Imams to help police in bid to keep young Muslims away from gang culture
February 16, 2009 by SAF Desk
Filed under News at a glance
A NEW weapon will be unveiled this week in the war on teenage gangs: Muslim Imams.
Scotland on Sunday can reveal that several Islamic clerics will join police and youth workers in an innovative new scheme to wean young Muslims away from trouble.
The Imams – most Scottish-born – will take to the streets starting this week, targetADVERTISEMENTing a dozen teenagers believed to be on the edge of the embryonic Asian gang culture on Glasgow’s Southside.
Their allies, including workers from Youth Counselling Services Agency (YCSA), a support group for young Asians, reckon the clerics will be able to command more respect from youngsters than other professionals, including the police.
They will launch their programme just days after the first serious youth disorder in Pollokshields, home to Scotland’s biggest Muslim community, since last summer. Four Asians – three young men and a youth – were last week charged with assault after an alleged attack on white men when a snowball fight reportedly escalated into serious violence.