.... Reactions to the speech amongst Muslims have varied, as one would expect. The Muslim Council of Britain’s initial response is at this link. I was struck by the following extract:
“We worry, however, that these latest suggestions will set new litmus tests which may brand us all as extremists, even though we uphold and celebrate the rule of law, democracy and rights for all. Dissenting is a proud tradition of ours that must not be driven underground.
Challenging extremist ideology is what we all want, but we need to define tightly and closely what extremism is rather than perpetuate a deep misunderstanding of Islam and rhetoric, which inevitably facilitates extremists to thrive.”
I don’t think there is any risk of the government setting “new litmus tests which may brand us all as extremists” because it is not stupid and it understands that a litmus test which branded all Muslims as extremists would be worse than useless.
If the MCB wants to help our country, one of the most useful things it could do is to publish its own criteria for distinguishing between non-violent Islamist extremists (who are beyond the pale) and the overwhelming majority of non-extremist Muslims. [ConservativeHome] Read more
