| UK 'Terrorist Hotbeds' a Fantasy |
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| Monday, 20 November 2006 | |
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Muslims living in ghettos are no more likely to become involved in terrorism than those living in mixed areas, according to research published Monday. The study by Manchester University in northern England said 'terrorist hotbeds', claimed by the government in its strategy to maximize integration, are a fantasy. According to the Guardian newspaper, it concluded that terrorists are as likely to come from towns and cities with small Muslim populations as from so-called 'self-segregating' Muslim areas. Manchester University study examined the cases of 75 Muslims charged with terrorism offenses. It looked at the areas they came from and examined what percentage of the population were Muslim, as stated in the 2001 census. But it suggested that more research was needed as they could not examine the backgrounds of those convicted, because only nine out of 27 people found guilty of terrorist offenses since September 11 2001 are Muslim, and would provide too small a sample. In the wake of last year's London bombings, the government set up a special commission on integration aiming to tackle 'segregation' which it has been claimed contributes to violent extremism. The study found that in districts with the highest proportion of people who follow Islam there was a one in 25,436 chance of a Muslim being charged with terrorism as opposed to one in 14,692 in areas with a low percentage of Muslims. "The assumption that 'Muslim terrorists' are most likely to reside in places with high proportions of Muslims is unfounded and should not be used to inform debate or strategies to tackle terrorism," it warned. "The so-called danger of segregated areas does not seem to be based on evidence," said Ludi Simpson, who co-authored the study. A recent study by the nearby University of Lancaster also disputes the government putting the onus on the country's 1.8 million Muslim community to combat terrorism. It showed that white schoolchildren were less willing to integrate than Asian Muslim children of a similar age. It sound that it was white children who were more intolerant of other faiths and races when educated separately than Muslim pupils. Source: IRNA           Readers have left 6 comments.
Shu:
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The leading institution upholds it's respect, not only as a excellent institution, but also as a diverse and multi-faith environment.
(1)
2006-11-21 01:26:16
Roger G:
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Sorry Shu, I'm not sure what you are referreing to as the 'institution', the universities referred to in the article , or the newspaper, or what.
I am grateful for the information contained in the article. It's good to be able to refer to the facts it illustrates. e.g. Only 9 out of 27 people convicted as terrorists are Mulims, and the main thrust of the article that Muslims living together in an area are no threat to British Society, they are part of it after all! I regret that some or the media and politicians like to portray it differently in order to influence the 'white' vote.
(2)
2006-11-21 09:56:37
Kathy:
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Please, please , please someone give this report directly to Blair to read and stand over him whilst he reads it. He and his government have become so obsessed with terrorism and terrorists that they would have us believe that in every Muslim populated area in Britain there is a terrorist cell, plotting and planning to cause us damage.
This constant talk of Muslim Ghettos really angers me. I think of a ghetto as a place where I would not dare to walk in case I was mugged or raped and I am sure that this is how many ordinary people also perceive a ghetto area. I have recently spent some time in the mainly Muslim area in my city, where the housing is run down and yes it is in the poorer area of the city and yet I felt perfectly safe there. I simply acknowledged people as I passed them with a smile and a nod of the head and on the second day I found the children running up to me to say "hello" and even the old men waved to me on their way to the Mosque at Prayer time. These people are not and certainly will never become terrorists. They are people who choose to live together, in many cases because their families are related and also because they feel safe just as my family all lived within walking distance of one another, when I was a child growing up in this country in the 50's and 60's. It is time that Blair and other politicians, including Cameron, changed the record and stopped blaming all Muslims for the faults of a few. Someone has to live in the run down areas of this country. It just happens it is now the Muslims living where once it was the Jews then the Irish. Please let us find a better terminology than the word ghetto for these areas as I find that it seems to be used to further demonise working class Muslims.
(3)
2006-11-21 10:50:47
Sam:
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So the problem is MORE widespread than the Government thought. Chilling!
(4)
2006-11-21 13:04:46
Masud:
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Intresting article but fails in some respect to adress the issue. Terrorism breeding grounds will in some cases be the ghettos they are also the breeding grounds for muslim junkie,muggers,rapist,pimps and prostitutes. The reality is that "muslim communitys" have now become muslim ghettos simply because the so called communtiy leaders have allowed them to become this, Community funding is mis managed, corruption is rife and mosques are in active. Muslim youths are leaving school at 16 some can barely read or write and as soon as the snake oil selling cleric sell a corrupted message to them they have become either soo stupid or have so little hope anything sounds better than thier petty reality.
(5)
2006-11-21 13:55:06
Kathy:
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Sam
Where do you see that the problem is more wide spread than the government thought in the reading of this article. Correct me if I am wrong but the article simply shows that what the government got wrong, is the areas where alleged terrorists are to be found. It also shows that of all of the people found guilty of terrorism offences since 2001, only one third are Muslim. That is certainly not what we would be led to believe if we listen to this government and the media. Once again the academics prove Blair wrong. No surprise there then.
(6)
2006-11-21 18:29:25
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