Counter-terrorism curriculum launches in the UK
Guests from across the country travelled to London today to attend the launch of a counter-terrorism curriculum in London.
Pakistani politician and Islamic scholar Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri hopes his ‘Islamic Curriculum on Peace and Counter Terrorism’ will dissuade young people from joining groups such as ISIS.
At the launch. Image: Minhaj-ul-Quran International UK.
The launch comes after Prime Minister David Cameron called on Muslim communities to do more to stop young people being radicalised, saying some Muslims were quietly condoning extremist views.
Mr Cameron’s comments came after a 17-year-old from Dewsbury blew himself up in an ISIS suicide attack.
The new curriculum is a follow-up to Dr Qadri’s 600-page ‘Fatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings’ which was published in 2010 offering a refutation against the ideology of religious extremism of its kind.
Dr Qadri said the new curriculum draws on the teachings of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
He said: “The books draw heavily upon Quranic verses and traditions of the Prophet to expose ISIS and other militant groups who have absolutely no authority or legitimacy for setting up an Islamic State.”
We have provided a counter narrative to counter their propaganda to be used in schools, mosques, madrasahs #AntiTerrorCurriculum
— Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri (@TahirulQadri) June 23, 2015
Several clerics and imams have already endorsed the curriculum and will soon start teaching it in schools and madrassas in the UK and Pakistan.
Speakers at the launch today included former Foreign Office Minister and Conservative party co-chair Sayeeda Warsi, Imam Qari Asim MBE of Leeds Makkah Mosque, Brigadier Paul Harkness, Khalid Mahmood MP, Shaykh Zain ul Aqtab Siddiqi, Shaykh Nisar Baig Qadri, Dr Iqtedar Cheema, and Cllr Aasim Rashid.
