A group of Muslims in Reading feel victimised by a Government initiative designed to tackle violent extremism and feel it could cause more harm than good. A crisis group has been set up with the support of more than 1,000 Muslims in Reading who object to the local steps being taken under the Government’s Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) strategy launched this year.

Reading Borough Council was picked as a pilot area for the Department for Communities and local Government’s counter-terrorism strategy which aims to challenge violent extremist ideology, support vulnerable individuals being targeted and recruited to extreme causes and increase the resilience of the community towards violent extremism.

But Reading Muslim Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) Crisis Group said since it started, Muslim groups in the town have become disillusioned with the project which started off as a collaborative effort between organisations and community groups in Reading. It is concerned about a new PVE toolkit which will be provided to school teachers to look out for signs of “radicalisation” in pupils – a move which the group labels “absurd and disturbing”.

A statement from the group to Michael Coughlin, chief executive of Reading Borough Council, and Superintendent Steve Kirk said: “The PVE work relies on a number of volatile terms such as ‘extremism’, ‘violent extremism’ and ‘radicalisation’. These terms are undefined but have been used by members of the Government to demonise the Muslim community by equating Islamic values such as the desire for Muslim unity and adherence to Sharia law with ‘extremism’ or ‘violent extremism’.

“Communities don’t commit crimes, individuals do. However, the Government narrative on the causes of the cycle of violence we see occurring in the context of PVE blames an ‘ideology’ as the overriding cause for people’s radicalisation. This is in stark contrast to the way that the political troubles in Northern Ireland, South Africa and Sri Lanka was identified. This narrative firmly puts the blame for the cycle of violence at the door of Islam and the Muslim community.”

Reading Evening Post, 31 October 2008

Britain’s police were accused Friday of misusing the country’s terrorism laws against Muslims after three men were charged under criminal law for firebombing a publisher in north London.

“What is surprising is that they were held under anti-terror legislation for almost a week and then charged under fire arm offences,” Muslim News editor Ahmed Versi said. “It seems anti-terror laws are being used as fishing expedition,” he said.

Ali Beheshti, Abrar Mirza and Abbas Taj, all from London, were due to appear in court Friday after being charged with conspiring to damage the home of a man publishing a controversial American novel about the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

The men, charged with conspiring without lawful excuse to damage the premises between September 8 and 27, could have only been held by police for a maximum of three days under criminal law.

Versi condemned the petrol bomb attack carried out last Saturday but said that the case was “another evidence that the police are misusing the anti terror legislation whenever Muslims are involved in committing criminal offences.” “When it is extremist white criminals who may have bombs and all kinds of weapons, they are still arrested under normal fire arm offences,” he said.

The police told the Muslim News that the arrests were the “culmination of investigation of the three trying to set fire to the property and other information received deemed to be suitable under Terrorism Act 2000 and it was intelligence led.” The police also confirmed that they wanted to catch the culprits “red-handed” following reports that they asked the publisher to leave the premises before the petrol bomb attack.

But Versi said it was “also of concern is that the police allowed the attack to take place before apprehending them thus putting the neighbours and other public under danger.” “Surely they could have been arrested with the bomb making equipment?” he asked.

IRNA, 3 October 2008

“The recent convictions of three young Muslim men on charges of conspiracy to cause explosions highlight the ongoing and real threat of terrorism. In video messages explaining their motivations the culprits make a clear and explicit linkage between their intentions and the impact of Western foreign policy in Muslim lands.

“Yet despite it coming from their own mouths that it is anger over foreign policy driving their hate, the government continues to deny it as the primary factor. Instead it blames a ‘dangerous Islamist ideology’ for creating ‘a hatred of the Western way of life’ as if such ideology is free-standing and exists in some kind of vacuum.

“In this discourse all Islamic political or social activists who are critical of the government, from whatever political hue, get lumped together with the sinister description of ‘Islamists’….

“By denying the legitimacy of democratic opposition to government foreign policy from Muslims, and by promoting and recognising only those Muslims who toe the line, government policy is serving to strengthen the hands of the genuine extremists; those who say that our engagement in the democratic process is pointless or wrong….

“The government now increasingly tars all Islamic organisations and individuals that openly oppose Western oppressive polices in the Middle East with the ‘extremist’ brush. Hence their recent attacks on the mainstream Islam Expo event in London….

“The danger of this approach is that it serves to squeeze the democratic space for dissent within the Muslim community. If Muslims organisations are reluctant to provide the space for sensitive discussions for fear of extremist’s accusations, where are these young people to go? Where will their views and concerns get an airing? The answer is obvious. They will be expressed in private and secret, with the genuine extremists keen to be provide listening ears and simplistic solutions.”

Salma Yaqoob in The Respect Paper, September 2008