HOW MANY PROMINENT MUSLIM CLERICS IN THE UK HAVE DENOUNCED GROOMING GANGS?

Dr. Taj Hargey

by Colin Liddell

What one notices about the UK grooming gang phenomenon is just how "White" it all is.

Of course, I am not referring to the perpetrators, who, it is well known, are overwhelmingly brown, Muslim, and Pakistani. Instead, I am referring to the reaction to the problem.

This includes the "clean-up and damage control teams" (namely those politicians and "experts" trying to find technocratic solutions to the problem, while also trying get us all to "calm down" and "NAXALT" about the mass rape and interethnic prostitution of tens of thousands of young girls over decades) as well as those who criticise the perpetrators and denounce the way these girls have been treated, let down, betrayed, etc, etc. 

But appearances can be deceptive. The media can distort reality. Maybe a lot of Muslims have also reacted in various ways to counter or critique the problem.  Can we be sure they haven't, or that they don't feel just as angry, upset, and determined to do something about this horror as the rest of us?

So, just how involved have Muslims been in the reaction to the problem (and I don't mean prison visits)?

In order to get some objective idea, I first asked Grok, Twitter's A.I. facility to give me the names of leading Muslim clerics in the UK. I assume this list is relatively broad-based and unbiased. Grok provided me with the following list of eight names.

• Dr. Taj Hargey - Imam of the Oxford Islamic Congregation. 
• Dr. Usama Hasan - A senior researcher and lecturer at the Quilliam Foundation, as well as an imam at Masjid al-Tawhid in Leyton, London. 
• Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad - A well-known figure, particularly among conservative Muslims in the UK. 
• Ajmal Masroor - A television presenter, politician, and imam who has served as an imam at the Shacklewell Lane Mosque in Dalston, London, and has been a Liberal Democrats candidate. 
• Sheikh Abdul Qayum - Chief Imam of the East London Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the UK. 
• Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri - While he spends significant time in Pakistan, he has a considerable following and influence in the UK through Minhaj-ul-Quran International.
• Dr. Mohammad Naseem - Formerly the chairman of the Birmingham Central Mosque.
• Maulana Shahid Raza - An influential scholar based in Leicester, associated with the Islamic Center and Jamia Islamia Ghousia Trust. 

Next, I asked Grok "how many have specifically denounced the grooming gang phenomenon?" The result was only one, namely Dr. Taj Hargey, Imam of the Oxford Islamic Congregation.

"Dr. Taj Hargey has specifically denounced the grooming gang phenomenon, notably after the Oxford convictions in 2013."

Here is what Grok had to say about the othere

• Dr. Usama Hasan has not been publicly noted for denouncing grooming gangs specifically, although he is known for advocating against extremism and for moderate Islamic practices.
• Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad has not been prominently associated with public denunciations of grooming gangs, but he has spoken on various issues concerning the Muslim community in the UK.
• Ajmal Masroor has focused more on political and interfaith dialogue, with no notable public denouncement of grooming gangs found.
• Sheikh Abdul Qayum has not specifically been linked to public denouncements of grooming gangs.
• Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri is more known for his broader anti-extremism work, including a fatwa against terrorism, but there's no specific mention of him addressing grooming gangs.
• Dr. Mohammad Naseem was known for his community work and interfaith activities, but no records of him specifically denouncing grooming gangs were found.
• Maulana Shahid Raza has not been recorded as denouncing grooming gangs in a public capacity.

Grok then stated the obvious:

"From this list, only Dr. Taj Hargey has been explicitly noted for denouncing the grooming gang phenomenon in the UK. Thus, out of the 8 clerics listed, 1 has specifically denounced the grooming gang phenomenon."

This is clearly one of the most troubling aspects of the Grooming Gang phenomenon, the sheer lack of criticism of it from the community from which it stemmed. Are they just scared, and if so, who are they scared of, us or them?

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Colin Liddell is the Chief Editor of Neokrat and the author of Interviews & Obituaries, a collection of encounters with the dead and the famous. Support his work by buying his book here (USA), here (UK), and here (Australia), or by taking out a paid subscription on his Substack.

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