The British government will link schools at home with madrassahs (Islamic schools) in restive Muslim countries in an effort to combat extremist ideologies. “These projects have a tremendous effect on how young people see the modern world,” said Martin Davidson, the chief executive of the British Council, a Foreign Office-funded educational body, which has been assigned with the twinship programme._ “They are a direct way of revealing what people and cultures in other countries are really like. While they discover plenty of differences they also come to understand that young people share many characteristics.” The British Council has already allocated _6 million to the project, whose first phase will kick off in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iraq and Pakistan, including the troubled North West Frontier Province regarded as a stronghold for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Schools in London, Bradford, Nottingham and Birmingham, where there are large Muslim populations, are expected to be the first to take part.http://themuslimweekly.com/newsdetails/fullstoryview.aspx?NewsID=B1A0F122A331107212D0B2D1&MENUID=HOMENEWS&DESCRIPTION=UK%20News (link temporary; some news sites may require registration)
