The prominance of extremist ideology can be witnessed on this very thread. With such popular support the extremists command, this confidence training is going to have to turn the meek opressed Muslims women into something akin to rambo. to be of any use. As it is obvious that the extremists are in no mood for co-operation.

Unless some of these people start learning to question their own self-rightous attitudes, assumptions and beliefs then the future is going to be very bleak indeed. You shall reap what you sow!

J Green, Stockport,

After reading the first three paragraphs I checked to see if the date was first April

John B Dick, Rothesay, Bute

does this hazel bleares know any Muslim women? We are confident, we are assertive, we are not the silent majority - those of us who want to speak out can do and will do with or without support and those of us who dont are encourged to do so by those we live amongst - our men included. And you dont need to be working to have influence - just your voice. Maybe the problem is we are not saying what hazel bleares wants us to say, maybe she wants to select her own voices?
We already know from what Islam teaches us (not hazel bleares recent brave wave) that we MUST be active members of our community just like muslim women have been in the past and are today.- these course have been going on for ages - whats your agnda? Its not extremists creating divisions but its people like hazel blears creating divisions and confusion between muslims by using words like extremist, moderate voice, extremist ideology, fanatics - your words you keep em. Let us make up our own minds.

sam, Bradford,

Paul Tatarewicz

Indigenous Palestinians are Jews- as they have been since Roman times. Arabs in that part of Israel are were not known as Palestinians till the 67 war, when they found it advantageous to adopt the name for political reasons. Before 1967 they were Arabs citizens of either Jordan or Egypt.

DaveP, Beverley, UK

I am disappointed at the negative response from Muslims on this issue. They always complain that Muslims, especially women have negative media coverage. For a change, there is a positive story about empowering Muslim women - but some how the Muslims have turned it into a negative!

We don't always need to be on the defensive!

Irfan, London, UK

Like that'll help them whilst they're being stoned for having been raped by their cousin.

Paul, Wassenaar, The Netherlands

This is an old British trick of Divide and Rule which led to destruction of Muslim governments and control of their lands lands in the past. Days of colonialism have gone and Muslims have learn t their lesson. They are now trying to unify rather than divide against odds. In this day and age Muslim women should take their place in the society, not only in the Muslim community, but also in the country where they live. I hope this scheme will help them to achieve positive results rather than confront male folk.
Rashid, Pathan, Finland

Rashid Pathan, Espoo, Finland

Women who are not allowed to wear what they like; talk to who they like; go out with who they like; marry who they like; or work outside the home are hardly likely to benefit from work placements with business leaders.

The Government needs to enforce ALL our equal opportunity legislation to deal with the fear Muslim women live under from their domineering menfolk.

Donna Walker, Effingham, Surrey

We all are with a more positive role of women in our society..however extremism can only be eliminated
by stopping the unjust imperialistic policies and the occupation of Muslim countries by the UK and the UK

Dr Majid Katme, London, UK

What a wishful thinking from Ms Blears and what a waste of money at a time when there is demand for more funding in areas of health services. £70m could keep warm our pensioners and elderly this winter.

Muslim women, most of them are willing to be 'Islamic automatons' by dressing up to the wishes of their men.
Even educated muslim women doctors and lawyers wear hijab and if given opportunity would hide themselves in burkas.
If anthing they could more miltant and fundamentalists. The Labour used muslims as 'voting fodders' for long and they should stop playing the multicultural game, and learn from France.

Gary Smith, LONDON,

Absolutely hilarious!

james, Guildford, England

Having lived and work in the Middle East for 17 years and watching the UK now, it becomes more and more apparent that the powers that be have no idea of the main problem facing them in this so called 'multicultural' society and that is "cultural differences".
Learn that before you waste any more money and UK heritage. There are things you can change and things you can't. Tackle the ones you can first.

Dinoz, Brisbane, Australia

I hope this scheme helps but I wouldn't be surprised if it has little effect.

