Empowering Muslim community leaders
(17 March 2009)

Cohesion Minister Sadiq Khan today announced the names and details of 32 projects across the country which will share in money from the Preventing Violent Extremism Community Leadership Fund (CLF). The £5.1m Community Leadership Fund aims to support Muslim communities to tackle violent extremism. The successful projects will help build community resilience by developing the leadership skills of women, young people and faith leaders, and encouraging active, positive involvement in public life, promoting moderate messages and shared values.

The Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) has seen a doubling in applications with bids from a wide range of organisations and different faith groups. This increased interest means that the type of projects which Government will now fund are more diverse and more wide reaching than ever before. For example:

* Projects for women and young people - to ensure that these groups who have often been under-represented have a chance to gain a stronger voice. One example being a project to increase and enhance the representation and influence of Muslim women amongst local decision making bodies. Activities will include empowerment training; mentoring and shadowing and developing Muslim Women's leadership capabilities.

* New areas of the public sector- such as housing services. One project being funded will work with Muslim communities to empower them to affect change through increasing their representation on housing boards and resident and tenant associations. This will increase their leadership capacity and also help them to gain an active citizenship role.

* Internet based projects - The CLF is now funding more projects that have an Internet presence - meaning that even more people will benefit, especially those who may not engage in public or community activities.

* Somali, Turkish and Convert community projects. The CLF will fund a project working directly with new Muslim converts. To tackle the disproportionate representation of converts within groups or cells who have been convicted of organising terrorist attacks on the UK mainland.

Sadiq Khan Cohesion Minister today visited one of the successful projects, the Somali Family Support group in Finchley, London. This project will help educate Somali women on issues around citizenship and about how they can become involved the political process in their local areas and councils.

Speaking about all the successful projects Sadiq Khan said:"I am delighted with the response to the Community Leadership Fund. We have seen the number of applications double compared to last year, showing clearly that Muslim communities are fully committed to doing all they can to tackle violent extremism and promote shared values to all who may be at risk of radicalisation.

"The projects being funded through the Community Leadership Fund, are now reaching right across the length and breadth of the country, and will be key in helping to improve leadership skills of those in the wide ranging diaspora of Muslim communities and groups."

The 32 projects receiving funding fall into onto one of the five categories:

- Empowering Muslim organisations and communities - to give them the capacity to reach out effectively to as many as possible in their communities

- Supporting Muslim young people - to give them the understanding and skills they need to contribute and communicate successfully both in their own communities and further a field on a whole range of issues

- Supporting Muslim women - to give them a stronger voice

- Supporting Muslim faith leaders so that they are better able to lead their communities and communicate in ways which young people especially are able to understand

- Supporting local forums against extremism and Islamophobia - further helping the work carried out by local authorities to tackle extremism in their local areas.