Shocked by the rise of militant Islam in Britain

Daily Express, 29 January 2007

Young people are our future, which is why a recent poll of Muslims in the UK gives deep cause for concern. Increasingly, the 16 to 24 age group is rejecting the often moderate beliefs of the older generation in favour of a radical, politicised interpretation of Islam. This is the group which would welcome Sharia law; would like to see women wearing the hijab; and is most likely to admire Al Qaeda.

While other findings are more reassuring (84 per cent of Muslims believe they are treated fairly in British society) it has always been clear that dangerous extremism will spring from a minority which the peaceful majority is unable to contain. This is quite likely to mean parents do not even know that their children have been brainwashed by fundamentalists.

But extremist clerics are not solely to blame. We must also point the finger at the now widely discredited policy of multiculturalism, which has been the constant background music of these young people’s lives. It has encouraged feelings of difference and separateness – and discouraged any sense of pride in being British. The result? Thousands of youngsters harbour sympathy for suicide bombers and despise the society they were born into. Surely an alarming prospect for us all.