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Black History Month should be of interest to every Muslim, especially in America. It is estimated that upwards to 20% of the Africans enslaved in the Americas were Muslim. [1] In some areas, such as the coast of the Carolinas, Georgia, and parts of Virginia, the percentages of Muslims in the slave population may have approached 40%. [2] The fact that the search of a random African American, Alex Haley, for his roots led him to a Muslim village in West Africa is indicative of the widespread Muslim presence among the enslaved population here in the Americas.

At this critical time in the history of our country, it is important for Muslims, whose legitimate existence in this country is being challenged in some quarters, to connect to our American Muslim roots. As Muslims, our story in this country did not begin with the coming of Syrians, Lebanese, Albanians, or Yemenis at the turn of the 20th Century and later. It began with the lives of those courageous African Muslim slaves whose blood, sweat, and tears were instrumental in building this country. Their struggle is our struggle, and our struggle should be viewed as a continuation of theirs.

In identifying with those African Muslims, we must not allow ourselves to forget that they were part of a greater community, a community which has evolved to almost fifty million African Americans. The struggle of that community, its pain, perseverance, triumphs, and defeats, cannot be separated from the struggle of its Muslim members. If we as Muslims are moved by the suffering of our coreligionists who were exposed to the dehumanizing cruelties of a vicious system, we should similarly be moved by the plight of their non-Muslim African brothers and sisters who suffered the same injustices.

We must also be moved to work with unwavering conviction to address, within the parameters of our organizational missions, the vestiges of institutional racism which continues to disproportionately affect African Americans and other racial minorities in this country. One statistic alone should be sufficient to alert us to the presence of such racism - 50% of this nation’s 2.3 million incarcerated individuals come from her 12% African American population. Similarly discouraging statistics are found in areas ranging from access to higher education, teen pregnancies, high school dropout rates, youth homicides, and many other “quality of death” indicators.

African American Muslims have a particular responsibility in addressing such racism. In beginning to do so, we can take our lead from our formerly enslaved brothers. Despite their lack of freedom, many of them were never “owned.” This fact is strikingly clear in their increasingly widespread biographies. Individuals such as Ayyub bin Sulayman (Job Ben Solomon), Ibrahim Abdul-Rahman, and Yarrow Mamout, to name a few, did not allow the ravages of chattel slavery to rob them of their dignity, honor, nor their human worth.

As we endeavor to address the imperfections of society, in race relations and other areas, we must do so with dignity, honor, grace, and with free and open minds. Those of us, who hail from the historically oppressed minority communities of this land, must resist the temptation to allow the triumvirate of rage, a sense of victimization, and vengeance to distort our ability to calmly assess and then pragmatically address the many issues confronting us. When such a distortion occurs, delusional thinking and irrational politics usually result.

One of the greatest delusions challenging us lies in seeing our situation as paralleling that of our brothers and sisters in foreign lands governed by repressive, authoritarian regimes. By viewing our situation as parallel to theirs we are tempted to view the paradigm of resistance which governs their struggles as valid for our situation. Such an assessment is fallacious for a number of reasons.

First of all, most of the significant “Third World” liberation struggles pitted oppressed majorities against oppressive minorities. In this country, the white majority and significant segments of the nonwhite minorities are not so severely affected by structural violence or institutional racism that they view violent or even aggressive challenges to the status quo as legitimate forms of political expression.

Secondly, alternative means of political expression, available in this country, are unavailable in most “third world” dictatorships or authoritarian regimes. Hence, the mechanisms whereby the Jews, by way of example, once a despised and demeaned minority, were able to favorably situate themselves within the system are not available in the previously referenced countries. Although some of their advancement was facilitated by their ability to benefit from their “whiteness,” most of it is due to hard work and effective planning. Similarly, the progress achieved by African Americans in affirmative action, progress which has been steadily eroded, no doubt, could not have been hoped for by oppressed minorities in many other countries. Whether we view these realities as truly empowering or ultimately cooptive does not negate the fact that they do exist, and as long as they exist, they will be powerful mechanisms to damper the appeal and feasibility of radical challenges to the status quo.

Thirdly, while the feasibility of an aggressive, or even violent challenge to the status quo may be debatable in a small, minority-based, “third world” dictatorship, in a society as large, complex, diverse, and, ultimately, as politically conservative as the United States, such challenges would be used to legitimize severe repressive measures which would serve to render even milder forms of dissent less acceptable. While presented here in hypothetical terms, this is actually a recurrent lesson which American history has taught us.

