WALTHAM FOREST: Cyclists to tackle extremism and gangs (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

i imagine the gangs and the extremists are going to be terrifed of "a man on a bike"

ACF do brilliant work for this borough. I listened to the BBC's excellent security correspondent, Frank Gardner, on Radio 4 on Monday (the day of the transatlantic bob plot trial verdicts) quoting Hanif Qadir verbatim as he gave his report. ACF is a world class organisation. Well done to Hanif Qadir and all those involved in its work.

deanmotley wrote:
i imagine the gangs and the extremists are going to be terrifed of "a man on a bike"

I think you're missing the point. The bike simply enables Outreach Workers to travel around more efficiently.

Something must be done to tackle both religious extremism and gang culture in our Borough as well as in our country generally. However they are two separate issues and I do wonder if both can be addressed in the same manner as appears to be the case with ACF's approach.

However if they can succeed in their endeavours then I wish them the best of luck in doing so.

Excidium wrote:
deanmotley wrote:i imagine the gangs and the extremists are going to be terrifed of "a man on a bike"I think you're missing the point. The bike simply enables Outreach Workers to travel around more efficiently.

As someone who grew up in E17 and lived there for 37 years,the point is that these thugs and scum dont need to be "outreached" they need to be punished--an outdated concept that actually used to work

deanmotley wrote:
Excidium wrote:
deanmotley wrote:i imagine the gangs and the extremists are going to be terrifed of "a man on a bike"I think you're missing the point. The bike simply enables Outreach Workers to travel around more efficiently. As someone who grew up in E17 and lived there for 37 years,the point is that these thugs and scum dont need to be "outreached" they need to be punished--an outdated concept that actually used to work

And I completely agree. As someone who has attended schools in the borough, it always amazes me that people are actually surprised by the lack of respect and manners from young people. This type of behaviour is practically encouraged in state schools.

I could go on about this all day, but the point I was trying to make is whatever gets rid of street scum is usually a good thing (though I loathe the argument bad behaviour is caused by a lack of youth clubs/things to do; I'm also a young man but I don't recall the last time I felt bored enough to murder someone).

Muslim youths are angry, frustrated and extremist because they have been mis-educated and de-educated by the British schooling. Muslim children are confused because they are being educated in a wrong place at a wrong time in state schools with non-Muslim monolingual teachers. They face lots of problems of growing up in two distinctive cultural traditions and value systems, which may come into conflict over issues such as the role of women in the society, and adherence to religious and cultural traditions. The conflicting demands made by home and schools on behaviour, loyalties and obligations can be a source of psychological conflict and tension in Muslim youngsters. There are also the issues of racial prejudice and discrimination to deal with, in education and employment. They have been victim of racism and bullying in all walks of life. According to DCSF, 56% of Pakistanis and 54% of Bangladeshi children has been victims of bullies. The first wave of Muslim migrants were happy to send their children to state schools, thinking their children would get a much better education. Than little by little, the overt and covert discrimination in the system turned them off. There are fifteen areas where Muslim parents find themselves offended by state schools.

The right to education in one’s own comfort zone is a fundamental and inalienable human right that should be available to all people irrespective of their ethnicity or religious background. Schools do not belong to state, they belong to parents. It is the parents’ choice to have faith schools for their children. Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods. There is no place for a non-Muslim teacher or a child in a Muslim school. There are hundreds of state schools where Muslim children are in majority. In my opinion, all such schools may be designated as Muslim community schools. An ICM Poll of British Muslims showed that nearly half wanted their children to attend Muslim schools. There are only 143 Muslim schools. A state funded Muslim school in Birmingham has 220 pupils and more than 1000 applicants chasing just 60.

Majority of anti-Muslim stories are not about terrorism but about Muslim
culture--the hijab, Muslim schools, family life and religiosity. Muslims in the west ought to be recognised as a western community, not as an alien culture.
Iftikhar Ahmad

Dear Iftikhar Ahmad
I think you have grounds to complain about your school.

Good luck to the outreach workers.