by YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN
Britain’s first Muslim peer has linked unhappy arranged marriages to the grooming of girls by Asian gangs. His courage to speak out should be applauded, not vilified.
This week, a Muslim peer broke the code of silence that pervades British-Asian communities and spoke out against the criminal practice of forced marriages.
He starkly stated that there was a connection between forced marriages and the Pakistani gangs in the north of England convicted last month of entrapping and grooming young, often white, girls for sex.
He said that British-born Pakistani men are too often forced into loveless marriages with cousins from abroad and suggested this encouraged them to seek out these young girls.
It was time, he told the British Muslim community, to look more closely at the underlying causes of the crimes committed by such grooming gangs. Time for Muslims to do more to promote UK-based marriages.
For giving an honest, informed and heartfelt opinion, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham has been assailed, abused and ripped apart by the religious and cultural guardians of those communities in a reaction that has been utterly disgraceful.
Daily Mail for more
(Thanks to Harsh Kapoor of SACW)