By Rania Khan
Tower Hamlets Cabinet member Rania Khan argues that reading Groups and Drug Counsellors are not fair game in the battle for social cohesion
Over the last few weeks, journalist Andrew Gilligan has set his sights on stopping what he believes is the “infiltration” into Tower Hamlets Council and political parties in the area by a group called the Islamic Forum Europe. This has resulted in a series of articles in the Daily Telegraph, a melodramatic Dispatches documentary, and a continuing series of articles (“The Islamist Blogpost”) on Gilligan’s blog attacking people and organisations he thinks are part of a conspiracy to create an “Islamic Republic” in London’s East End.
But while issues of social cohesion, immigration and integration remain some of the biggest challenges for the area – as they have done for generations – Gilligan is casting his net ever wider in his attempt to paint a convincing picture of an Islamist 5th Column taking over the borough. Such is Gilligan’s zeal, that he even proclaimed proudly on his blog that due to his efforts, “several local schools, which had been due to send children to an event called the “Big Read” at the IFE’s stronghold, the East London Mosque, announced their withdrawal.”[1]
The Big Read is part of International Book Day, and this year, the event at the East London Mosque broke the record for the most children to read a book with an adult. But what was this book? Was it a text on extremism? Did it indoctrinate young people in a destructive ideology? No. It was Charlie and the Chocolate factory.
I’m a teacher by training, and I know that an area where many children don’t speak English as a first language, and where educational achievement is improving strongly but still lags behind the rest of the country, this kind of event can kindle a life-long love of reading. But it seems where others see young children reading Roald Dahl, Mr Gilligan sees nothing but an Islamist conspiracy.
Throughout Gilligan’s coverage, he has sought to create links between excellent work being done in the community and his own fantasies of an Islamic Republic in the East End. One of the main targets of the Dispatches programme the Osmani Trust and NAAFAS, community organisations which are part of the Community Consortium Against Poverty. The Consortium’s board of directors is chaired by a representative of Tower Hamlets PCT and includes representatives from Queen Mary University, Tower Hamlets College and The Jobcentre Plus. It was awarded a contract to help deliver education and skills training by the Council on the basis of an excellent funding proposal that satisfied the Council’s rigorous safeguards.
The idea that such a broad-based organisation, working in a community where unemployment is around 40 per cent, is receiving money improperly, or is some kind of Islamist front is preposterous. What qualifies Osmani and NAFAAS to take part in the Consortium is years of experience in delivering community projects. NAFAAS’ anti-gang work has received national recognition, and the Osmani Trust is one of few youth groups in the Whitechapel area with the capacity to deliver recruitment advice and skills training alongside gym and leisure facilities.
Tower Hamlets Council spends more than £55m each year on funding community organisations, and only a tiny portion of this goes to the Consortium or its members. Other beneficiaries include the East London Citizen’s Organisation, which is an alliance of Jewish, Muslim, Christian and secular groups dedicated to eradicating poverty and social exclusion in the East End and a whole host of lunch clubs, youth groups and other organisations that serve the whole of our diverse community..
Even Gilligan himself has to admit that “the organisations concerned appear to do useful work” and provides no evidence of any misuse or misallocation of public funds. But this hasn’t stopped him tarnishing these organisations or Tower Hamlets Council with unfounded accusations and innuendo.[2]
There is no doubt that Britain’s Muslim communities need to face up to those who reject mainstream engagement, and there are certainly a tiny minority in our communities who hold views that are offensive or even dangerous. But this kind of irresponsible and ideologically driven journalism is not undermining extremists. Instead it is attacking anti-drugs, anti-gang and anti-poverty work in the communities where it is most needed, driving wedges between communities and making many Muslims despair that they will ever be accepted by mainstream society. It is time to stop this pointless scaremongering and accusing Willy Wonka of shielding extremist agendas.
The views expressed by the author do not express those of The London Daily News
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