Muslim police group to tackle anti-Islam prejudices

Published on Friday 9 May 2008 22:17

A MUSLIM Police Association is to be established in Scotland, it was revealed yesterday.

The group, headed by Strathclyde Police, will aim to encourage recruitment and retention among Muslims, improve understanding of the faith and tackle "Islamophobia".

PC Amar Shakoor, who was Scotland's first Muslim police officer, is supporting the scheme.

He said: "

In the past few years, there has been some negativity about Islam affecting the Muslim communities.

"We want to highlight some of the positive things Islam can provide to communities and not just the police services."

Strathclyde Police chief constable Steve House also backs the plan, which he hopes will persuade more Muslims to see the police as a career option.

"These are officers who are positive about the police force as a career and want to use their association to reach out to Muslims," he said.

Bashir Maan, convener of the Muslim Council of Scotland, said: "The community probably has not as much trust in Muslims as they used to, and if somebody has less trust in a police officer, that is a very serious matter."