The history of “third world” revolutionary change is no more encouraging. The Algerian experience is illustrative of the legacy of revolutionary violence in Africa. Frantz Fanon, in The Wretched of the Earth, his analysis of the Algerian decolonization struggle, saw decolonizing violence as a cathartic agent which would create a new liberated man. The sad reality created by that violence is documented by Fanon in the last chapter of his work. It led to a litany of mental disorders, which Fanon, a trained psychiatrist, documented all too well, wreaked lives which the leaders of the nationalist struggle were ill-prepared to repair. Furthermore, thirty years later, the heirs of the nationalist regime which the revolution brought to power would be all too willing participants in a bloodbath that would rival anything the former French colonizers had visited upon the Algerian people.

Archbishop Dom Helder Camara, has pointed out that once a spiral of violence begins, it operates on its own internal logic. Injustice leads to revolt. Revolt induces repression. Repression leads to greater injustices, which in turn encourage more radical forms of revolt. These then induce more severe forms of repression. This spiral continues, unbroken. The challenge for theologians in this age, when the potential destructiveness of war is so great it threatens the very existence of our world, is to devise strategies which can meaningfully enhance our collective wellbeing by peacefully altering the mechanisms of structural violence and institutionalized racism. Muslim theologians, if we are truly “Heirs of the Prophets,” peace and blessings of God upon them, should not shy away from this challenge. However, in attempting to meet it, we must resist the temptation to resuscitate the failed strategies, stale ideas, and outdated methods of an ineffective “Third World” revolution.

On the other hand, we must not allow ourselves to be divorced from the struggles of the less fortunate members of the human family. In a not too distant past, when standards of political correctness were more closely associated with the truth and not selfish and narrow political agendas, John Kennedy said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” The great theologian Reinhold Niebubr declared, “In the social struggle we are either on the side of privilege or need.” If these two white Americans, who were “privileged” in every sense of that somewhat trite expression, can advocate for the need to challenge oppressive social relations, it would be an unforgivable travesty for our voices to fall silent.

The question for us is, “How can we best address the oppressive mechanisms facing us, and those facing our co-religionists in so many redoubts scattered around the globe?” In answering this question, we can gain valuable insight from the lives and struggles of our African Muslim forebears. Superior erudition was the key to the liberation of Job Ben Solomon. Herein is a sign for us. As American Muslims we have been blessed to reside in the most intellectually dynamic society in history. Also, the primal command in our religion is to read. We should enthusiastically pursue the mandate created by these twin facts and push ourselves to become the most educated community on Earth -in religious and worldly knowledge. In so doing, the miracles which were so clearly manifested in the life of Job Ben Solomon will surely bless our lives.

The dignity, nobility, an erudition of Ibrahim ‘Abd al-Rahman, qualities which earned him the epithet, “Prince,” were instrumental in his liberation from of shackles of bondage. Our day is witnessing the steady degradation of our collective human dignity. We should be a community whose dignity and nobility readily impresses all who deal with us, and more importantly a community whose ethics are a reflection of the true value and depth of the prophetic teachings. Sadly, as Muslims, generally speaking, we have dishonored the prophetic legacy we been entrusted with. Our ethics oftentimes reflect a utilitarian approach to life. If something proves effective, and effectiveness for many of us is increasingly viewed in terms of money or security, let us find a way to provide it with religious sanction. Such an approach may ensure our short-term prosperity, but it will never open the hearts and minds of masses of people to Islam.

Our forefathers attracted people to Islam and conquered lands with the loftiness of their character and ethics. We oftentimes repulse dignified outsiders who come into our midst. At the height of American chattel slavery, Yarrow Mamout, an elderly Muslim who had gained his freedom, so impressed the artist Charles Wilson Peale with his dignity, nobility, and grace that the latter, who painted six portraits of George Washington, was inspired to paint Mamout. Who among us would inspire a similarly placed artist today?

It is not the purpose of these ruminations to suggest a specific program of empowerment. Power, as the Qur’an emphatically affirms, is God’s to give to whomsoever He chooses.[3] However, a deep knowledge of God, self, and society will certainly yield insights conducive to conformity to the divine ways God has established to invite His empowering grace upon a particular community. Furthermore, history affirms that dignity, nobility of character and courage have been the indispensable characteristics of those who were able to take the oftentimes unpopular stands which helped to usher in fundamental change -by the Will of God.

