'We can beat extremists'.

Byline: Abby Alford Chief Reporter

MUSLIM teenagers in danger of being "brainwashed" by extremists preaching hatred of western society are being targeted by an anti-racism group.

It is just one of the new initiatives from Race Equality First designed to promote tolerance across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

Director Mohammed Tufail said: "There are young people in the UK who are trying to brainwash other young people into hatred.

"We want to develop a project to work with young people to make them realise that by falling into the hands of extremists they are not only damaging themselves, but they are also going against their religion.

"Islam isagreat religion to talk about tolerance. These people are in danger of being excluded by these idiots who take the Koran out of context.

"We can beat these extremists by the force of our argument, which is that we see our diverse society as a great thing."

Mr Tufail, who took control of the predominantly voluntaryorganisation just a few months ago, said Cardiff is a successful, diverse city, but must break down the final barriers of ignorance if it is to truly become a world-class city.

He said Cardiffwill thrive if the remaining negative attitudes are challenged and corrected and he has put in place a new casework team to investigate allegations of discrimination from anyone within one of Cardiff and the Vale's150 black and minority ethnic communities.

MrTufail said he plans to work as closely as possible with partners such as local authorities, the police and the business community to ensure racism in all its forms is stamped out.

"Cardiff has always managed its diversity well. It does not suffer from the same racial tensions as some northern English cities," he said. "But I think there's a danger that we could become complacent."

He said he is concerned these tough economic times may cause people to turn on economic migrants or people from different backgrounds who they wrongly feel are taking their jobs.

"I want to try to remove some of the misinformation aboutcommunities that is out there. Cardiff isagreat city today because of all the contributions that all the communities, including economic migrants, have played.

"For me, it's about getting all our communities to realise this is our home and we have to make it the best place we can."

He added: "Cardiff will be a world-class city when local people feel they are getting a good service from businesses and other organisations, whatever their race or religion, that the student leaving university gets the job they want and the person walking down the street does not get abuse or feel threatened."

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