Imams in 500 Mosques to Denounce Grooming and Abuse of Children

By Vikram Dodd
The Guardian
June 27, 2013

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/28/imamas-500-mosques-denounce-grooming

Organisers say it is the first time that so many imams will deliver the same sermon before hundreds of congregations. Photograph: John Giles/PA

Imams in 500 mosques across Britain will on Friday give the same sermon denouncing the grooming and sexual abuse of children.

The co-ordinated effort follows the convictions of Muslim men in British courts for a series of horrific cases. Organisers say it is the first time that so many imams will deliver the same sermon before hundreds of congregations.

The sermons will urge people to report those suspected of involvement in sexual abuse offences, and opens with a quotation from the Qur'an which forbids Muslims from "sexual indecency, wickedness and oppression of others".

The courts have dealt with a cluster of horrific cases including those in Rochdale, Derby and Oxford, where on Thursday five men were sentenced to life imprisonment and two others to long sentences for the abuse of girls.

It is organised by a group called Together Against Grooming, and backed by bodies including the Muslim Council of Britain, the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, and the Islamic Society of Britain.

One of the organisers is Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, who serves as an imam and scholar, and who will deliver the sermon in a Leicester mosque.

Some have claimed the gang grooming on streets and abuse of girls is disproportionately linked to Asian Muslim men.

Mogra said: "This is an abhorrent issue … that spares no race, religion, as perpetrators or victims. We are not required to do this, it is our religious and civic duty. The Qur'an calls on us to speak out against injustice."

Lunchtime prayers on a Friday are the most important of the week for Muslims, the equivalent of the Sunday morning service for Christians.

Mogra said: "It is important to do it this way to have a national impact throughout many congregations. We hope to create a debate."

Ansar Ali, spokesperson for Together Against Grooming, said: "We have been horrified by the details that have emerged from recent court cases and, as Muslims, we feel a natural responsibility to condemn and tackle this crime.

"This is the start of what will be a nationwide project in which we seek to work with others to eradicate this practice from all communities."