Muslim leaders are calling on mosque imams in Britain to reach out to young people. So far, the imams in British mosques are considered to have ignored the younger Muslim generation. "They failed to reach out to young people who sometimes had to go to jail," said Ibrahim Mogra, chairman of the mosque and community affairs committee of the British Muslim Council.
The call came after the publication of a report showing the number of Muslims in British prisons has risen sharply over the past 20 years. Mogra told ENInews, In an interview on January 11, 2012, most of the Muslim clerics and mosque administrators finally realized that so far they only preached at the mosque.
“They are now embracing youth,” he said, “and this is very good considering the problems young people face today - broken home, difficulty finding a mate, getting involved in drugs, the absence of male role models. All of these problems require a concerted effort. I am sure that more imams and mosques will rise up and join the effort. "
Ahysham Ali, Muslim adviser to Her Majesty's Prison Service, which runs nearly all prisons in England and Wales, said in a story at Times (10/1), the Muslim population behind bars in the UK has rocketed to 10.600 in 2011 from 1.957 in 1991.
Muslims represent 12,6 percent of the total prison population in England and Wales. Ali described it as a "tragedy". He blamed imams who were often recruited from countries in the Middle East to work in the UK, but many of them could barely speak a word of English, making it difficult to communicate with young British Muslims.
"This is a tragedy," said Ali. “I have seen children, the younger generation, really far from religion. This is dangerous. This allows others to take advantage, to fill their spiritual vacuum. "
Mogra told ENInews , he agrees with Ali that imams place too much importance on ritual worship, as well as symbols such as long beards, rather than making mosques more attractive to young people.
But he said, now there are encouraging signs. Hundreds of imams and mosques have realized the dangers faced by the youth and have provided solutions and cures for them. They now care for young people… Certain projects have been set up in mosques, madrasas [Islamic schools], and Muslim community centers to tackle crime and drugs. (Mel / Ekklesia.co.uk / ddhongkong.org). *
