Prime Minister David Cameron has told how a Birmingham Muslim family he stayed with eight years ago has informed and inspired his approach to integration and tackling extremism.
While opposition leader in 2007 Mr Cameron famously stayed in Balsall Heath with Abdullah Rehman and his family to find out more about community activism and life in inner city Birmingham.
He was reunited with his former host ahead of the keynote speech on tackling Islamic extremism at Ninestiles Academy in Acocks Green.
During the speech he outlined plans to allow parents to cancel a child’s passport to prevent them fleeing to Syria and said it is every citizen’s duty to challenge extremist ideas.
Speaking after Mr Cameron said: “I was chatting to Abdullah beforehand. He was very inspiring to me because first of all he was taking part in the Balsall Heath Forum which is a great expression of the Big Society - people who got together and weren’t happy with the way things are. It’s been a great success.
“I was also inspired by Abdullah and his children, he took his children every day to school - and although he’s a British Muslim they go to a Jewish faith school, the King David School, here in Birmingham.
“That was a great example of how faith schools can bring people together from different religions.”
Mr Cameron said they discussed the contents of his speech.
“Like many British Muslims he finds it incredibly frustrating how the people who do these terrible, terrorist acts claim to be doing it in the name of Islam when that’s not the case.
“We were discussing how we all have to speak out and say that and endlessly remind people that these ISIL thugs and terrorists they don’t represent a world religion they represent barbarity.”
Being at a school which was initially investigated over, but swiftly cleared of, Trojan Horse activity, Mr Cameron was also challenged those who dispute the Trojan Horse plot even existed. He said that while not explicitly condoning terrorism there was activity to promote ideas shared by the terrorists.
He said: “I think we need a clarity of what we mean by extremism and what I am saying is you are not an extremist only if you endorse terrorism, you can be an extremist if you endorse a world view which leads people to support terrorism.
“What we need is people involved in our schools who buy into British values of freedom, democracy, free speechand the rule of law and who recognise extremism for what it is.”