Young Muslims to advise ministers
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More than 20 young Muslims are to advise Cabinet ministers on issues affecting their day-to-day lives.
The Young Muslim Advisory Group is made up of 22 young men and women aged between 16 and 25 years old.
The group, launched by Communities and Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears and Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls, will hold its first formal meeting with ministers and policymakers in the coming weeks.
Ms Blears said: 'Ensuring young Muslims have access to constructive, democratic channels for dealing with concerns and frustrations is crucial to our efforts to build strong, resilient communities.
'The contribution young people can make to finding solutions to issues in society often goes unrecognised and untapped.'
Muslim communities in the UK have an unusual age profile compared to the rest of the UK population, according to statistics released by the Communities and Local Government department.
One third of the Muslim UK population of 1.6 million is under the age of 16, compared to the England average of 20 per cent, while 54 per cent are under the age of 25 years and 70 per cent are under the age of 35 years.
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