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Imams used in fight against drugs

Glasgow imams are being drafted in by youth workers to help with what they describe as the growing problems of addiction and crime among the young Pakistani Muslim community.

It's hoped that by using figures that hold a position of great respect they'll be able to better connect with youths.

Many people within the Pakistani Muslim community in Pollokshields believe that no matter what situation a young Muslim man is in, they still hold the Mosque in high esteem.

When local youth workers started to see increasing rates of gang violence and drug addiction, they realised that the problems could not be dealt with in the same way as they might be for white youths.

Youth workers told the BBC that levels of anti-social behaviour were rising at a faster rate in Pakistani Muslim teenagers.

"Something that took the white Scottish community 30 years to escalate to, in terms of gangs and addiction, is maybe taking these Asian young people three years - and that's very concerning," said Umar Ansari, of the Youth Community Support Agency (YCSA), ****d in Pollokshields.

The youth justice service manager said young Muslims tended to view hard drugs as less of an evil than alcohol.

He said: "Drugs are always a problem, they're a big problem here, you look at young Muslims - they'll smoke cannabis, they'll take cocaine, they'll take ecstasy and somewhere after they'll drink alcohol; that's how bad they see that drug and so if you deal with the problem exactly the same (as white youths) it's not right."

Despite being a non-religious organisation, the YCSA felt that by working together with the Mosques it could have more of an impact.

Umar said: "They might not pray at all but they know who the imam is."

Role models

He said that in workshops it is clear that for these British Pakistanis, religion is something they never forget: "They talk about role models and they'll talk about Tupac Shakur but they'll also name religious figures from history".

The Masjid Noor Mosque sits in the heart of Pollokshields. The imam there told the BBC that he got involved when he was made aware just how severe problems of drugs and alcohol had become in the community.

He said: "Obviously things are not going to change overnight. The whole issue is that we've got to have a lot of sincerity in what we do.

"We truly want them to become better people - and that means sometimes you have to go out of your way to do a lot of things that you wouldn't normally do. If we don't show them that we really care, we'll never be taken seriously."

The reaction from young people in the area has been positive, although no-one is under the illusion problems can be solved overnight.

Umar said: "They're not people you want to give an image that you're a mess-about, you can forget doing anything in front of them.

"It may go out one ear and out of the other - but for some it will go in because they look at them as an elder."

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