In speaking of unpopular stands, we are not merely speaking of those which may place us in opposition to an unjust power structure, but similarly those which may place us in opposition to our race, tribe, class, or even member of our faith. Popularity has never been a condition for greatness. However, the acts of a great woman may certainly render her popular to those whose lives are bettered by her acts.

In conclusion, Islam is calling us to be bigger than what the world has made us. If the world has made us members of a “disadvantaged” race, class, ethnicity, or gender, the world wants us to be dehumanized by the ensuing rage, sense of victimization, and a quest for vengeance. The collective weight of those forces can easily lead to a dehumanizing loss of hope. For our African Muslim ancestors enslaved in this land, Islam was always a source of hope, dignity, and for many, as we have mentioned, the key to their liberation. For those who never escaped the shackles of physical bondage, Islam provided the basis for their rising above the dehumanization of the chattel system. In the words of Dr. Sylviane A. Diouf, “The African Muslims may have been, in the Americas, the slaves of Christian masters, but their minds were free. They were the servants of Allah.”[4] As they were so too should we be.

[1] See Sylvianne A. Diouf, Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas (New York, London: New York University Press, 1998), p. 48.

[2] Diouf, p. 47.

[3] See Al-Qur’an 3:26-27.

[4] Diouf, 210.

This article is excerpted from Imam Zaid’s book, Scattered Pictures: Reflections of an American Muslim.

http://www.newislamicdirections.com/nid/notes/reflections_on_black_history_month/

For More Information:

Telephone: 510.387.2604 / 1.866.496.8598

Fax: 510.251.0993

Imam Zaid Shakir was born in Berkeley, California and accepted Islam in 1977 while serving in the United States Air Force. He graduated Summa Cum Laude and earned a BA in International Relations at the American University in Washington, D.C. and an MA in Political Science from Rutgers University. While overseas in Egypt, Syria, and Morocco, he studied Arabic and traditional Islamic sciences including Islamic law, Qur’an, and Islamic spirituality. He co-founded Masjid Al-Islam in Connecticut and taught Political Science at Southern Connecticut State University. He has written numerous articles for various magazines, journals, newspapers, and author of the groundbreaking books “Heirs of the Prophets” and “Scattered Pictures”. Imam Zaid Shakir currently teaches full-time at the Zaytuna Institute in Hayward, California as a scholar- in - residence.

In the spirit of the great scholars of the past, the Imam embodies the rationality, spirituality and breadth of traditional knowledge, as well as cutting-edge academic intellect. Imam Shakir leaves a lasting impression; his ability to move hearts and minds enlightens all walks of life.

For interviews or press/media kit: info@zaidshakir.com

Celebrities seem to be competing for the wierdest baby names. Among the social elite, you’ll find names like Apple, Banjo, Cosima, and Daisy Boo. As always, Americans seem to be following suit. Walk into the classroom and you don’t see the same Jack and Jill’s of yesteryear. Today’s names are often made unique by alternate spellings, combinations of two names, and even made up names.

Here are some of the weird celebrity baby names you might see on Hollywood.

Weird Celebrity Baby Names :

Celebrity Baby Name Celebrity Parents

Fifi Trixibelle (Paula Yates and Bob Geldof)

Moon Unit (Frank and Gail Zappa)

Apple (Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin)

Satchel (Mia Farrow and Woody Allen)

Peaches (Paula Yates and Bob Geldof)

Tiger Lily Heavenly Hirani (Paula Yates and Michael Hutchence)

Maddox (adopted by Angelina Jolie)

River (Arlyn and John Phoenix)

Dweezil (Frank/Gail Zappa)

Brooklyn (Victoria/David Beckham)

Zowie (Angie and David Bowie)

Phoenix Chi (Mel C and Jimmy Gulzar)

Banjo (Patrick and Rachel Griffiths)

Chester (Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks)

Cosima (Nigella Lawson)

Daisy Boo (Jamie Oliver)

Dexter (Diane Keaton)

Maddox (Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton)

Racer, Rebel, Rocket (Robert Rodriguez)

Willow (Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith)

Zola (Eddie Murphy)

The trend in unusual baby names seems to be taking place further than just Hollywood. Unique baby names have been on the rise for quite some time. So, what do you think? Do you like Josh or Harley?

Alli Ross is the granmamma in residence at the Baby Names Box, where you’ll find over 20,000 baby names and their meanings .

