The British government advisor on mosques, Musharraf Hussain has stated recently that most of the country’s Islamic seminaries were producing “unemployable” graduates who were incapable of challenging the sense of alienation that led some Muslims towards violent extremism.

His concerns were voiced as it emerged that a rift is opening between the British Government and four Muslim organisations over moves to introduce national guidelines for Britain’s 1,350 mosques. The initiative aims to make mosques more accessible to women and young people. It also seeks to combat extremism by promoting civic responsibility and inter-faith dialogue.

But Dr Hussain, the founder and director of the Karimia Institute, a multipurpose community centre in Nottingham, Britain  that features a mosque, a sport centre, a nursery, classrooms and a radio station, said that too many seminary students studied a narrow syllabus and inhabited a cocooned world that left them ill-equipped to connect with the 21st-century concerns of young British Muslims.

Hundreds of graduates emerge each year, he says, “without sufficient communication skills, without leadership skills and without a good understanding of British culture. The people coming out of British seminaries are detached because they can’t fit in. And the young people who desperately need their guidance, knowledge, and moral values will be deprived in the long run because they won’t feel comfortable approaching such imams.”

Dr Hussain’s concerns were echoed by other leading Islamic scholars who addressed Hazel Blears, the British Communities Secretary, at a recent meeting of Muslim academics and theologians.

A recent survey of 300 mosques in Britain found that 84 per cent of the imams were born in South Asia. A mere 8 per cent were British-born and only 30 per cent of the sermons at Friday prayers were delivered in English.

Moves to employ more British imams are being encouraged, in part, by new immigration rules under which foreign religious leaders seeking to enter Britain must prove their theological qualifications and pass tests on their English proficiency and knowledge of British society.

The reliance on Imams from other countries should be of concern to every Muslims whether in North America or in Europe. Most of time, there is a language barrier between Imams from other countries and the local young Muslims which makes it difficult for these young Muslims to understand and grasp the fundamental concepts of their religion. Misunderstanding and lack of knowledge creates frustration among these younsters when they are unable to understand the logical reasoning supporting many deeds which they see their non-Muslim friends doing. 

Power of knowledge is much stronger than that of violance. Muslims can live with members of other relegion without any major problems or disputes if they have enough knowledge about relegion to argue with reasons when ever in challenging situation.