UK rehabs 'extremist' Muslim kids

Cairo, NU Online
British police have placed several Muslim children, as young as seven, on an anti-radicalization program for showing signs of extremism, as a new study shows many Britons see Muslims as a threat.

"There is a very small number of children aged seven, eight and nine," Craig Denholm, deputy chief constable of Surrey police who oversees the program, told the Sunday Times on January 10.<>

Up to 10 Muslim pupils, aged 7-10, and 228 teens have been referred to the anti-radicalization Channel project for rehabilitation after being diagnosed as "potentially vulnerable to violent extremism."

"For people to be identified there have to be distinct changes in behavior and warning signs," Denholm said.

For example, one child was referred to the program by his teacher after writing on a school book that he wanted to be a suicide bomber.

Others were placed on the program after adopting traditional dress seen as being associated with extremists.

Police says many of those children have developed such ideas after surfing certain websites or viewing extremist material in bookshops.

The Channel project, launched by the Home Office after the 2005 7/7 attacks, is meant to divert vulnerable individuals from the extremist path.

"The program is not appropriate for people who are dangerous or have passed over into violent extremism," says Denholm.

It uses community tactics such as football coaching or outdoor adventure courses to try to integrate the vulnerable children into mainstream society.

"The whole purpose is to persuade."

Suspicion

This comes as a new study by the National Centre for Social Research, expected to be released later this month, shows a growing number of Britons looks at Muslims with suspicion.

"Many people remain tolerant of unpopular speech as well as distinctive dress and religious behavior, but a large segment of the British population is unhappy about these subcultures," David Voas, professor of population studies at Manchester University, who analyzed the study, to the Telegraph.

According to the study, many Britons believe the multicultural experiment has failed.

Nearly 55 percent of the 4,486 people surveyed people voiced opposition to having a large mosque in their community.

Many have also expressed willingness to limit freedom of speech to silence those described as extremists.

"This apparent threat to national identity reduces the willingness to accommodate free expression."

A 2007 survey by the Financial Times showed that Britons are the most suspicious about Muslims.

But a study conducted by the Open Society Institute over two and a half years and released in December 2009 concluded that British Muslims, estimated at 2 millions, are the most patriotic in Europe.

It showed that on average 78 percent of Muslims identified themselves as British and found that levels of patriotism are much higher among second-generation Muslims. (dar)