From the website post: The Great Transition Initiative is a collective endeavor by scholars and activists who share a broad commitment to addressing the major problems confronting humanity: poverty, security, and the environment. Its mission is to imagine, assess, and advance a great transition to a global future of enriched lives, equity, solidarity and a healthy planet. It takes seriously the slogan of progressives everywhere that another world is possible, but proposes that such a world must first be imagined creatively as a plausible human project.

This report encompasses the great weight and gravity of the possibility of solving the sociological and political issues of our Global Society through the emergence of a single moral community, a Cosmopolitan Group if you will, or citizens of the cosmos. The unprecedented growth in GCMs (Global Citizens Movements) seen in the last half of the 20th century is proposed to be merely the tip of the iceberg regarding a deep shift in public engagement and awareness, and is the major influence for the rise of Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) world wide.

Kriegman points out that the threats to our existence are very real. When contemplating the possibilities of ecocide, nuclear proliferation, global terror networks, new military technologies and the threat of pandemics, we are reminded of the statement made by Bertrand Russell its coexistence or no existence.

The strength of global civil society is weakened by its organizational and philosophical fragmentation. Each of the threats mentioned above, and a slew of others, tackled separately, constitute the all too dispersed, diffused and small scale of societys efforts in the shadow of powerful governments and transnational corporations. Only greater degrees of international cooperation can possibly resolve these complex dilemmas.

In developing countries, the hope for the rapid growth of civil society is expressed by communities devising new development paradigms seeking sustainable livelihoods and pursuing various avenues that enhance local empowerment. The hope of improved lives lived in a just and caring world is the most empowering psychological response to the turbulence of our times<. Although more and more people are inclined to understand themselves as part of a common community of fate that includes all of humanity and the biosphere, they do not yet know how to take action themselves to aid the worlds deepening social, economic and environmental problems.

The historic potential for deepening the solidarity among the peoples of the world is the precondition for a GCM

We see now, that the circumstance under which the identity of global citizen might emerge is that of a shared vision that reflects our highest aspirations while respecting local differences and the diversity of human culture.

Lessons from Social Movements: Hurdles for a Systemic Global Movement

Many social movements, evidenced by those that arose during the 1960s and 1970s, are protest oriented and appear reactive to many individuals. Their proponents often embrace a fragmented type of identity politics, avoiding people with coherent and universalized visions.

Although there are many important issues represented by the Global Justice Movement and the World Social Forum (WSF) today, their ability to capture global media attention has been usurped by the US-led invasion of Iraq, various political victories in Latin America, and the Global War on Terror, and such incidents continue to shape their goals. In addition to the media hurdles, those seeking to ally with the Global Justice Movement often differ over strategies and tactics, and are further hampered due to competing personalities, language differences, racism, organizational turf wars and divergent priorities. Again we see the need to overcome fragmentation and cohere as a movement. Expansion, without systemic linkages, is not sufficient for the type of deep changes necessary for a truly just and sustainable society.

Lessons for a GCM: The ends of a just and equitable world filled with cultural diversity and freedoms must be alive in the means the movement utilizes to organize itself.

A politics of trust necessitates that all aspects of the movement recognize that they are addressing different aspects of a unitary challenge of building a just and sustainable global future and their success is interdependent and requires a systemic shift, as well as a balance of coherence and pluralism as the basis for a global movement.

This report expresses the need for transparency and accountable leadership, which would facilitate the efforts of diverse peoples and ensure the participation of everyone involved.

I was greatly encouraged to see the author distinguish between leadership and authority, acknowledging the evolving definition of leadership in the world today and noting the questionability of the effectiveness of models of steep hierarchy and command and control. Making the case that real leaders are those who empower and inspire groups to engage unpleasant realities, work through conflicts, and generate new insights that increase effectiveness, regardless of what rank they may hold, he provided us with a model by which we may all choose to live our daily lives.

I believe he made a good example of George W. Bush as an individual who lacks leadership capabilities and/or willingness, choosing to respond to the demands of his constituency rather than mobilizing people to deal with problematic realities on behalf of improving the human condition and generating progress. As is true of most people with authority, so it is true that our current President responds to the demands of his constituents and favors his limited personal goals over those broader goals of his fellow countrymen.

Here I feel the need to, once again, quote the author: A sustainable world is one of biodiversity and diverse, healthy ecosystems. Likewise, a just world is one of human liberation, filled with cultural diversity and creative expression and exploration. Thus the means by which a GCM is organized must honor the diversity of voices that give rise to its creation. The tension between unity and plurality, like many of the paradoxes in life, is not to be overcome, instead a GCM must somehow hold both truths simultaneously. This ultimately means more space is needed for dialogue, analysis, and visioning, which will be required for mobilizing the numbers of people needed for a truly global movement. Many of us see mountainous efforts that do not seem to be solving the problems, thus we wait to join a movement until we can find one we believe in.

