MOSQUES are not doing enough to promote the rights of women a senior Muslim MP has said.

Sadiq Khan, an assistant whip, has challenged mosques to take gender equality seriously and that a failure to do so "flies in the face of any attempts to build a socially just and fair society."

The MP for Tooting also said Muslim parents need to realise that 'childcare is just as important as Kashmir' and has challenged British Muslims to accept that as strongly as they feel about Iraq or counter-terror measures with poverty and inequality having the biggest impact on the lives of the majority of British Muslims.

He also argues the Equality Bill must cover faith discrimination which would require public bodies to have a legal duty to promote equality between faiths. This will not apply exclusively to British Muslims "but it would make a real difference to this community," he argues.

The MP's controversial views appear in a Fabian Society pamphlet called Fairness Not Favours: How to Reconnect with British Muslims.

In it he challenges government to learn and understand why Muslims are disillusioned with the state.

He says a new approach to citizenship will not work unless the government adopts a new approach to policy towards citizenship, faith and foreign policy and challenges British Muslims to participate fully in the mainstream issues of British society and politics.

Khan, London’s first ever Muslim MP and a former human rights lawyer and chair of Liberty also criticises liberal anxiety about whether everyone should learn English.

"The requirement to learn English is not colonial. English is a passport to participation in mainstream society – jobs, education and even being able to use health services," he said.

"Having poor English creates multiple barriers to work; it decreases your confidence, makes it harder to gain other skills and qualifications, and increases the likelihood of unemployment and of your withdrawal from the labour market.

"It’s now time for Labour to start making real and meaningful alliances, which are not predicated on towing the party line but are based on a real, open and honest relationship with a wide spectrum of Muslim individuals and groups."

He added that the teaching of British history must be compulsory in schools in order to make all children ‘understand who they are’ and learn how immigrants have always played a major part in British life.

He said: "Nowadays, how many people – let alone schoolchildren – know that numerous Asians, including Muslims, fought and died in the First World War defending all that we stand for today?

"Or that 2.5 million men from the Indian Army fought in the Second World War for a nation that they had never even visited?

"They have a role in our remembrance and celebration of what this nation – what we all – stand for. Making British history compulsory in schools is not just merely about an academic subject, it is about our children understanding who they are."

"All British Muslim leaders and opinion formers must be united in their condemnation of forced marriages and honour killings and have a positive duty to educate their communities about these issues," he argues.

The report also calls for Quaranic schools to work with state schools, more faith monitoring by employers, tackling segregation at work, tackling Islamophobia in the workplace, a programme to improve Muslim boys achievement in schools, ambassadors and diplomats to come from a more diverse range of backgrounds.