Community comes together at Leamington mosque to tackle extremism

On 12 June, around 200 people from the Warwickshire community came together to learn about Islam and ask questions about the religion at Leamington’s Baitul Ehsan mosque.

Following the recent attacks in Manchester and London, the mosque worked with local representatives from the emergency services to present a united front and combat religious extremism.

The mosque was filled with people from the Christian, Jewish and Sikh communities, as well as many local civic dignitaries, such as Warwick Mayor Stephen Cross and council chairman Allan Boad.

This included MP Matt Western, who made one of his first public appearances following his election as the MP for Warwick and Leamington.

After his campaign was suspended during the attacks, Western urged the local community, regardless of faith, to stand together and combat extremism. The mayor and council chairman both condemned the attacks and reflected their solidarity with the multicultural community in their attendance.

During the meeting, the mosque’s Imam, Saeed Jatt, highlighted the core beliefs of Islam and referred to some of the Quran’s key verses. These emphasised the importance of respecting other’s cultures, beliefs and values.

This helped educate the public on the differences between the religious extremists who committed the recent attacks and Muslims in the local community.

Imam Jatt emphasised the need for the Muslim community to be vigilant in preventing the radicalisation of local youth, and encouraged older members of the community to highlight unusual behaviour to mosque leaders. He stated that “We must get these people to come to us and we can talk to them. If we don’t they will just develop more hate.”

The Imam went on to encourage the non-Muslim community to help report extremist ideology and behaviour to appropriate members of the community. He urged attendees to “work hand-in-hand” with members of the Muslim community, and spread this message to “take away the barrier” between the diverse communities in the area.

The Warwickshire Police and Muslim Council of Britain have asked members of the community to report any extremist or suspicious behaviour to the anti-terrorism hotline on 0800 789321. In instances where an immediate threat is posed, 999 should be called.