The British Muslim Initiative - together with Demos, the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Conflicts Forum, Forward Thinking and The Cordoba Foundation – is organising a seminar on Understanding Political Islam, to take place on 12-13 July 2008 in London.

Islamists have risen to prominence in the last two decades across the Middle East and much of the Muslim world. Today, Islamism is an undeniable fact of the political and cultural life of most Muslim countries in Asia and Africa, and even among Muslim minorities in Europe and the United States. Although much attention has been directed to the violent and radical forms of Islamism - particularly since the 9/11 terrorist attacks-, its more peaceful, mainstream manifestations continue to be largely overlooked. There has been little effort to grasp this socio-political phenomenon and comprehend its complexities. The need for a deep and coherent understanding of this important and highly complex movement has never been greater.

This two-day specialist conference will be held as an invitation-only event at Islam Expo, the largest Muslim cultural event in Europe. The aim is to open the way for a transparent and challenging discussion of a complex phenomenon which has been the subject of much attention but insufficiently objective and sophisticated analysis.

Salma Yaqoob (Birmingham City Council)
Dilwar Hussain (Head of the Policy Research Unit, the Islamic Foundation based in Leicester).

This event launches the Bringing it Home pamphlet by Rachel Briggs, Dr Catherine Fieschi and Hannah Lownsbrough.

It argues that we need to put communities at the heart of our approaches to counter-terrorism for four reasons. First, they offer important sources of information and intelligence. Second, communities picking up these signs are best placed to act pre-emptively to divert their young people from extremism. Third, while the state must also play a role, communities must take the lead in tackling problems which either create grievances or hinder their ability to organise, such as poverty, poor educational and employment attainment, and the paucity of effective leadership and representation. Finally, the police and security service cannot act without the consent of the communities they are there to protect. Security is delivered though consent and never through force, arguing that Muslims should tolerate inconveniences for the greater good, fails to understand this. 

The report is the culmination of a 12 month research project looking to identify effective ways of tackling home grown terrorism through the active engagement of Muslim communities. It involved research in London, Leicester, Leeds and Birmingham, over 100 interviews with Muslim community members, local police, community officials and national policy makers, and a conference at Wilton Park in March. The research has been supported by ACPO, DCLG, ESRC and AHRC

This event is by invitation only but for more information or a copy of the report please email bringingithome@demos.co.uk