UK: Most imams and clerics in Britain are from overseas

Think tank reveals that all but three per cent of imams or clerics in Britain's mosques are from overseas
Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
Times Online
February 24, 2009

All but three per cent of imams or clerics in Britain's mosques are from overseas, according to new research published today.

The Quilliam Foundation, a counter-extremism think tank, claims in a poll of the country's mosques that even though most of Britain's 2.4 million Muslims were born here, they are being preached to about their faith by poorly paid foreign imams with limited proficiency in English.

The foundation, itself run by former Islamic extremists and in receipt of about £1 million of public funds, claims its research proves that more than four in ten mosques do not compensate for this by holding the lecture before Friday prayers in English.

It criticises the foreign imams as "ill-equipped to navigate Britain's complex, liberal and multi-faith society." the rest