'Mosque Funding Ban Won't Fight Terror' - Nawaz

30 July 2016, 18:33 | Updated: 14 September 2016, 15:20

'This is just window dressing' Maajid Nawaz says France's plan to ban foreign funding for mosques is going to do little to fight extremism.

Maajid, who was involved in extremism when he was younger, said the problem is home-grown and needs to be tackled at the source.

"We've done so little and it's so late.

If in fact banning foreign funding for mosques does anything at all, I fear what it will do is make us feel that we are actually addressing the problem.

"What I worry about is that the problem of course has gone far beyond that.”

"Most of those who [staged attacks] in France have been home-grown, they've been born and raised across Europe, in fact they've been born and raised on our continent, even here in the U.K. Those involved in attacks on our country have been born and raised British citizens."

"So do we think that by banning foreign-funded mosques somehow we're going to affect the radicalisation of those who are our own citizens?

"Do we not think that in fact those mosques have their own imams who are born and raised here, who have already adopted their own ideas and have gone far down the path of radicalisation themselves?"

"The second concern I have is of course look at the Internet. Do we really think that by putting up walls and by just focussing on the foreign funding is going to solve the issue?"

"I think it's impractical and really what I want to do is start looking at a more long term measures more community based measures that address some of the home-grown challenges."