British Muslims must be at the heart of the creation of new counter-terrorism legislation if it is to be effective, one of the UK’s largest Islamic organisations has warned.
The challenge to the government was laid down by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) at a conference in central London on Thursday, aimed at formulating a response to tackling extremism and terrorism from the Muslim community.
One of the MCB’s biggest areas of concern is the plan to ban non-violent extremists, a particularly sensitive subject for the organisation, whose members feel sidelined by successive governments who believed the MCB harbours unpalatable viewpoints.
MCB assistant secretary general Miqdaad Versi said the authorities were making a grave mistake by conflating socially conservative views with violent extremism. [The Guardian] Read more
