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Passion Islam I November 2009 LOCAL & NATIONAL NEWS I 9
Completely Spooked
A report published by the Institute as ‘a community-led approach to
of Race Relations finds that the tackling violent extremism’. It believes
government’s Prevent programme for that by selectively directing resources
tackling extremism fosters division, at ‘moderate’ Muslim organisations
mistrust and alienation. to carry out community development
Entitled Spooked: how not to and ‘anti-radicalisation’ work, it
prevent violent extremism, the report can empower them to unite around
suggests that the Prevent programme ‘shared British values’ to isolate the
has been used to establish one ‘extremists’. With hundreds of millions
of the most elaborate systems of of pounds of funding, the Prevent
surveillance ever seen in Britain. programme has come to redefine the
Moreover, there are strong relationship between government and
reasons for thinking that the Prevent around two million British citizens who
progamme, in effect, constructs the are Muslim.
Muslim population as a ‘suspect The report’s key findings are that:
community’, fosters social divisions > Prevent-funded voluntary sector
among Muslims themselves and organisations and workers in local
between Muslims and others, authorities are becoming increasingly
encourages tokenism, facilitates wary of the expectations on them to
violations of privacy and professional provide the police with information on
earlier community cohesion agenda
norms of confidentiality, discourages young Muslims and their religious and
and absorbed from it those parts
local democracy and is counter- political opinions.
which are most problematic.
productive in reducing the risk of > The atmosphere promoted
> The current emphasis of Prevent
political violence. by Prevent is one in which to make
on depoliticising young people and
The result of a six-month radical criticisms of the government
restricting radical dissent is actually
research project funded by the is to risk losing funding and facing
counter-productive because it
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, isolation as an ‘extremist’, while
strengthens the hands of those who
the report draws on existing policy those organisations which support
say democracy is pointless.
and academic work, freedom of the government are rewarded
Author of the report, Arun
information requests, a roundtable > Local authorities have been
Kundnani, says that: ‘The stated
discussion and thirty-two interviews pressured to accept Prevent funding
aim of the government’s counter-
with Prevent programme workers in direct proportion to the numbers
terrorist strategy is to enable people
and managers in local authorities, of Muslims in their area - in effect,
to “go about their lives freely and with
members of local Prevent boards, constructing the Muslim population
confidence”. The question we pose
voluntary sector workers engaged in as a ‘suspect community’.
in this report is whether freedom
Prevent work and community workers > Prevent decision-making
and confidence for the majority can
familiar with local Prevent work. lacks transparency and local
be enabled by imposing a lack of
The government describes accountability.
freedom and confidence on a minority
its Preventing Violent Extremism > Prevent has undermined
- in this case, the Muslim population
programme (known simply as ‘Prevent’) progressive elements within the
of Britain.’
New Tory book in support
of the Human Rights Act
Conservative parliamentary candidate party of British liberty and the rule of The authors say that the Human
Jesse Norman and political columnist law by dropping their opposition to the Rights Act is ‘an impeccably
Peter Oborne launched ‘Churchill’s Human Rights Act. Conservative document’ and based
Legacy: The Conservative case for Peter Oborne said “Like many on ancient conservative beliefs. They
the Human Rights Act’. The short Conservatives I was sceptical of the dismiss claims that the Act cedes
book, published by Liberty in support Human Rights Act – until I read it power to a foreign court, insinuates a
of the Common Values campaign, and started to think about it. It soon left-wing agenda into the British legal
recommends that the Conservatives became clear that it was a near perfect system and compromises national
reclaim their historic position as a expression of Tory values.” security.
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