Police sign up YouTube star

Police have signed up a YouTube comedian Humza Arshad in a bid to combat Muslim radicalisation.

The comic’s latest Diary Of A Badman videos has been made with East Midlands police to carry an anti-extremist message. Titled Think For Yourself, it will be played in schools, and ends with questions for discussion as well as the Koranic verses such as: ‘Do not go to extremes in your religion.’

Arshad – whose online videos have racked up 5million views – told Radio 5 Live: ‘You don’t want to seem too preachy, but with my comedy shows on YouTube, I engage the youth with comedy and at the end the message is usually a lot more subtle.’

And on whether comedy was the best way to tackle violent fundamentalism, he said: ‘I’m not saying this is the only way; this is one of many ways as a Muslim and a British citizen I thought it was my responsibility to step up to the plate and try something different. It’s been going really well.’

With sometimes stilted acting, the video has divided opinion online, with as many comments pausing his humour and message as accusing him of being a ‘sellout’.

When asked about whether he feared the reaction of working with the police, 29-year-old Arshad replied: ‘My objective was very clear I just wanted to teach kids a simple thing that violence is wrong and don’t be brainwashed by what you may see online especially. You can’t be clearer than that.’

The video was shown at George Green's School in East London today following a pilot scheme in the East Midlands, and is now being rolled out to schools across the country.

Here is the video:

Published: 28 Jan 2015