Downing Street was forced yesterday to defend its appointment of Britain’s first counterextremism commissioner after complaints from Muslim groups.
A petition to the Home Office signed by 100 Muslim organisations and scholars called for Sara Khan to be removed from her new role as head of the Commission for Countering Extremism.
Muslim groups are understood to be upset at the appointment because of Ms Khan’s support for the Prevent programme against violent extremism.
Ms Khan, the co-founder of Inspire, a counterextremism and women’s rights organisation, was accused of being a “mouthpiece” for the government by Baroness Warsi, a former chairwoman of the Conservative Party. She described the move as “a deeply disturbing appointment” and said on Twitter: “Sara is sadly seen by many as simply a creation of and mouthpiece for the Home Office.”
The Muslim Council of Britain expressed grave concerns about the appointment. Harun Khan, its secretary-general, said: “The fight against terrorism requires equal partnership between all parties, including Muslim communities. This appointment risks sending a clear and alarming message that the government has no intention of doing so.”
[TOP RATED COMMENT 43 votes] So a hundred mullahs are enraged at the appointment of this eminently qualified female to oversee their activities.
What is it about this one religious group that thinks it can dictate government policy?
[2ND 32] Only in Britain. We have a section of the community that has produced virtually every terrorist in the country for the last thirty years and they want to be able to dictate who should be in charge of a counter-extremism initiative.
[3RD 29] Baroness Warsi. Any space she occupies is a waste of.
And why should a particular section of society get all this “community “ driven engagement support, dialogue etc. instead of just getting getting on with their lives like everyone else?
[4TH 27] "Muslim groups are understood to be upset at the appointment because of Ms Khan’s support for the Prevent programme against violent extremism."
Who do they want then? Mr Abu Hamza is regrettably unavailable on account of being detained in a maximum security US gaol for the next hundred years or so on terrorism charges. Mr Hamza is presumably opposed to the Prevent programme.
[5TH 21] Time some people accepted they have a problem to solve, and not turn on people trying to help them.
[6TH 20] If the Muslim Council of Britain are against Sara Khan then that only means she's doing some good. The MCB, MAB and all other "muslim" groups are nothing more than a front for extremism.
[7TH 17] "Sara is sadly seen by many as simply a creation of and mouthpiece for the Home Office.”
Instead of saying "many", Warsi should have been more honest and stated outright that she is referring to Islamist leaders -- who of course lead all the activist mosques and groups in Britain. This episode is a fine example of the control freakery of British Islamists: unless one of them is picked to be at the helm, they will attack government appointees relentlessly.
Warsi, the rest of Britain, ie the majority, do not view Sara Khan as a Home office mouthpiece. [The Times (£)] Read more
