Christian Concern Press Release

Dr Mark Durie has argued in a new detailed report published by Christian Concern that the religion of Islam is more connected with UK grooming gang criminality than ethnicity.

Durie’s report explores possible influences of Islamic theology and law on the grooming gang phenomenon in the UK, in which organised gangs of mainly Muslim men have intimidated, controlled, raped, tortured and sexually exploited underage girls, most of whom have been white non-Muslims. Both victims and perpetrators number in the thousands.

Commentary on the grooming gangs has at times focused on ethnicity, while avoiding reference to religion as a potential driver of the abuse. The “Asian” ethnic label has been misleading as both too broad and too narrow, obscuring the actual pattern of abuse. In reality, the Islamic religion has a stronger correlation than ethnicity with grooming gang criminality: there is prima facie evidence that in the majority of cases the abusers have been Muslims.

Dr Mark Durie, is a Senior Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology. A theologian, author and Anglican pastor. He has published many articles and books on linguistics, Islam, Christian-Muslim relations, mission and religious freedom. His books on Islam include The Third Choice, Liberty to the Captives and The Qur’an and its Biblical Reflexes.

Eight aspects of Islamic law and theology

The report identifies eight aspects of Islamic law and theology that are proposed to influence and enable the grooming gangs’ criminality. It is emphasised that religious drivers can motivate behaviours which are strictly speaking prohibited by the religion’s teachings.

The eight factors are:

1. The doctrine of the superiority of Muslims over non-Muslims.
2. The doctrine of loyalty and disavowal, also known as ‘love and hate for the sake of God’.
3. The superiority and dominance of men over women.
4. The mandated seclusion of women by men.
5. The religious practice of forced marriage, and the lack of a concept of an age of consent.
6. The perceived threat of dangerous female sexuality.
7. The practice of sex slavery as an aspect of the laws of jihad.
8. Dhimmitude and the treatment of conquered non-Muslim peoples in Islamic law.

The report concludes with the following recommendations:

1. Fears of stoking Islamophobia should not be allowed to skuttle transparent investigation of the grooming gangs’ religious cultures.
2. The religious identities of both perpetrators and victims should be rigorously recorded.
3. Police should be trained to interview grooming gang suspects concerning their religious beliefs.
4. Police should also be trained to investigate religious aspects of the testimony of victims.
5. The state should enforce a legal prohibition of unregistered sharia marriages.
6. The role of abusers’ family members in enabling abuses must be considered.
7. Islamic religious leaders should be called upon to disavow the activities of grooming gangs as well as certain religious beliefs which have enabled grooming gang activities.
8. Politicians should refrain from making dismissive but ignorant claims concerning what Islam does and doesn’t teach about human sexual relations.
9. It must be publicly acknowledged that there are Muslims who reject key elements of the grooming gangs’ religious cultures.
10. The UK Forced Marriage Unit should remove statements on its website that there is no religious basis to forced marriages in Islam.
11. Awareness training should be provided to vulnerable white working-class communities who are being targeted by grooming gangs. (The Sikh community already has programs which could be used as a model.)