Birmingham: British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a keynote speech yesterday that it was vital to “de-glamourise” the Islamic State group and promised to clamp down on extremists at home, including non-violent ones.
Cameron said Islamist violence was driven by an ideology that is “not just subversive, but can seem exciting”, but warned would-be recruits that they were simply “cannon fodder”.
Speaking in the ethnically diverse city of Birmingham, he promised further powers to target anti-Semitic “conspiracy theorists” and those justifying terrorism by blaming Western foreign policy who helped radicalise young people.
Cameron also vowed to tackle sectarian segregation in schools, admitting that extremist ideology can “gain traction because of issues of identity and failures of integration”.
Faced with an exodus of hundreds of young people who have joined the IS group in Syria and Iraq, and fears of the risk posed by those who return, the government is searching for new solutions to tackle extremism and radicalisation.
The speech by the Conservative leader, who was re-elected in May, set out the broad outlines of a five-year strategy that will include new legislation to be published later this year.
The bill will include powers to “put out of action the key extremist influencers who are careful to operate just inside the law, but who clearly detest British society and everything we stand for”, Cameron said. “We must de-glamourise the extremist cause, especially ISIL. This is a group that throws people off buildings, that burns them alive,” he said.
Addressing those tempted to join up, Cameron said: “If you are a boy, they will brainwash you, strap bombs to your body and blow you up. If you are a girl, they will enslave and abuse you.”
The authorities must also prove that “British” values such as the rule of law “are good for everyone”, he said, by enforcing prohibitions on culturally sensitive issues such as forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
Cameron said that moderate Muslims in Britain should speak out against Islamist militants, saying it was wrong to deny any connection between their religion and acts of violence.
He also demanded that Internet companies do more to help fight the spread of radical ideologies.
An aim of the strategy will be to target “home-grown” militants. Around 700 Britons are estimated to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join IS militants, some of whom have since returned.
Cameron said to meet that goal, the religious drivers behind extremism had to be acknowledged and that moderate Muslim voices needed to be heard.
“Simply denying any connection between the religion of Islam and the extremists doesn’t work,” he said. “It is an exercise in futility to deny that and more than that, it can be dangerous.”
Announcing a range of initiatives, he singled out Internet companies for criticism. “When it comes to doing what’s right for their businesses they’re happy to engineer technologies that track our likes and our dislikes,” he said, without naming specific firms.
“But when it comes to doing what’s right in the fight against terrorism we too often hear that it’s all too difficult — I’m sorry I just don’t buy that.”
Cameron is preparing to extend Britain’s fight against IS overseas by seeking parliamentary approval to undertake anti-IS bombing missions in Syria. Britain currently only conducts airstrikes in neighbouring Iraq, although pilots seconded to allied air forces have taken part in air strikes.
Cameron also sought to take direct action after a spate of cases involving young Britons leaving their families to link up with IS militants they had contacted through online social networks.
The government would introduce a scheme to enable worried parents to apply directly to get their child’s passport cancelled to prevent travel, he said.
The Muslim Council of Britain, an umbrella group representing hundreds of Muslim groups, welcomed the need to de-glamourise the IS group and Cameron’s call for better integration and opportunities for young people.
But Secretary General Shuja Shafi warned that the paths to extremism and terrorism are “complex and varied”, expressing concerns that the prime minister’s suggestions “will set new litmus tests which may brand us all as extremists”.
“Dissenting is a proud tradition of ours that must not be driven underground,” he said.
He added: “We need to define tightly and closely what extremism is rather than perpetuate a deep misunderstanding of Islam and rhetoric, which inevitably facilitates extremists to thrive.”
Interfaith group Faith Matters broadly welcomed the strategy but cautioned against placing the blame on religion. “Positing ideology as the main driver overlooks a multitude of factors that drives individuals towards violent extremism,” the group said in a statement. “The oversimplification of the drivers towards radicalisation risk alienating swathes of British Muslims.
AFP/Reuters
