Muslim leader from Leeds warns against evil acts

In order to further preach against evil acts, a Muslim leader from Leeds recently called on Britain’s Asian communities to face up to the evil actions of the sex offenders and street grooming gangs living in their midst. Many reports have gone round on sex offenders which have called for serious concern.

In reaction to this, Qari Asim, Imam at the Makkah Mosque in Hyde Park, said the problem was bringing shame and urged more people to start speaking out against the abusers. Mr Asim’s comments came after a total of 17 men and one woman admitted or were convicted of charges including rape, supplying drugs and inciting prostitution in a series of trials at Newcastle Crown Court.

Reports confirmed that older men preyed on vulnerable teenagers who were plied with cocaine, cannabis, alcohol or mephedrone, then raped or persuaded to indulge in sexual activity with the lure of the illegal drugs at parties in Newcastle known as “sessions”. However, those prosecuted were from the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish communities and mainly British-born, with most living in Newcastle’s West End area.

Mr Asim said it is a shameful act that will bring disgrace to religions, families and culture that preached against it:
“What these sexual offenders have done is bring a shame on their religion, their families, their culture, their country, or even the country of origin of their parents. Sometimes elders in the Pakistani community prefer to blame young girls or even evil spirits rather than accept that these young men can be responsible for sexual exploitation.”

Further more, Asim said that the solution to these evil acts lies within and everyone should work together to correct the ills:
“We must accept that these crimes happen in our neighbourhoods – committed by men from all communities – and work to protect all of our girls. The solution must come from within – our faith and our family traditions provide us with critical tools to eradicate sexual exploitation.”

“We all know that their criminal acts are alien to the religion of Islam and against the cultures of the perpetrators so it’s high time we started speaking out against the offenders because they are not acting like ‘our own’. My message to my Friday congregation at Makkah Mosque Leeds will be, ‘If you see something not right, like older men with young girls buying drinks and gifts, don’t be afraid to report it.” He said.

In addition, he urged everyone to work together as a community to tackle the problem:
“It does not mean that people have to become spies and whistle-blowers, rather good neighbours in order to protect their own families and communities. But that responsibility cannot be limited to a community. It’s the duty of every community to do everything they can to prevent abused young people. That’s all of us, that makes us united against sexual exploitation.”

“We need to send out a loud and clear message that abuse and abusers will not be tolerated within any of our communities. The focus on race and religion of the perverse criminals detracts from the real issue. We need to bring about behavioural change in our society to protect the vulnerable and challenge misogyny.” Asim further stated.