In the last year, there has been growing unease around the government’s Prevent strategy. The UN special rapporteur, along with human rights groups and the government’s own independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, have voiced serious concerns. MPs and peers from the joint select committee on human rights have also called for an independent review.
Last summer, the government’s counterterrorism policy became a legal duty in schools and nurseries and for childcare providers. With just a few hours of training, a host of public sector workers were now expected to spot people who might be vulnerable to radicalisation, and refer them to the government’s deradicalisation programme, Channel.
.... Apart from a few terrifying exceptions, British Muslims want to protect their country and their young people as much as non-Muslims (who also have a few terrifying exceptions). Surveys show they are more patriotic than the wider community, and intelligence from Muslim communities is vital in countering terrorism. But for this to happen, British Muslims need to feel they are partners in keeping the country safe, not just suspects. [460 comments]
[TOP RATED COMMENT 536 votes] This is not Pakistan, this is not the middle east, this IS GREAT BRITAIN. IF you want Islamic Values then why not live in a 100% Islamic state?
I don't want that to seem aggressive. I just want to get the idea across that this is NOT an islamic state. Britain has no history of islam, indeed we could even say Britain was Western and Christian.
So, let's try to keep it real. I understand the far-left dislike my views. Well, they are as they are. Ignorant and blind.
[2ND 455] Given that 40% of UK Muslims support Sharia law in the UK I'd say we have a pretty terrifying problem on our hands. Not being proactive is not a viable or logical position to take.
[3TH 404] Mudrassas in the UK must be ended NOW. I'm not blaming the children. How can they do different if they are thrown into a Mudrassa? We have to end this type of thing. Religion should begin and end in a person's bedroom and home. I don't want a Mudrassa on my street.
[4TH 398] Pretending Islam isn't a problem doesn't make Britain safer.
[5TH 388] .... She criticises the government's strategy and clearly doesn't feel the need to offer an alternative as, in her mind, there simply isn't an issue to address.
The problem, it's suggested, is Islamophobia not Islam and therefore the fault lies entirely with the non-muslim majority.
.... I have nothing in common, culturally, with the prepubescent girls wearing identical hijabs shown in the top photo, or with those who want to eat halal food, or who regard a religious cartoon as blasphemy, or who see pet dogs as dirty, or who regard Western music as Satanic, or who pray numerous times every day to a god I don't believe in, or who condemn homosexuality as a sin, or who cheerfully support the segregation of men and women.
We aren't "all in this together", of it certainly doesn't seem that way. [Guardian Cif] Read more
