It is critical, if we are to achieve that goal - and I am sure we will - that we have an open, informed and rational debate about all the issues which threaten to disrupt that harmony. I have no doubt that the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies will remain at the centre of this debate.
The high level of scholarship you achieve, the international connections you make and the partners you nurture are fundamental to strengthening understanding between the Islamic and non-Islamic world.
I respect and value your contribution greatly and look forward to continuing our partnership in the years ahead.