Radicals target young Muslim women in Britain

London, Jan 22: A growing number of young Muslim women in Britain were being targeted by recruitment cells of radical groups linked to Al-Qaeda, an official document said.

Growing numbers of young Muslim women were being ''groomed'' by extremists. They were becoming targets for radical groups linked to Al-Qaeda that were attempting to recruit impressionable young people in Britain, a new guidance document on curbing extremism on university campuses claimed. In the document, published today, Ministers warned that higher education institutions face a ''serious but not widespread'' threat from radical groups, insisting there was ''no single profile'' of potential recruits, daily Telegraph reported.

''They are likely to be generally younger than 30 and male, although the number of women who support and participate in violent extremism is increasing,'' it revealed.

The warning followed the conviction of Samina Malik, the ''lyrical terrorist'', who received a suspended jail term last year for writing poems about martyrdom and the beheading of unbelievers.

Samina worked at a branch of WH Smith at Heathrow Airport.

Asserting that the vast majority of British Muslims rejected extremism, the guidance document suggested academics should be aware of the ''recruitment and grooming process'' used by extremist groups in universities.

''Taking control of Friday prayers, other prayer meetings or sermons and the use of charismatic radical speakers can be means by which extreme groups seek to spread their message,'' the document added.

The document suggested universities should consider ''sharing information'' on speakers ''who are deemed inappropriate to speak on campus, or those who are involved in any form of extremist activity''.

UNI