Muslim leaders say city is winning battle against extremism

After hitting the headlines several times for being home to radical Muslims, Derby has now been named by the Home Office as having one of the best developed anti-terrorism strategies in Britain. Chris Mallett spoke to Muslim leaders about the state of extremism in the city.

MANY would say Derby has an unenviable record when it comes to extremist Muslims.

City man Umran Javed, jailed for six years for shouting pro-terrorism remarks outside London's Danish embassy in 2007, and failed suicide bomber Omar Sharif, who tried to kill himself and others in a Tel Aviv bar in 2003, have provoked negative press coverage.

But Derby's Muslim leaders say the level of extremism is falling.

Earlier this month, the Home Office praised the city for being well-prepared to tackle and prevent extremism.

And Mosque leaders believe that the number of radicals in the city, which was increasing three years ago, has fallen dramatically.

Both the Jamia Mosque and Derby Islamic Centre (Central Mosque) say no radical meetings are allowed and messages about peace and being good citizens are part of prayers.

Central mosque spokesman Talib Shah said the number of radicals in Derby, which has about 20,000 Muslims citizens, was "a drop in the ocean".

He said most extremist thought in the city was linked to Omar Bakri Muhammad – an Islamist militant leader who gave a speech in Derby before he left Britain in August 2005.

Bakri went after stories that the UK Government was planning to investigate certain Muslim clerics.

He was banned from returning by then Home Secretary Charles Clarke because it would not be "conducive to the public good".

Mr Shah said: "I don't think there is any extremism in Derby to a large extent.

"Quite a few years ago, Omar Bakri made a speech here.

"He had quite a few followers in Derby at that time. Since he left it has died down – I think nationally as well.

"Once he left there was a lack of leadership. But at that time, his followers put all their efforts into promoting Bakrism."

Mr Shah said the last contact he had with extremism in Derby was three or four years ago, after a Derby resident was killed in Israel.

At that time, leaflets were handed out in the grounds of the Central Mosque.

Mr Shah said: "As soon as we saw them we had the police down. We are intolerant of extremism. We don't condone it. We don't want it in our mosque or in our area."

He said that the mosque's imam, Abdul Razaq, made a point of telling people to support the city council and the police.

Mr Shah said: "We don't highlight these sort of things in all Friday prayers but if an incident occurs, such as an attack in Palestine, we might highlight it.

"Or if an imam is on the subject of violence we might do so."

He said the mosque also placed great importance on selecting employees with clear pasts.

Mr Shah said: "We check backgrounds thoroughly. If we are employing someone from Pakistan, for example, we would look at the kind of institutions they have studied at."

Leaders of the Jamia Mosque, in Normanton, said they still occasionally saw people handing out literature they believed to be extremist.

But, speaking through an interpreter, the mosque's Chief Imam Hafiz Fazal Ahmed Kadri, told the Telegraph that this occurred only after a major incident, for example, affecting Gaza and Palestine.

He also indicated links between extremism in the UK and Bakri.

Mr Ahmed said: "I haven't seen examples of extremism in Derby but I have come to realise that anything there was involved the followers of Omar Bakri. We do not promote that.

"We don't take these leaflets and don't allow them to be given out in the mosque. If people still take them it's nothing to do with us.

"These people who are seen giving leaflets out, I can't see them doing anything like this [acts of terrorism]. They tend to only do it when there are attacks in Gaza.

"We don't preach any sort of violent response in Palestine or Gaza. We can only pray for the peace there."

Mr Ahmed, who has preached in Derby since 1983, said the mosque promoted the Sufi culture.

Followers of Sufism believe everything should be undertaken with no other motivation than the love of God and the prophet Muhammed.

Mr Ahmed said: "Sufi culture is such a nice culture. It preaches goodwill towards everyone.

"It certainly is not compatible with extremism."

Earlier this month, the Telegraph reported how teachers are helping to identify Derby youngsters they fear could be at risk of becoming radicalised by Muslim extremists.

Under the Derby City Council-run Channel Project, people like teachers, social workers or housing officers identify impressionable people they think may be at risk of radicalisation.

This could mean, for example, that youngsters have shown an interest in extremist material on the internet or in books.

After the person has been identified, a panel of different agencies, including members of the Muslim community and the police, create a tailored "programme of intervention".

Mr Ahmed said he backed projects like this but said that it was a proactive measure.

He said: "We know there isn't a problem with extremism here. But we want things like the city council's work to happen in case it comes up in the future."

Inspector Tony Brittan, of Derbyshire police's community engagement team, said officers were aware of the literature handed out outside the Jamia Mosque but said that it was not illegal.

He said: "We are aware of the leaflets being handed out in the community.

"Although it is non-criminal, we are monitoring its distribution.

"To use Government terminology, it [the literature] takes a different viewpoint to that held by ourselves, meaning the Government."

Insp Brittan said the police took seriously the threat of criminal extremism and that officers were working in partnership with Derby's communities to counter the threat.

He said: "It's a very small minority of our community which is thinking in this way."