We still seem to be pussy footing around, the French decided years ago that they would not tollerate any religous symbols in schools and colleges. The move was supported by 49% of French muslim women, which is interesting as they would have been effected more than anyone else.

I'm sure that the Islamic Authority figures such as Imams etc, all of whom just happen to be men, will have condemned the move as anti-Islamic.

We are "knocking on the door" and saying is there any chance of you integrating with the rest of society. The French "kicked down the door" and said you will integrate, with only a minority of muslim women against the idea.

France 1, UK 0.

Our intelligence serivces spend huge sums of money monitoring muslim communities so we still have problems and need laws to speed up integration. These assertiveness courses are a very poor substitute.`

Graham, St Albans, uk

Never in all my days have I heard such absolute crap. It would seem the Muslim vote is no longer required by government and someone is being set up. I wonder if the shadowy group Common Purpose will be holding the training sessions?

Cromwell, Leeds, ENGLAND

What a pathetic state of affairs? It is also a poor reflection on Muslims. Can they not adjust to a secular democracy?

From the reactions, it appears that that MCB is one of the misfits. It should be starting point for any reforms and fight on terror!

Another question: can you correct some of the incorrigibles like MCBs and misfits?
Regards,

Krishna R. Kumar, Udupi, India

Economically inactive - PC for unemployed?

John, Belgrade, Serbia

What a joke, is it 1 April.
Labour & Brown has lost control
Just stop all social security until people have worked for ten years.

Mike, Cuprus,

What a waste of money, does anybody think sending someone on a course is going to make any difference? We have a perfectly good education system in place for all. Enough is enough. Speaking out against extremism in most societies is the right thing to do, do we now have to educate people on the right thing to do? What is happening to this country? don't get me wrong I don't expect all to be white god fearing Christians but muslims have to do more to integrate as some already do. It will happen eventually and this is what is driving Islam extremism, it is just a reaction.

John, Ipswich , suffolk

Perhaps Christians who support people like Bush and Blair could be given similar treatment?

joe, brussels, beligum

Sounds like a corporate company I work for. If someones not towing the line, stick them of a course to brainwash them into complying. Does it work........of course not!!!

Mike Smith, Norwich, England

the idea that you can fight religious extremism by-proxy through female liberation is - unfortunately- false. There is no evidence to suggest women are any less inclined to hold extremist religious views than are men. In fact the pole done for the Times suggested the majority of those muslims in this country who agreed with the statement 'Israel has no right to exist' were female.
The women were the ones dancing in the streets of Iran when the twin towers went down and, even in the west, women are shown to be more naturally socially conservative then men - a trait which is best catered for through laws based on religious belief.
I hope the idea works, yet I doubt women will be any more susceptible to moderation then men. It is far better to recognise religion as the crime against Human dignity that it is, and provide a secular education for all with no faith schools, rather than make this attempt to mire the issue in gender politics.

David Slade, Leicester,

Instead of countries being hijacked, what we are seeing is a manifestation of what has been hidden for several centuries. Unfortunately the sheeple are blaming other sheeple for the problems instead of the actual culprits the elites. We need to think outside the box and ? everything.

Stu, USA,

This scheme to brainwash women into spies will not work, and neither will the introduction of thought crimes under the so-called terror acts.

If you want to brainwash Muslims and get them to do your bidding, you must above all deny them an education. Muslims who read and write, and who can think for themselves are the very people who are difficult to control, because they are the ones who are most likely to take an interest in current affairs and be the most politically aware.

For example, the membership of the 'radical' Hizb Ut Tahrir is mainly professional, made up of people who are university graduates.

It is difficult to know what sort of people this is going to be aimed at. My guess is that the organisations who are willing to do this 'training' will pocket the cash and fill in the paperwork, and that's the last we will hear of it. It happens in almost every hare brained and half-baked government scheme, and is a total waste of taxpayer's money.

