Government plan to tackle extremism

The government has announced plans to teach citizenship to young Muslims in mosque schools to prevent extremism.

Communities secretary Hazel Blears said trials of the new lessons, designed to show students there is no conflict between their religion and being British, would begin in several cities from September.

The initiative is part of a range of measures published on Friday.

Others include forming a new independent board of academic and theological experts and a group of community leaders to advise on local responses to tackling extremism.

Blears said: "We have made significant progress working with communities to build an alliance against extremists.

"We have a responsibility to ensure that our young people are equipped with the skills they need to stand up to violent extremists and this project will help them understand how their faith is compatible with wider shared values, and that being a good Muslim is also compatible with being a good citizen in the UK.

"We need to encourage and create safe places for sensible debate around issues that extremists can seek to exploit and make sure that young British Muslims recognise that their faith teaches shared citizenship values."