Leading Islamic scholars and imams have attended a conference with military top brass as part of a drive to encourage Muslims to join the armed forces- something that has never been organised before. The event was conducted without any publicity at Sandhurst last week. It was aimed to improve the armed forces' relationship with the Muslim community and address concerns about operations in Muslim countries, The Times reported.
General Sir Gordon Messenger, Vice-Chief of the Defence staff, and Air Vice-Marshal Edward Stringer, Assistant Chief of the Defence staff for operations, briefed Islamic leaders and heard presentations from scholars who met Defence Minister Earl Howe. A group of 25 scholars visited Sandhurst, RAF Northolt, Army Training Centre Pirbright and the Ministry of Defence over 3 days.