Bilal Patel, London, UK,

Perhaps Hazel Blears might like to spend our money educating these women in atheism. Then we wouldn't have future generations of ignorant, unemployed Muslims breeding large families for which the English taxpayer has the privelege of paying. As for the 10-15,000 Muslims who support terrorist organisations, if there is evidence of this they should be arrested, convicted and deported to Pakistan where they can live a happy life under an Islamic caliphate.

John Smith, Manchester, UK

What anoter article in the Times about an idea that was thought up by a middle class Jewish/Christian/non-muslim about Muslims without any input from them? Which then results in hate filled postings. There's a shock!
Murdoch must really want us all living in fear and hatred so his political minions can control us and take away what few freedoms we still have.
Instead of attacking the topic of this crazy idea people may do well to question and attack tose that came up wih it but that would mean people missing out on using it as an excuse for their own hatred of others. There are Hitlers, Stalins, Cheneys, Griffins & Bin Ladens in all societies lets not give them the upper hand.

Steve Brown, Biirmingham,

And while trying to suggest that work is something possible for men and women in any group in the UK we could perhaps limit benefits to 2 children in a family.It is not fair that low income groups feel they can afford lots of children while those who work and plan often feel they cannot afford any.Certainly a womans earning capacity changes a power balance within a family and between a couple.A young man might find that his female parent is more assertive ,both his view of himself might be more realistic as would the potential for real as opposed to imagined achievement.

Netty, Tunbridge Wells, UK

WAKE UP CHURCH.....What is happening in Britain is the same as happened in North Africa in the 7th Century. The
church there once great had lost it's faith and had become
Liberal and unbelieving no longer fulfilling it's mission as salt
and light. When the islamic storm came the church fell and the peiople became moslems, except the Coptic church in
Egypt which survived...WHY? Because they had not lost their
faith. How did the Greek Orthodox church survive 200 years of
islamic rule? Because they had not lost their faith. The
PROTESTANT church in Britain has mostly lost it's faith and
relies on gimmicks and entertainment, it will mostly be swept
away in the islamic storm that's coming. Only those who
build on the rock - Jesus Christ will survive. Yet in the islamic
heartlands more and more are turning to Christ. As for our
secular society it is rotten like Germany in the 1920's and
China in the 1940's and Cambodia in the 1960's and WHAT
REPLACED THEM?

Jeremy, Somerset, England

What a load of twaddle. Yet another example of spend "loadza money" on ethnic minority causes and everything will be okay.

Trevor, Southend, Essex UK

i love reading all of these anti semitic comments directed towards muslims, from people who know nothing of the tenets of islam only what they read in our tabloids, experts overnight not only in islam, the koran but cultural attitudes of our ethnic minorities. wonderful!

the fact is blears is serving a wider agenda of wanting to create another community into mindless zombies that take for granted the government line and that of their affiliates in the media.

people of independent thought and belief, those that dare to wear clothes, behave and follow ideas against the majority of the sheeples of great britain much like the jewish people of nazi germany have to be 'fixed' so that they too can be like the rest and become sheeple too.

what a sad indictment the uk is when it comes to independent thought and freewill.

wendy mann, glasgow,

If these women are oppressed, they won't be allowed to speak out anyway, whether they have had training or not.

Also, if the goverment are going to send anyone on these courses, shouldn't it be students that are looking to go into management and similar areas of work? that would be much mroe worthwhile if they are going to blow millions of our taxpayers money on it.

plus, does this mean that terrorism pays?

SP, Cardiff,

This is bribe money to keep your muslims at bay.
Ye have sown, and now ye reap. It's too late. The UK, such as we have known it, is lost.
I recommend emigration of non-mulsim brits to my area of New York State, for example. We are
a depressed area here in Broome County.We have a very pretty landscape with a rather low population. We are in need of fresh blood, intelligence, energy and creativity. Remember, the very nature of extortion is that the bribes paid will continue to rise.

