Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Muslim leaders should do more to tackle radicalisation: Ex-MI6 chief

Muslim leaders should do more to tackle radicalisation: Ex-MI6 chief

SIR Richard Dearlove has said Muslim leaders should be forthcoming in tackling radicalisation and Islamist extremism in their communities.

The former chief of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service said the involvement of community leaders makes counter-radicalisation efforts more effective than others telling their people what to do.


He felt there is a general “reluctance” in the community to address the issue and ensure that extremists do not succeed in misleading the thinking of young people.

“If you are looking at Islamist extremism, the Islamic community should be dealing with it themselves and there is a reluctance for them to do so,” he told The Telegraph.

“What you don’t want it to be is Christians telling Muslims what to do. It should be Muslims telling Muslims what to do.”

If the Taliban allows terror groups to operate as it did during its previous regime, it could inspire some people in the UK to travel to Afghanistan, the former MI6 chief feared.

“When the pandemic isn’t raging, you can freely travel to Pakistan and it is very easy to pop over the border to Afghanistan if those activities are revived”.

“You have to depend on the local communities to know what their young people are doing. If a kid goes off to visit relatives in Pakistan it becomes a family matter. It’s important that individuals are aware of what their young people are up to,” he said.

Communities achieved some progress at policing themselves but more has to be done, he said, ahead of the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Sir Dearlove also appreciated Singapore for developing a “successful” counter-radicalisation model which is “extensively used”.

“The model the Singaporeans developed was used quite extensively and followed by other countries with large Muslim components and even countries which were majority Muslim… They used their own religious leaders to run their deradicalisation programmes. It’s a model which works,” he told The Telegraph.

More For You

Sara Sharif e1692881096452

Sara was discovered dead in her bunkbed on 10 August 2023.

Sara was discovered dead in her bunkbed on 10 August 2023.

'Chatterbox with biggest smile': Headteacher pays tribute to Sara Sharif

SARA SHARIF, a ten-year-old girl who suffered fatal abuse at the hands of her father and stepmother, is being remembered as a cheerful and caring pupil with a love for singing.

Her father, Urfan Sharif, 42, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, 30, were found guilty on 11 December of her murder at their home in Woking, Surrey, on 8 August 2023. Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child.

Keep ReadingShow less
Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate on Westminster Bridge, near to St Thomas' Hospital in London on May 1, 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)
Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate on Westminster Bridge, near to St Thomas' Hospital in London on May 1, 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)

Teachers, nurses warn of strikes over 2.8 per cent pay rise proposal

TEACHERS and nurses may strike after the government recommended a 2.8 per cent pay rise for public sector workers for the next financial year.

Ministers cautioned that higher pay awards would require cuts in Whitehall budgets.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man walks past a mural that says ‘Northern Ireland’, on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
A man walks past a mural that says ‘Northern Ireland’, on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)

Northern Ireland approves extension of post-Brexit trade rules

NORTHERN Ireland’s devolved government has voted to continue implementing post-Brexit trading arrangements under the Windsor Framework, a deal signed between London and the European Union in February 2023.

The vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont extended the arrangement for four years.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Covid bereavement rates in Scotland highest among Asians'
Ethnic groups were found to be two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced the loss of a close family member.

'Covid bereavement rates in Scotland highest among Asians'

THE bereavement rates due to Covid in Scotland have been highest among those identifying with ‘Any other’ ethnic group (68 per cent), followed by Indians (44 per cent) and Pakistanis (38 per cent), a new study revealed. This is significantly higher than the national average of around 25 per cent.

Ethnic groups were found to be two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced the loss of a close family member during the Covid crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Harmeet Dhillon gives a benediction at the end of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,  on July 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
Harmeet Dhillon gives a benediction at the end of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump nominates Harmeet Dhillon for top Department of Justice role

US PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American attorney Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice.

“I am pleased to nominate Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the US Department of Justice,” Trump announced on Monday on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Keep ReadingShow less