Reuters is reporting that British Prime Minister David Cameron has unveiled a new strategy to combat extremism. According to the report:
October 19, 2015 British Prime Minister David Cameron unveiled a new strategy on Monday to combat extremism, saying the battle was ‘perhaps the ‘defining one of this century’, but his proposals were condemned by Muslims as demonizing their communities and set to fail.
The Counter-Extremism Strategy has been promised by Cameron’s government for months, designed primarily to counter the ideology promoted by Islamic State militants, al Qaeda and other Islamists which the authorities say can lead young Britons onto a path of violence.
‘Subversive, well-organized and sophisticated in their methods, Islamist extremists don’t just threaten our security, they jeopardize all that we’ve built together – our successful multi-racial, multi-faith democracy,’ Cameron wrote on his Facebook website.
‘So we have to confront them wherever we find them.’
British police arrested a record number of people last year on suspicion of terrorism offences, and say they have thwarted a growing number of plots hatched by young Britons, some of whom had been radicalized in just weeks via the Internet.
Earlier this month, a 15-year-old boy was jailed for life for inciting an attack on a World War One commemorative event in Australia from his bedroom in northern England.
Under the wide-ranging proposals, groups deemed extremist by promoting hatred will be banned; places where radicals thrive including mosques could be closed and the regulator Ofcom will get tougher powers to address TV and radio channels airing extremist material.
Read there rest here.
The report goes on to cite the comments of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) opposing the strategy:
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the country’s largest umbrella Islamic organization, said that while terrorism was a real threat, the government’s strategy was based on poor analysis and risked alienating those whose support it needed.
‘Whether it is in mosques, education or charities, the strategy will reinforce perceptions that all aspects of Muslim life must undergo a ‘compliance’ test to prove our loyalty to this country,’ said Shuja Shafi, the MCB’s Secretary General.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is a UK umbrella group that has been dominated by the Jaamat-I-Islami and usually acts in concert with the Global Muslim Brotherhood.