Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
5 November 2007

It is outrageous that the British Government is to hand out public money to Islamic organisations, and that taxpayers should help train clerics and fund madrassas, which are in effect sectarian schools and recruiting grounds for political Islam.

It is insulting that Hazel Blears sees this as ‘giving communities’ strength and skills – these Islamic organisations, clerics, and other self-appointed ‘community partners’ and self-styled ‘leaders’ do not represent a ‘community’ but rather political Islam.

We strongly believe that rather than being part of any solution, these organisations and individuals are part of the problem. Contrary to its claims, evidence suggests that the Government’s track record is tantamount to one of befriending and supporting Islamic groups. Now, not content with encouraging Islamic organisations and the primacy of religious identity, the Government is using public money to fund these.

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain contends that it should not be the business of the Government to support religious belief and to underwrite the control of the ulema over their ‘faith communities’. We think that it would be far more socially beneficial to spend the £70 million on public services in ghettoised areas as well as to encourage a non-sectarian, secular outlook with an emphasis on citizenship and universal rights -free of ‘faith’ labels.