Muslim children will be taught British citizenship in mosque schools as part of a Government attempt to keep them away from the influence of Islamist extremism.

A trial of the new lessons will begin in several cities at the start of the new school year in September, according to Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary.

The initiative, designed to show young Muslims that there is no conflict between their religion and being British, is part of a package of measures published today.

They also include ministers commissioning an independent report by academic and theological experts at Cambridge University into whether the Islamic veil helps or hinders integration into British society.

Expert View

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"It is not for Government to dictate on matters of faith or religious teaching," Ms Blears said, launching the report. "But Muslim communities themselves have told us that stronger leadership is needed on what are often controversial issues."

She added: "We need to encourage and create safe places for sensible debate around issues that extremists can seek to exploit and make sure that young British Muslims recognise that their faith teaches shared citizenship vales."

Officials said mosque teachers in London, Leicester, Birmingham, Oldham, Rochdale, and Bradford would be trained in using the new materials over the summer. The new lesson plans will be used alongside traditional teaching about the Koran.

The teaching prospectus describes lessons capable of "demonstrating to young British Muslims that their faith is compatible with shared values and with being a British citizen - undermining the violent extremists’ argument that there is a fundamental conflict between the West and Islam, and being British and Muslim".

Last month, the Government published a national "de-radicalisation" programme including advice to town halls to consider mapping their areas religion by religion and ensuring they had systems in place to remove funding or other support from inappropriate groups.

"Muslims have consistently expressed concerns about Islamic beliefs being misused by those seeking to promote extremism or reinforce certain cultural practices," a Communities Department spokeswoman said. "They are equally clear that violence has no place in Islam and that Islamic theology can play a vital part in countering such teachings."

Early reaction from the Muslim community suggested that they welcomed the move, with leaders stressing that the ideas had come from the community itself rather than the Government.

Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, an imam with the Muslim Council of Britain, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We felt we needed something of this nature to help create a better structured approach to how we are educating our children.

"We feel our children need to be taught that they can be proud Muslims and proud young British people. Anything that helps to make our communities stronger should be welcomed - provided that it’s not used to isolate, control or change what a community is."

Sheikh Mogra went on: "This board has to be something owned by us, driven by us but supported by Government. We’ve made it clear that it’s not for Government to touch our theology or touch the way we train our people."