Police are briefed by Islam expert

AN EXPERT on Islam who has advised the Government on radicalisation has been teaching local police officers how to overcome religious extremism in the South West.

Devon and Cornwall Constabulary's Black Police Association (BPA) arranged the conference, entitled "The Police, Muslims and Radicalisation" as far back as February this year, three months before the Exeter bombing took place.

By coincidence the briefing by Mohammed Khaliel – for officers from every sector of the force, including Special Branch, CID, traffic and those who worked on the investigation into Plymouth terrorist Nicky Reilly – came just days after Reilly admitted his crime.

Chief Constable Stephen Otter echoed the words spoken to the Herald last week by Mohamed El M'hamdi, director of the Plymouth Islamic Education Trust, who said that the bombing had actually brought Plymouth's different faith groups closer together.

Chief Constable Otter said the incident brought the Muslim community and other groups "closer" and recognised how Plymouth people had been "remarkably open minded" following the bombing.

He said: "There's a real sense of solidarity against this [incident]. It is good to take this opportunity to say that there's more we can do and more we can learn."

He believed there was "complexity" around the discussion young people may have about radicalisation.

He said holding radical views was not illegal or dangerous "until it turns into violence", and that both police and security services had to determine when it was right to intervene.

Mr Khaliel, who is on the Scotland Yard Muslim forum and trains police officers all over the UK, said the aim was to answer a list of concerns put to him by not just police but members of other groups as well.

He said the day-long conference aimed to educate people as to the truth behind Islam, explaining everything from Sharia law, to the myths about discrimination against women.

He said: "After the incident in Exeter, the questions were understandably around terrorism, jihad, whether people can live side by side."

Many of the main misconceptions regarding Islam, he said, was a mixture of how the Koran is interpreted and cultural differences.

He said: "Conferences like this are about opening up closets and breaking down barriers, to bring these issues into the open and speak openly and frankly. The group here have been really receptive and I would like to say how pleased we are that the wider communities of Plymouth and Exeter have been sensible in their reaction to the bombing. We haven't seen the backlash I think many expected.

"We are certainly looking to return to do a similar briefing with the public, perhaps at the town hall."

Terry Bissessar, chair of the Devon and Cornwall BPA, said the association had noted the backlash against Muslims in the wake of the London bombings and believed it was important the South West learned lessons quickly.

He said: "The initial drive for us was we want to be more than just a support group in the South West – we want to help the organisation learn and move forward.

"We wanted to better inform ourselves about the Islamic faith, why the hijab is worn, why they pray five times a day.

"The feedback shows officers are really interested."