Pakistani Sufi cleric urges British Muslims to report grooming gangs or risk complicity

Leading Sufi cleric Muhammad Hassan Haseeb-ur-Rehman, who oversees the Eidgah Sharif shrine in Rawalpindi, used his UK tour to call on British Muslims to actively report child-grooming gangs and other criminal behaviour to police. He argued that failing to speak out makes individuals complicit and tarnishes the faith’s image. Emphasising that offenders, irrespective of ethnicity or family connections, must receive the harshest penalties, he urged personal responsibility for reporting friends or relatives involved in crime.

His comments come as an independent inquiry, headed by Baroness Longfield, prepares local investigations into grooming gangs in London, Bradford and Oldham. Haseeb-ur-Rehman noted widespread anxiety in the Muslim community over the coverage and insisted that religious scholars address civic duties alongside spiritual teachings. He concluded that criminal acts by Muslims damage the community’s reputation more than any external criticism.