Islamic school gives students as young as 11 anti-ISIS classes in a bid to prevent jihadists grooming them online

An Islamic school is giving students as young as 11 classes in order to help them recognise violent propaganda to prevent jihadists from grooming them online. More than 600 students aged between 11 and 16 attend the Al-Hira Educational and Cultural Centre in Luton, Bedfordshire, each week for weekend and evening classes on the Koran. The school syllabus promotes peace and now teaches children to recognise

violent propaganda online and use the Koran to determine whether the message they are being told is false.

The town has seen a number of people leaving the UK in order to join ISIS and the lectures aim to teach students how ISIS is targeting young people like them on social media.

Last year a family of 12 left Luton to travel to Syria to join ISIS and just last month two men were convicted for plotting to join ISIS to kill US soldiers.

Imam Muhammad Ehsan Ullah sits down with pupils to discuss the teachings of the Koran and show them how ISIS has misinterpreted it.

He said: 'The premise is simple and I believe that there is an ideological war.

'As well as ISIS promoting their crimes they misuse the Koran. We want to teach the children the real message of the Koran and for their mind to be clear.

'If you ask any Muslim they would tell you that it's completely against Islam to kill any innocent person.

'No religion promotes hatred, they all promote peace.'

Al-Hira have been giving the anti-ISIS classes for the last eight months and they also teach manners and morals and social, economic and political studies..

 

Dawood Masood, senior manager of Al-Hira, added: 'We ask the students that if there is an Islamic State, what does it look like and what are the laws they should have?

'Part of that is that ISIS have hijacked the sacred name, and they are not what Islam is about.

'Islam does not talk about killing innocent people, it tells us to say 'peace be upon you' when we meet someone.

'Sometimes the national media does the marketing for them, and young people are exposed to that on Facebook and social media.

'We feel that it needs to be an open discussion with young people to ensure that they don't take the wrong interpretation from places online.

'It's teaching them what Islam is from the Koran. It's a way of life.

'It's a shame that we have to come forward again and again to say that what this lot are doing is not right.

'We live in an age where people expect that, but if it helps then that is something we have to do.'

Student Zeeshaan Shazad, 16, has attended Al-Hira for three years, he said: 'We are taught that ISIS do not consider other people's beliefs..

'We are taught to respect other people and that we are all one with peace and respect.

'They [ISIS] have quite a lot of videos promoting their activities with guns and violence that are seen by young people.

'I know a couple of people who have watched those videos and they are very persuasive.

'But they know that it is wrong and we have been taught to stay away from it.' 

Source:Dailymail