Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to respond to the letter from Lord Pearson of Rannoch to Baroness Williams of Trafford dated 31 March.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
I thank Lord Pearson for his question, a response is being drafted after careful consideration and will be sent out shortly.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in pursuit of their anti-terrorism policies, what is their estimate of the number of Imams preaching in the UK; and what is the estimate of the proportion of Imams who cannot speak English.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
HMG has made no assessment of the number of Imams present in the UK as part of the Government’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy CONTEST, nor of their language skills. As outlined in our previous response. The Immigration Rules governing T2 Minister of Religion roles require applicants to demonstrate a strong command of the English language in order to qualify for a visa.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in pursuit of their anti-terrorism policies, what assessment they have made, if any, of any Islamist teaching in mosques in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
We look at and assess all evidence of those that radicalise others though their support or justification of violence and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives. We remain of the view that the propaganda used by Islamist extremists is a distortion of true Islam.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 21 April (HL14809), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what assessment have they made of (1) any verses in the Koran which appear to support violence, and (2) the use of these verses by Islamist extremists to sanction violence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
We look at and assess all material that may be used by extremists to support or justify violence and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives. We remain of the view that the propaganda used by Islamist extremists is a distortion of true Islam.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in pursuit of their anti-terrorism policies, what discussions, if any, they have had with Islamic faith leaders to discuss the language in which services in mosques are conducted.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
HMG has no plans to mandate English language in any religious service as part of the Government’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy CONTEST. Everyone has a right to freedom of religion under Article 9 of the Human Rights Act and is one of the fundamental rights that we will always protect in this country
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in pursuit of their anti-terrorism policies, what plans they have, if any, to require services in mosques in the UK to be conducted in English.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
HMG has no plans to mandate English language in any religious service as part of the Government’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy CONTEST. Everyone has a right to freedom of religion under Article 9 of the Human Rights Act and is one of the fundamental rights that we will always protect in this country.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 8 April (HL14593), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, in pursuit of their anti-terrorism policies, (1) what assessment they have made of any Islamist teaching in (a) mosques, and (b) madrassas, in the UK, (2) what assessment they have made of the number of Imams in the UK who cannot speak English, and (3) what plans they have to require services in mosques in the UK to be conducted in English.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
We look at and assess all evidence of those that radicalise others though their support for or justification of violence and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives.
HMG has made no assessment of the number of Imams present in the UK as part of the Government’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy CONTEST, nor of their language skills.
HMG has no plans to mandate English language in any religious service as part of the Government’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy CONTEST. Everyone has a right to freedom of religion under Article 9 of the Human Rights Act and is one of the fundamental rights that we will always protect in this country.
As outlined in our previous response, the Immigration Rules governing T2 Minister of Religion roles require applicants to demonstrate a strong command of the English language in order to qualify for a visa.
Whether through Islamism or any other ideology, the Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society, and that radicalise others into terrorism. We remain of the view that the propaganda used by Islamist extremists is a distortion of true Islam.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 22 March (HL14054) which states "Islamist extremism is not true Islam", what assessment have they made of (1) any verses in the Koran which appear to support violence, and (2) the use of these verses by Islamist extremists to sanction violence.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
We look at and assess all material that may be used by extremists to support or justify violence and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives.
We remain of the view that the propaganda used by Islamist extremists is a distortion of true Islam.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 22 March (HL14054), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what assessment they have made of any Islamist teaching in mosques in the UK; what assessment they have made of the number of Imams in the UK who cannot speak English; and what plans they have to require services in mosques in the UK to be conducted in English.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
As outlined in our previous response, religious organisations and faith-based institutions may recruit religious leaders from overseas via our T2 Minister of Religion route. The Immigration Rules governing this category require applicants to demonstrate a strong command of the English language in order to qualify for a visa.
The Government will always protect people’s legitimate rights – for example, to free speech and to practise their religion within the law – but we cannot and will not shy away from challenging cultures and practices that are harmful. Whether through Islamism or any other ideology, the Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society, and that radicalise others into terrorism.
MHCLG continues to lead on broader matters of integration and faith, including on religious practice in communities.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 1 December 2020 (HL10439), what lessons they have learned from the anti-terrorism measures introduced by the governments of (1) France, and (2) Austria; and what new anti-terrorism measures they plan to introduce as a result.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 1 December 2020, HMG already has robust counter-terrorism measures in place, which are outlined in the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy (CONTEST).
Our overseas approach to countering terrorism is global but completely integrated with our domestic approach. We continuously review policies in light of new developments. We closely monitor France and Austria’s responses to the attacks.
We will continue to look to learn from these examples where they are applicable to the UK context. We continue to share best practices, and discuss evolving threats and responses, such as preventing terrorist use of the internet, with the governments of both France and Austria.