BBC News: Young Muslims attend anti-terror camp at Keele University

Hundreds of young Muslims will attend an anti-terrorism camp aimed at encouraging them away from extremism.

The three-day event, called Al-Hidayah 2017, takes place at Keele University in Staffordshire.

Organiser Minhaj-ul-Quran UK says it will address misconceptions about Islam used to radicalise young British Muslims.

The event is particularly pertinent after the terror attacks in Manchester, London and Barcelona, it added.

Leading academics will give speeches to attendees, some as young as 14, rejecting the ideology that led to the rise of so-called Islamic State.

A delegation from across Europe and Canada will be among those attending.

The invitation-only event, which has the hashtag #jihadagainstthejihadis, will hear lectures from eminent Islamic scholar Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri.

Counter-extremism workshops

He is the author of Fatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings, which is described as dealing a "devastating blow to al-Qaeda and its affiliates by removing decisively any remnant of theological justifications for terrorism".

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said: "I have announced an intellectual and spiritual war against extremism and terrorism.

"It is vital to train young people how ISIS and other groups are giving them the wrong interpretations of Islamic concepts such as jihad."

There will also be workshops looking at issues such as counter-extremism and examining British values.

Attendees will also be taught to be aware of the risks of online radicalisation and how to report something of concern they spot on social media.

The annual event, which has been held since 2005, is said to be one of the few which address the ideological and theological factors at the root of extremism.

Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-41052448