THE leader of an Islamic youth group in South Wales has urged Tony Blair to meet with young British-born Muslims as well as older community leaders in the wake of London's bomb attacks.
Syed Latif also called on the Government to help fund an overhaul of education within mosques to prevent young Muslims isolating themselves from the community and exposing themselves to extremist views over the internet.
The president of Swansea Muslim Youth League said the Government was "in denial" about links between the Iraq invasion, 7/7 and the botched bombing attack on London on Thursday.
He said, "The British Government and policy makers need to seriously consider how the effects of our foreign policy and the invasion of Iraq have increased the threat posed by terrorists in Britain and around the world.
"Both the Chatham House Report and the leaked document by the Joint Terrorist Analysis Centre have highlighted this.
"I don't think any of this is an excuse for what has happened, the people who have committed these bombings are criminals but we have to understand how the minds of these young people have been twisted.
"There is a sense of mistrust and frustration amongst the younger generation of Muslims with the Government, which is very much related to our foreign policy.
"In order to solve this complex and evil phenomenon that we see before us, the Government needs to tackle this sensibly and in conjunction with the Muslim community, listen to what their feelings are and at the same time help them solve some of the problems within the community."
Mr Latif welcomed the meeting between the Prime Minister and Muslim leaders at Downing Street last week but he warned many Muslim leaders were "out of touch" with the younger generation and called for "a more direct engagement and open dialogue with younger generations of Muslims to regain their confidence".
He said young Muslims not only felt disenfranchised from the political process but lacked access to modern political debate within mosques or up-to-date educational tools. Many imams teaching in mosques were born in Bangladesh or Pakistan and did not speak English fluently, which made communicating ideas difficult, the 27-year-old IT consultant added.
Published in the Western Mail - National Newspaper of Wales
26th July 2005, Kirsty Buchanan
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