Recently, the British government has given a warning that school children are at risk of being manipulated by Islamic extremists.
Ed Balls, the British Secretary for Children, Schools and Families, gave a warning that school children were at risk of being exposed to
Islamic extremism. He has brought up fears that these children could be new recruits for militant Islamic movements. Balls has urged teachers to attack the problem early by winning the “hearts and minds.”
The term “hearts and minds” is not new. Several months ago, the newest update to the US Army Manual added a section on winning the “hearts and minds” of the locals. This has been the newly adopted term for many initiatives across the globe.
The call towards an initiative comes forth after the restaurant bombing in Exeter last week. According to the police, the suspect was someone educated in Britain and then converted to Islam. They suspect that the person converted to radical Islam.
Balls warned that while the Islamic radicals are a small minority in Britain, they are still a dangerous minority. He also gave the realistic perspective that there are a few children that have already been converted. In short, Balls’ initiative is to ensure schools are well-equipped and well-prepared to tackle such a problem.
Officials have given the suggestion that imams could visit the schools and give out lessons to the students.
However, one imam said otherwise. Haroon Patel, an imam gave the implication that the initiative was half-baked. Patel said that this has not been thought out well let alone completely. He said that much more would have to be done to keep school students from being converted into radical Islam.
So far it has been revealed that Muslim women and university students are more at risk of being influenced by radical Islamists. Their numbers are growing.
While the solution is simple in writing, the actual application is a different story. It is unknown at the moment how the solution will be applied or played out.
