Cameron set to crack down on Muslims

PM David Cameron held talks with the Bahraini crown prince in Downing Street on May 20

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183344.html

London is to effectively crack down on all Muslims in Britain except those who abandon their Islamic identity and “reflect British mainstream values”.

There is no opposition between the so-called mainstream values and Islam as long as they mean advocacy for freedom of speech, equality, democracy and religion.

But British Prime Minister David Cameron has emerged to be set to cross that line to label all members of Muslim groups that follow the rules of their faith, the sharia law, as extremists who need to be tackled.

The Guardian quoted Home Office sources as saying that Cameron has won an argument with his deputy Nick Clegg on a counter-terrorism strategy to be unveiled next week, insisting that all extremism has its roots in the ideology of non-violent extremism, identified by the paper as the sharia law.

The paper said the Prevent strategy, which tars violence-oriented groups with the same brush as non-violent ones, will be announced by Home Secretary Theresa May on Tuesday.

The Prevent strategy redefines extremism as advocacy for views London believes do not “reflect British mainstream values” including sticking to sharia law.

The strategy echoes Cameron's controversial comments in an international counter-terrorism conference in Munich last February.

Cameron used that speech to make clear that he supports an end to “state multiculturalism” saying "move along the spectrum, and you find people who may reject violence, but who accept various parts of the extremist world view, including real hostility towards western democracy and liberal values".

While that seems to allow some room for Muslims to follow their 'faith' Cameron went on to liken Muslim groups to far-right ones calling for a blanket freeze on all government funding to Muslim organizations following sharia law.

"Would you allow far-right groups a share of public funds if they promise to help you lure young white men away from fascist terrorism? Of course not," he said.

Cameron's one-way approach to the question of extremism has raised concerns among experts including Haras Rafiq, director of the counter-terrorism consultancy, Centri.

"They need to build a criteria to establish which organization they fund has extremist views, which one doesn't,” Rafiq said.

London's new strategy is especially worrying, as London has recently offered contrary definitions of 'core' British values, democracy and freedom of speech, at least in actions if not in words.

Britain has been supporting the 'pro-democracy' cause in Libya laying its weight behind the revolutionaries there and has even went as far as involvement in attacks directly targeted at the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's residence.

However, pro-democracy cannot be attributed in British terms to the Bahraini demonstrators who are calling for an elected parliament in Bahrain and are being killed by the al-Khalifa regime.

Indeed, following months of bloody crackdown by the Bahraini regime Foreign Secretary William Hague only went as far as urging both sides to engage in “dialogue”.

Meanwhile, during a meeting with Bahraini crown prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa in London last month, Prime Minister David Cameron implied that Bahraini demonstrators disrupted reforms underway in their country and should now pay the price or let the regime continue its undemocratic rule.

Cameron said that his government would back efforts to return Bahrain to a process of reform rather initiate the Persian Gulf state into such a process, effectively dismissing demonstrations as irrelevant disruptions.

That lays bare London's hypocritical policy that explains why one has to take Cameron's talk of democracy and freedom of speech to be the British values Muslims do not respect with a pinch of salt.

UK PM: Multiculturalism has failed

David Cameron says 'state multiculturalism' has failed and left young Muslims vulnerable to radicalization.



David Cameron said it was time to replace Britain's 'passive tolerance' with an 'active, muscular liberalism' [EPA]

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/02/2011255620810460.html

"State multiculturalism" has failed and left young Muslims vulnerable to radicalisation, David Cameron, the British prime minister, has said, arguing for a more active policy to heal divisions and promote Western values.

Cameron, in a speech to a security conference in Munich on Saturday, said that Britain and other European nations needed to "wake up to what is happening in our countries" as well as tackling terrorism through military operations overseas.

"Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream," Cameron said.

"We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong ... all this leaves some young Muslims feeling rootless.

"We've even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values.

"It is time to turn the page on the failed policies of the past."

His comments echo those made by Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, last year and reflect a push by many European governments to try to better integrate immigrants, given persistent domestic tensions between different cultures.

'Muscular liberalism'

Cameron denied that cuts to defence spending as part of efforts to tackle a record budget deficit mean that Britain is retreating from an "activist" global role.

"That is the complete reversal of the truth," he said. "Yes, we are dealing with the deficit, but we are also making sure our defences are strong."

Aides say his comments on multiculturalism and radicalisation help give a sense of future policy, but it remains unclear how the ruling Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition intend to turn such a vision into a reality.

Critics point out that Western foreign policy in the Middle East and beyond, not just a clash of cultures at home, has played a big part in stirring up anti-Western sentiment.

Some members of Cameron's Conservative party, activists in right-wing movements and some voters believe that Britain has become a safe haven for people with anti-Western political views.

Others argue this tolerant approach is the lifeblood of any open and thriving democracy, fearing a crackdown on civil liberties would undermine the kind of society the government is seeking to establish.

Cameron said it was time to replace Britain's "passive tolerance" with an "active, muscular liberalism" to send a message that life in Britain revolves around certain key values such as freedom of speech, equal rights and the rule of law.

"A passively tolerant society ... stands neutral between different values," he said.

"A genuinely liberal country does much more. It believes in certain values and actively promotes them.”