UK Government must listen to Muslims

Government must listen to Muslims if it wants to succeed in tackling radicalisation
Last December, Andy Hayman, head of Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism operations, questioned the value of extensive stop-and-search powers because of the few arrests and charges they produced. “It is very unlikely that a terrorist is going to be carrying bomb-making equipment around...in the street,” Hayman said. He told the Metropolitan Police Authority that it was “a big price to pay” given some people feel unfairly targeted by the anti-terror powers.
This month, Home Office figures confirmed their worst fears that only a very small percentage of more than 1,100 arrests under anti-terrorism laws had led to conviction, while more than half were released without any charge. This is despite the extensive range of offences and the ever-extension of pre-charge detentions. Over the past few years, there have been many high-profile arrests of terrorist suspects, often with the media conveniently tipped off in advance to sensationalise alleged plots attributed to anonymous sources.
Far too many pre-dawn raids have turned out to be huge blunders. The bungled raids on two Muslim family houses in Forest Gate, East London, last June is but one example. Hayman was eventually forced to apologise for the raid, after no evidence of an alleged chemical weapons plant find and two suspects, including one shot by police, being freed without any charges. The families made 150 complaints about the police conduct, but like other cases, these were dismissed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Most of the terrorist raids are supposed to be intelligence-led, which leaves deep concern over the credibility of the intelligence services and their sources. A particular concern is that the Government not only doubled the pre-charge detention of terrorist suspects from 14 to 28 days but has indicated that it is seeking to extend this to 90 days despite previously failings. Muslims are already paying a heavy price for not only for ill-conceived anti-terrorism laws but for its misguided approach, both of which need a drastic overhaul.
The way forward, as all agree, is for the Government to work with the community, but most importantly, without any hidden agenda. This should be a two-way process, rather than just following the dictates of ministers. It is vitally important for the Government not to use divisive methods as has already been unsuccessfully attempted. The argument by the Government is that they want to tackle radicalisation amongst young Muslims but so far there has been no success and instead they have blamed the Muslim community for not doing enough.
Yet it has been Government-led groups that have failed to deliver. As we exclusively reported in December, the Government is going abroad for help to tackle radicalism. The country chosen was Indonesia, with the largest Muslim population in the world and which has its own unique problem of radicalisation. What is interesting about this project is that the joint draft proposals for the venture published on January 30, are all to do with religion – Islam – and no mention is being made about politics, which clearly the main issue.
Head of the Indonesian delegation, Professor Azuyamardi Azra, acknowledged that the group needs to “deal with root problem – the foreign policy of the British Government.” He told The Muslim News that the joint group “deals mainly with religious and social issues.” Professor Azra recalled that he had told Prime Minister, Tony Blair, during his visit to Jakarta in March last year, that “one of the most important ways to solve this problem is to withdraw from Iraq because it has angered Muslims.” The leader of the UK delegation, Musharraf Hussain, denied that it was the Foreign Office that influenced them not to deal with the impact of the foreign policy on radicalisation. “It was our group’s decision,” he told The Muslim News. However, he agreed that politics was a major problem. “It is a shortcoming that we need to address.” Now the Foreign Office have sent those groups who have and are working with the Government to tackle radicalism in this country, to Canada to help them tackle radicalisation there. If it fails - and looking at the UK experience it most probably will - the blame will once again be laid at the door of the Canadian Muslim community. They will be paying the price as British Muslims are paying for failure of the Government-led initiatives. It is a double-edged sword for Muslims being at the brunt of excessive anti-terror laws and being made the scapegoats for the Government refusing to listen.
Before we end up with Northern Ireland-style Diplock courts, there needs to be an immediate review of Government policy, including anti-terror legislation, its implementation and its effects on safety, as well as security and inter-community relations. Just as the Muslim community has a duty to help, the Government has a responsibility to address the root causes. And there is no better place to start than to hold a public independent judicial inquiry to find out the truth.
BY - Muslim News