May 30, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 24, 1429

LONDON, May 29: A new think tank called Quilliam Foundation (QF) dedicated to fighting “extremist Islamic thought” was launched here earlier this month by a new group of British Muslims who believe that the UK Muslims should be free from the cultural baggage of the Indian subcontinent, or the political burdens of the Arab world.

Interestingly, the group is being led by Ed Husain and Maajid Nawaz, ex-activists of Hizbut-Tahrir, a group banned in Pakistan but not in the UK. Even more interesting is the declared aim of the QF: Western Muslims should revive western Islam.

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Paddy Ashdown and Conservative MP, Michael Gove, chair of the neo-con Policy Exchange are two of the group’s important advisers. Another Muslim group created by the government, the Young Muslims’ Consultative Group (YMCG) was also launched this month. The YMCG aims to take forward the Government’s Preventing Violent Extremism agenda.

And the high-profile launch of the National Muslim Women’s Advisory group at the beginning of the year was also “to give the silent majority a voice and make it easier for more empowered, confident women to play a part.”

The proliferation of Muslim groups has been endless in recent years, including both inside and outside Parliament, competing and rivalling but according to some without any grass root support.

The government has and is funding local councils to create youth, women and other groups to counter the so called Islamic extremism (the local police are also involved in these groups to monitor the early signs of extremism in the youth).

The Muslim News, a London based periodical has editorially opposed the government policy in this regard.

According to the periodical, in all the rhetoric from the government and those who support their policies on Muslim issues there is very little or refusal to accept that the primary motivation for those who choose the way of violent extremism is foreign policy and increasingly the way the anti-terror legislations are being implemented.

“But the Government has its head in the sand and is blaming Islam as the motivating factor as can be seen in all its anti-terror and anti-extremism policies. Violent extremism is not a religious issue but a product of politics.

“The danger caused by the proliferation of Muslim groups seems more intent on seeking to divide and rule and create divisions in the peaceful Muslim community. It is hardly amenable to a more integrated society and the promotion and improvement of mainstream organisations that are being buried in their wake.