A GCM will have internal conflicts, it will contain its own politics, however like a seed crystal, our newly formed GCM contains within it the means it will use to organize itself to move toward a just and sustainable world through a politics of trust. With the seed neatly in place, in the face of emerging global crisis it is likely that the vision of the GCM could spread rapidly to inspire humanitys efforts toward renewal and hope.

Constructing a Shared Vision

Here the author shares great detail of thought and contemplation regarding what it would take to create a GCM where the ethical foundations would be based on individual and collective responsibility for the well being of others, the wider community of life, and future generations. The value foundations would be quality of life, human solidarity, and ecological sensibility, A culture of peace, reconciliation, and non-violence would infuse the new global movement. He postulates the development of a new form of Leadership, possibly movement diplomats made up of visionaries, philanthropists and organizers from all walks of life who would be charged with complementing other necessary types of leadership, helping to maintain the balance between coherence and diversity within a GCM. Movement diplomats could be a key to developing coherence while avoiding the evolution of stultifying movement hierarchies.

Conclusion and Hope

It does seem possible that a vision that describes a hopeful image of the future and a plausible pathway for getting there could inspire more people to believe in the possibility of a sustainable global civilization, and thus to personally assume the challenge of global citizenship. The combination of a shared vision with clear victories expands the frontiers of the possible, hope is contagious and change happens quickly. An authentic GCM needs a shared vision emerging from a process of engaged dialogue effectively coordinated through new forms of leadership.

The future is not someplace we are going, it is something we are creating.

Ultimately, the exact shape and form of a Global Citizens Movement is not to be predicted, but to be lived. An AMAZING statement that leads to the obvious conclusion that A GCM must be able to contest power and shape the global future, without this there is no movement, just a lot of chaotic activity. The fact that A Great Transition is a vision of plural solutions is evidenced by the need for both local and regional approaches, compatible with global goals. Such a shift in consciousness would be animated by concern for all aspects of the human condition, including the well-being of the whole human family, with the fate of future generations, and with the sustainability of the broader web of life. This is the hope of a global citizens movement. Summary of: Dawn of the Cosmopolitan; The Hope of a Global Citizens Movement (Orion Kriegman, organizer and manager of The Great Transition Initiative): The Great Transition, the promise and lure of the times ahead

Perhaps my favorite statement in this report, as it speaks to the necessity for the preservation and embrace of the richness and energy in the diversity of the forces for a just and sustainable future, and for a movement rooted in a politics of trust. Although historically pitted against each other, a GCM needs both the strength of unity and the strength of diversity. (Unity speaks to the causes and methodologies of the movement, diversity speaks to cultural richness and the wants and needs of people as numerous as grains of sand on our worlds beaches.) .

As we learn to identify ourselves as part of the human family, with responsibility for ones brothers and sisters, we approach a transformation of consciousness that challenges our identities, moving us, as global citizens, toward a shared identity with the ability to hold empathy for the struggles of others within ourselves. However, if grand new identities are to emerge, there must be the internal motivation of a shared dream of unity in addition to the fear of external threat. We all share one world, this is the objective case for global identity. We are now perfectly poised for the emergence of global citizens sharing broad values and principals that would propel us toward a transition to human rights, democracy, environmental protection, and freedom world-wide.

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I am sure you have all seen the ads. Free laptops, free Ipods, etc but are they really free? Is the stuff offered for free worth it? In this article I hope to examine some shed some light on these so called free offers.

The free item

The item they are offering whether it is a computer, Ipod, or whatever is totally free to you. The company who is making the offer will ship and give you the item if you provide accurate information and take advantage of offers they let you pick from. The basic idea is you sign up for a certain amount of offers and than they give you a incentive item for doing so.

The offers

The offers range from free trials, purchases, or items that you just pay for the shipping. They will show you list of offers and you have to pick so many of each type. The company may qualify the offers as silver, gold, and platinum offers. The number of offers you have to complete can range from one offer to as many as twenty four. Some are even higher than that. They may even require you to get three to eighteen people to take advantage of this free item. In other words they ask you to enlist your friends.

