Establishment hacks are using New Zealand massacre to keep their failed terror policies alive
Human rights advocates are blasting what they call the “PREVENT lobby” for exploiting the New Zealand massacre in order to expand the powers of the national security state. Former counter-terror chief Mark Rowley and former ‘integration tsar’ Louise Casey recently wrote an article calling for more powers to fight terrorism. The article, published by the Sunday Times two days after the New Zealand massacre, attacked opponents of the Prevent surveillance programme saying that:
charities, police officers, teachers and social workers at the front line of this fight against terrorism are undermined at every turn by a vocal minority of campaigners who claim to represent the communities most at risk and are emboldened by politicians who should know better
Asim Qureshi, Research Director of civil liberties group CAGE, said:
The PREVENT lobby has been utterly shameless following this tragedy. Instead of acknowledging the policy they advocate for is failing, they have used the incident as a means to co opt communities to buy into their own oppression, while policy makers walk away from accountability.
A good time to push bad ideas
Other examples of state officials using the New Zealand massacre to push Prevent and its ideology are:
- 18 March, security minister Ben Wallace on Radio 4.
- 18 March, lead for the Commission for Countering Extremism, Sara Khan and Louise Casey on BBC‘s Victoria Derbyshire.
- 15 March, Prevent coordinator for the Midlands Will Baldet on Newsnight.
The ‘vocal minority’
The supposed “minority” that ‘undermine’ the “fight against terrorism” by opposing or strongly criticising Prevent include: Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC), Liberty, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Rights Watch (Uk), Medact, Index on Censorship, Network for Police Monitoring, Muslim Council of Britain, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of assembly, UN Special Rapporteur on racism, National Union of Teachers, and award-winning conservative journalist Peter Oborne, among many others.
Last year Oborne criticised Rowley for:
Read on...
outrageously defam[ing] Muslim groups Mend and Cage – both legitimate community-based organisations – by comparing them to Britain First and Anjem Choudary’s Al-Muhajiroun, both of them criminal groups.
State terror breads non-state terror
Supporters of Prevent often slam supremacist ideologies, like those of the alleged killer in New Zealand. But they ignore the mainstream ideology of the ‘War on Terror’ and the violence and terror that this ‘forever war’ inflicts across the world. This is a rather convenient blind-spot. And it is especially curious given the long, and well-documented links between conflict and state violence, including Western foreign policy, and the rise in political violence committed by non-state individuals.
Preventing dissent
The reality is that this policy is undermining British democracy rather than strengthening it. But government after government keeps expanding Prevent, despite being told, over, and over, and over again that its tainted Prevent policies are failing.
So, perhaps its time for us to see these policies as actually succeeding. Just not succeeding in terms of the officially stated objective of preventing terror – but rather succeeding in terms of a different objective: that of preventing dissent.
Mohamed Elmaazi volunteers with CAMPACC
Featured image via Flickr/Pete Birkinshaw
Get involved
- Learn more about Prevent via:
- Download the Preventing Prevent Handbook by the National Union of Students.
- Write to your MP and tell them if you want them to bring the Prevent programme to an end.
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In Islam there is no commandment to kill people by making such allegations against them. The cartoonists had exercised their freedom of expression, and freedom of expression is totally allowed in Islam. Even during the Prophet’s time there were several instances of ridicule, however the Prophet and his Companions neither punished such persons nor asked anyone to do so. On every occasion of this kind, the Prophet’s Companions always tried to positively disseminate the message of Islam. They never tried to punish these people. The killing of those people who had published the cartoons is a gravely un-Islamic act in the name of Islam.
Multiculturalism is not about integration but about cultural plurality. It is not about separation but about respect and the deepening awareness of Unity in Diversity. Each culture will maintain its own intrinsic value and at the same time would be expected to contribute to the benefit of the whole society. Multiculturalism can accommodate diversity of all kinds – cultural, philosophical and religious – so that we can create a world without conflict and strife. Britain can assume the role of accommodation and concern for all peoples, for our planet and indeed for our survival. Multi-Culturalism is even more important and crucial after 9/11 and 7/7. Muslim youths are also likely to feel alienated by a focus on shared Brutishness, rather than multicultural diversity. Rather than promoting a single British “us” teaching should acknowledge that “us” can be diverse and plural. Children should be encouraged to explore differences in appearance, history and religion to reduce social and educational fears. West must learn to respect and tolerate those who are different. Muslim community in all western countries need Masajid, state funded Muslim schools with Muslim teachers, halal meat, sharia laws, time of for Friday afternoon prayers in the Masjid, two religious official holidays per year and Muslim cemeteries. Stop treating foreigners like garbage and they will stop ruining your precious country. Why did you let them in in the first place if you didn’t want them here? They left everything in their countries because of your promises. Are you so anxious to please that you can’t say “no”? I would love to see you go to a foreign land where you don’t have any friends, you don’t even know anyone and you don’t speak the language, and start from scratch. I would just LOVE to watch you do that. Let them integrate and stop segregating them. What I want is people being nice to each other. I don’t care about race.