Mike Cato, vestal, USA/NEW YORK

I would like to encourage everyone who is not a Muslim woman (i.e of other religous beliefs and/or men; including Muslim men) to apply for these courses). Presumably there will be no sex nor religious discrimination involved in deciding who should be allowed to attend. I shall be asking my local authority a.s.a.p. I've been after a course like this, free of charge (except of course I'll have already paid for it). I wonder whether £70M will be enough.
Or, do this already smack of religious discrimation that might incite hatred? - hmmm........!

John, Devon, Devon

resilient communities can only exist where women are playing a full and active part - does that include male dominated communities within the M25 ring road? The golden mile in The City? Get real and less patronising.

jane, Whittlesey, CAMBRIDGESHIRE

Unfortunately, this is age-old Orientalist rubbish. It goes back to the eighteenth century; 'let's fix radical Islam by liberating the women'. Radicalism today has everything to do with politics, economics, sociology, culture and globalisation. The source of all Muslima ction, the Qur'an, contains verses that encourage liberal, open-minded, progressive thinking as much as they require Muslims to vigorously defend Islam upon attack, and so on. When it comes to women, Muslims are about two generations behind, after all women in Switzerland were granted the right to vote only in 1971, but then the late Benazir Bhutto was the first ever Muslim woman head of state. But when Bhutto went out to rebuild Pakistan and fight the regressive Islamists, the west left her a sitting duck. There is a need to focus on building trust and confidence, strengthening institutions in the process. Muslims and non-Muslims must learn to live and work better together, but neither can do it alone.

Tahir, BIRMINGHAM, UK

Do the government really think that Musim men will allow women to attend these courses?

Roger, Cambs, UK

Surely that idea would create more problems than it solves?
It simply would never work.

The women would be considered traitors and put to death by the very same extremists they set out to 'help'.

If young women today are murdered by their families in honour killings, or forced into marriage, then the Communities Secretary ought to know better than to suggest this kind of dead duck would work with religious zealots.

If only life were that simple - a few meetings, a training course, everyone smiling, nodding and complying - and it will all go away...

Hazel Blears is on the wrong track here...

Annie, Bath, UK

So the Government wants to educate Muslim woman in leadership etc. They do not understand that religion do they, a muslim woman has no rights in that faith, they have to do as there husband says and have no rights like the white woman.
Jack in Chelmsford if you want to adopt extreme views and consider terrorism as legitimate I think you should leave this country once and for all.
The 70 m the government has handed over to the muslim community would have been more useful being put into NHS, education and reducing council tax bills, muslims do not need this money at all.
All faiths should have had been given an equal amount of funding then everybody is treated on an even keel.
This government wants to put money where it is needed.

P. Simpson, Leics, Leics

Another barmy lunatic initiative from this washout new labour.
Thanks to labour policy that we are in this mess. The county has been hyjacked by these looney of labour left,and are doing theyr very best to destroy our western civilised traditions
Before long we will have a Lebano situation,government within government.
Is this what the country want?

nostradamus, swindon, england

Vote thes idoits out of office at the next opportunity.

CA, Manchester, UK

There is plenty wrong with the way we run things in this country. In Germany for instance, one of the conditions for immigrants is learning the German language is compulsory. l.

Today we read about 'no go' areas in ENGLAND for non-believers of Islam! And we are supposed to be a secular state. What is this world coming to...eh?

I think the world will be a better place if all and sundry are made to realise that ALL religions are quite simply based on belief [therefore fiction or imagination] and not the known truth or facts - with the emphasis on the masculine.

For Muslim hardliners to call us non- Muslims "non-believers"
is ludicrous. After all, all of us beileve in something - even if it is only Aethism. In reality they are asking us fo believe in their BELIEF but they cannot tell us why God chose Arabic and Mohamed as his medium of 'instrucftion" and not Chinese or any other tongue for that matter!

The term "non-believers" implies INTOLERANCE.

Nick

C N Dorai, Wallington, England

Suggestion to Moslem women: lose the trash-bag attire, it has nothing to do with 'modesty', it just proves that islam regards women as non-entities. I'll believe this campaign when I read of Moslem women denouncing the rapist, paedophile, misogynist, slave-owning founder of this ideology. Until then, it's all just "dawa": prosyletisation among the 'dhimmis' and yet another way of shoveling in the billions of pounds for the cause of the islamisation of Britain.

Plain Jane, london,

What an unbelievably stupid waste of money. An ideology that subjugates women isn't going to roll over because of a girls only leadership and assertiveness course. The 'silent majority' are silent for a reason. And £70 million!!! Why don't local authorities use that money to reduce council tax bills? If there really were 10 - 15,000 jihadists hell bent on blowing up this country then we'd have civil war. It's not happening. We need the sane majority to talk sense into the few true nutters, and jail those bent on committing treason.

Thomas Martin, London,

Good Luck! As if this is going to work.

Harish, Birmingham,

I am an ethnic englishman, I too would benefit from a free assertivenes course. I intend to apply, I do hope I will not be discrimated against on racist or sexist grounds. I am prepared to adopt extreme views and consider terrorism as legitimate if required. I wouldn't want any special favours.

jack, chelmsford,

Islamic extremism is just a symptom of the injustice Israeli terrorists imposed on indigenous Palestinians who were driven off their land by the use of unlawful armed force to establish the state of Israel. Until Israel reaches a settlement acceptable to Palestinians, including trillions in reparations, Al Qaeda will always be able to find recruits to bring about a fair settlement which should be the goal of all of us. Hopefully, the leadership and assertiveness training will enable Muslim women to be more effective in helping their Palestinian brothers through political action than by resorting to "terror" tactics.

Paul Tatarewicz, Edmonton, AB, Canada

Women sometimes choose not to work because they recognise their worth as full time mothers for their children. There is currently a debate within government circles as to whether to pay full time mothers a wage as some European countries do already. This explains the 50% figure in the artilcle to a great extent. With regard to the employing of ladies to counter terrorism or extremism; they already have the ability to do so as provided by the teachings from the Quaran. Although the basic idea from the government is a sound one in principle it is not likely to work in practice as it invokes feelings of manipulation by a non caring and faceless group in power who are seeking to control Muslims through a divide and conquer strategy. The majority of Muslims do not like extremism and already counter it within their own community and stick with the laws of this country. If a lady chooses to work the Muslim faith allows her to; so there is no problem and no reason for interference.

Abidah, bournemouth,

Muslim women can be just as fanatical and wrong headed as the men. They willingly subjugate themselves to the restrictive "rules" the men lay down, w are prepared to wear black gowns and veils, and in Gaza at least, celebrate the death of their own children in terrorist attacks. This will merely create more effective women as supporters of medieval beliefs, extremism and repression of all but the men. The problem is not communication, it is culture.

George Edwards, Goole, UK

What a load of twaddle. Do you realy believe that these Muslim women are going to stop their children killing the 'infidel' no way hosay.

victor arram, westcliff on sea, esex

what a waste fo time and money, these people are extremists, they'll use this oportunity to further their own cause.

rikrok, London, UK

It's a positive start. The key is the 50% figure: no other group in the UK has such low female employment rates. There needs to be wider promotion of the idea that access to, and preparation for, employment is a non-negotiable tenet of British culture. Some may see this as threatening important roles within family, but the right of the individual to be educated in such a way that she is able to choose for herself is a precept of democracy. If the Muslim Council of Britain wishes to trot out its paranoid responses then it might also offer some gratitude to the society that permits it to.

Charles Laing, Auckland, New Zealand

Well I'm glad to see they finally figured out who the root of the problem is and how to stop her.

Dave, Darien,

Too little, too late. The policy should have been established September 12th 2001. I expect to see Her Majesty, Tony, Gordon and the entire left wing PC troopers in attendance at the nation's renaming ceremony: Good bye Great Britain, Hello North Islamia.

I will miss you very much. Very much.

Patty Reader, New York, NY,

Positive discrimination is as morally bankrupt as any other form of discrimination - People should be treated as equal, not be artificially made equal.

Andy Iddon, London, UK

like thats going to work with them

sam newman, yes,