The time it takes to confirm

It can take up to 8 weeks for the company to confirm each offer you signed up for. Before they will ship your item they must confirm that you actually completed each offer. If your going to take advantage of any of these make sure you read the fine print.

The problems

The companies making these offers can make it as easy or as difficult as possible to complete these offers. This can take time and money. In the long run you could be spending a lot more time and money in order to get something free than to just out right buy it. The companies may require you to submit documentation and credit card statements showing offers completed. Companies do not pay for an item the same as you would to buy it retail. The actual value may be higher or lower than the items worth.

Their plan is that some will give up and not follow the completion of the item being offered for free. For them its a numbers game cause they know not all people will spend their time and money to complete 20 some offers to get a free Ipod. The average offers they ask you complete is around 6. If each offer cost you $10 to complete they just made $60. The advertiser pays them advertising and extending the offers. Normally the advertising dollar is even higher than the cash outlay you make. The reason this is true if you have ever taken advantage of an offer lets say that costs you $2 and by completing it you make $20 imagine how much they are making on each offer.

If you find an free item being offered to you and want to take advantage of it. Make sure you read all the fine print before you lay out any money. If the offer sounds to good to be true it probably is.

Visit http://mealticketonus.com to try our free offers.

Meal Ticket On Us For Free Stuff and Freebie Lovers http://mealticketonus.com

What is ASB?

Anti-social behaviour includes a variety of behaviour covering a whole complex of selfish and unacceptable activity that can blight the quality of community life.

Examples include:

• nuisance neighbours

• rowdy and nuisance behaviour

• yobbish behaviour and intimidating groups taking over public spaces

• vandalism, graffiti and fly-posting

• people dealing and buying drugs on the street

• people dumping rubbish and abandoning cars

• begging and anti-social drinking

• the misuse of fireworks

Anti-social behaviour doesnt just make life unpleasant. It holds back the regeneration of disadvantaged areas and creates an environment where more serious crime can take hold.

On any measure of polling or survey, anti-social behaviour matters - it has a negative effect on far too many peoples quality of life.

The Anti-social Behaviour Act applies only to England and Wales. There are similar but separate measures in force in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What is an ASBO?

An anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) prevents those people responsible from carrying out an anti-social act or series of anti-social behaviour. ASBOs are designed to stop unacceptable and anti-social behaviour and prevent members of the public being targeted further by such acts. The ASBO, in theory, prevents the person responsible from being present in specific areas in local communities (known as exclusion zones).
How are they imposed?

ASBOs are imposed by magistrates courts after an application by a case officer who is usually an employee of the local council.
The case officer has to tell the court details such as the people and incidents involved and the restrictions of the proposed ASBO.
The court will also hear about welfare issues, family circumstances, attempts at mediation and warnings and evidence that the defendant has not been victimized or discriminated against.

The court then decides what prohibitions to apply.

An ASBO has to last for at least two years but can be indefinite. It must be reasonable and proportionate and realistically practical.

ASBOs do not need to only refer to criminal acts, but can prohibit actions which, although not criminal themselves, would be necessary steps before a criminal act - such as a ban on entering a shop rather than on shoplifting.

Appeals against ASBOs can be made to a Crown Court.

What happens when they are breached?

Breaching an ASBO is a criminal offence, for which a defendant can be arrested.

The police investigate breaches and can obtain information from any source including housing and other local authority officers, neighbours and members of the public.

Usually breach of an ASBO will result in prosecution and a court appearance.

Using Parents to Tackle ASB

A proposal to tackle anti-social behaviour by forcing more parents to attend parenting classes are set to be published. The moves may even be extended to parents whose children have been responsible for anti-social behaviour, rather than crimes. An alternative to such orders would be to do nothing about such families, with a future cost to society including thousands of pounds in court and social care fees

Critics of Anti Social Behaviour

One theory is that Anti-social behaviour in some children could be the result of their genetic make-up and hence giving them an ASBO is not fair or just as they just cant help it!

Other critics of the ASBO system argue that it criminalizes behaviour that is otherwise lawful. Other parties have voiced concerns about the open-ended nature of ASBO penalties - that is, there is little restriction on what a court may impose as the terms of the ASBO, and little restriction on what can be designated as antisocial behaviour. Many youths have been parading the ASBOs as a Badge of Honour within their own gangs and communities.

In England if you are a member of the public and are experiencing a problem with anti-social behaviour, the anti-social behaviour co-ordinator in your area will be able to assist. Contact details for all Local Authorities can be found below. http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp

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