Speaking English does not promote integration into British, American and Australian societies, and broaden opportunities. English speaking Muslim youths are angry, frustrated and extremist, thanks to state schools with monolingual non-Muslim teachers and English language. English language is not only a lingua franca but also lingua frankensteinia. Human right are also covers linguistic right. Cultural and linguistic genocide are very common. British schooling is murdering community languages like Arabic, Urdu and others. English is today the world killer language. Linguistic genocide is a crime against humanity and British schooling is guilty of committing this crime. Language is not just a language. It defines one’s culture, identity and consciousness. It defines how we think, communicate and express ourselves. The fact is the most South Asian Muslims have come to know Islam by way of Urdu, the children’s alienation from the language that connects them the heritage of their parents and grandparents is disturbing. As a matter of fact, one has to get to know his mother tongue well if one is to master any other language.
In Islam there is no commandment to kill people by making such allegations against them. The cartoonists had exercised their freedom of expression, and freedom of expression is totally allowed in Islam. Even during the Prophet’s time there were several instances of ridicule, however the Prophet and his Companions neither punished such persons nor asked anyone to do so. On every occasion of this kind, the Prophet’s Companions always tried to positively disseminate the message of Islam. They never tried to punish these people. The killing of those people who had published the cartoons is a gravely un-Islamic act in the name of Islam.
Islam does not support terrorism under any circumstances. Terrorism goes against every principle in Islam. If a Muslim engages in terrorism, he is not following Islam. He may be wrongly using the name of Islam for political or financial gain.The Prophet Muhammad said, ‘Do not kill women or children or non-combatants and do not kill old people or religious people….Muslims Against Terrorism requests media not use phrases such as “Islamic Fundamentalists” or “Muslim Terrorists” regarding terrorist attacks “Because such things do not exist. Islam is the religion of peace, love and mutual respect. Islam is the religion of moderation. Islam is the religion of human value and dignity.” They ask that religious affiliation not be mentioned in terrorist attacks.
The British establishment is wrong in thinking that Imams are to blame for extremism. Imams are not solution to the problem for extremism. Extremism is nothing to do with Imams. Extremism is not created from abroad, it is coming from within. Britain fails to help Muslim communities feel part of British society. Race trouble is being predicted by the Daily Express, because of an ethnic boom in UK major cities. Muslim communities need imams for the solutions of their needs and demands in their own native languages. Muslim parents would like to see their children well versed in Standard English and to go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. The fact is that majority of Muslim children leave schools with low grades because monolingual teachers are not capable to teach Standard English to bilingual Muslim children. A Muslim is a citizen of this tiny global village. He/she does not want to become notoriously monolingual Brit.
Just think and ask your self who is responsible for all these attacks terrorism. if we are blaming Muslims for terrorism who created this term terrorist for Muslims only ?
Remember lass Vegas shooting but it was not terrorist attack according to your propaganda government because attacker was not a Muslim guy .
When US UK RUSSIA ISRAEL KILLED thousands and thousands of innocents in Iraq ,Afghanistan ,Libya ,Palestine,Pakistan Chechnya ,so don’t we think one of those man who lost everything in air strikes and firing by all these countries will not take revenge ?
Its human nature if we any one don’t get justice he will move for other options .
People crying for western countries but they never cried for all those innocent people’s of victim countries.
JUST STOP INVADING AND OTHER COUNTRIES .we all know that all these countries were developed and were living peacefully before the invasion of US .
Please tell me the difference between a bunch of Muslims killing innocent civilians, and drones sent by the West massacring entire families in Pakistan and Afghanistan. When ‘they’ kill, it’s terrorism, when ‘we’ kill, it’s necessary in order to ‘protect our way of life’.
Blatant hypocrisy.
IA
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk