Secret UK plan to woo young Muslims gets catcalls

[dArKeR]

THE GUARDIAN , LONDON
Tuesday, Jun 01, 2004,Page 7

Secret UK government plans designed to win the "hearts and minds" of young Muslims and to dissuade the vulnerable from resorting to terrorism were strongly criticized by community organizations on Sunday.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has assembled a group of senior civil servants from nine government departments to work on a project, code-named Contest, aimed at about 10,000 young Muslims whom officials fear may be sympathetic to al-Qaida.

The project, details of which were revealed on Sunday in Cabinet documents leaked to the Sunday Times, would lead to an intervention in the political and religious practices of Muslim communities.

Under the plan, radical foreign imams would be vetted abroad, and those who refused to "sign up" for the British way of life would be barred from the country. More moderate spiritual leaders in the UK would receive government support.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/06/01/2003157817