Our report that Muslims training to be imams at a college with links to Iran are using texts describing unbelievers as “filth” is deeply disturbing. Imams play a vital role in the spiritual education of young British Muslims. The example they set to thousands of young people attending mosques out of school hours is of utmost importance. What they teach, what attitudes they inculcate and how they prepare young Muslims for life in Britain is vital not only to the Muslim community in Britain, now numbering almost two million; it will largely determine whether attempts to reconcile Islam with life in Britain succeed or whether a new generation is alienated, embittered and religiously adrift, perceiving only conflict with the society and values around it.

Much attention has understandably been given to the role of imams since the London bombings. There is evidence that it was at their mosques and in meetings with radicalised preachers that the young Muslims who committed the atrocities last year developed their religious extremism. This is one reason why the Government has, belatedly, stopped issuing visas for imams from Pakistan and Bangladesh who speak no English and have no conception of life in the West. Some, in their profound ignorance, preach only the crudest extremism. It is also abundantly clear, from the trial of Abu Hamza al-Masri, that those wanting to spread a message of hatred focus first on gaining control of their local mosque as a platform to extend their malign influence over the community, especially its vulnerable young men.

There have been concerted efforts, mainly by Muslims themselves, to improve the training of imams. The problem, though, is one of funding. In Muslim countries, training traditionally begins early — at the age of 11 or 12, when boys are sent to Koranic schools for education in Islamic jurisprudence and those other areas essential to Muslim scholarship. Half a dozen such schools exist in Britain. But these do not offer a general education beyond GCSE, and cannot compare with seminaries taking in students at 18 or beyond. Local authorities do not offer grants for study in those few institutions, such as the Muslim College founded by the late Sheikh Zaki Badawi, training imams post-A level.

The way is thus open for institutions funded from abroad to establish colleges purporting to supply British Muslims with trained imams. But there is ample room for abuse. Any college in this sensitive area must be fully open to inspection. It is not enough simply to register an institution with the Charity Commission, which has neither the expertise nor the responsibility to vet the courses. These must be approved by the Department for Education, and their teaching materials must not contravene either laws on religious incitement or standards of decency accepted by British society. The funding must be transparent, so that if a country, such as Iran, provides the bulk of the money and inspiration, this should be known by applicants. No college should be able to produce apparent jihadists.

Muslims have a right to demand the highest standards of imams, just as Christians should be confident in the training of their clergy. It is not enough for the State just to denounce extremists; it should bolster appro- priate education for Muslim preachers, monitor religious colleges; and where they are malign, close them down.