Hundreds expected at capital's first Muslim Youth Festival
Scores of young Muslims from across London are gathering today to look at ways of discouraging young Britons from turning to extremism.
Muslim role models including music star Naughty Boy, YouTube star Humza Arshad - creator of the series 'Diary of Badman', entrepreneur Shazia Saleem and professional footballer Kashif Siddiqi will be speaking to those attending the Muslim Youth Festival.
It comes following news that five girls who were banned by a High Court judge from going abroad after they showed an interest in travelling to Syria were from the same school as the three girls who fled there.
Kadiza Sultana, Shamima Begum, and Amira Abase went to Bethnal Green Academy. They went missing in February and it later emerged that they had travelled to Syria.
The festival was the idea of the Muslim Youth Focus Group which wanted to create a platform for young Muslims aged 14 - 23 across London to voice their concerns on issues such as radicalisation, Islamophobia, ISIS and Syria, whilst standing together to provide a united front against hatred and intolerance.
The festival is the first event of its kind in the capital and includes young people, police, teachers, faith leaders and role models to gather views and opinions on a range of hard-hitting issues and looking at what it means to be a young British Muslim in the UK today.
Youth leader Surfaraz Mustafa, 18, a member of the Muslim Youth Focus Group and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, said: "We believe it is important for young people to come together and work for the better of society. Loyalty to one's country is part of one's faith. The Muslim Youth Festival is an excellent example of this."