Hate Preachers
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a campaigner against Islamic extremism, wrote an interesting article for The Times during the general election campaign.
Now that the Conservatives have been returned at Westminster the new government will be bringing forward proposals to tackle the UK's hate preachers and their supporters who enjoy all the benefits of living in a free and tolerant country while demonstrating their support for the murderers of the Islamic State (IS).
Only one party will tackle the Islamist threat
By Ayaan Hirsi Ali - The Times
David Cameron recognises that Britain faces a battle of ideas, not just of preventing terror
With the general election two days away, as many as four in ten voters are still undecided. I believe the choice is an easy one. They should vote to keep David Cameron in No 10 because of his determination to tackle the scourge of Islamic extremism in Britain.
Radical Islam is the issue that dare not speak its name in this election. Voters say they regard the NHS, immigration and the economy as the three most important issues facing Britain. Islamic extremism does not even make the top ten. To anyone watching from abroad, this seems bizarre.
For the past 13 years I have been following closely the rise and spread of Islamic extremism in the West. During that time, I have seen the problem grow in the UK. It is a problem personified by Mohammed Emwazi, the murderous Islamic State executioner who grew up in London and has a degree from the University of Westminster. Fusilier Lee Rigby and the aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning are only the best known British victims of the jihadists.
Most western leaders have been thrown into moral confusion by the rise of radical Islam within their own societies. Mr Cameron is an exception. He has been vocal in his call for the acceptance of Muslims as fellow Britons. He has gone out of his way to include Muslims in his cabinet and in other positions of leadership. He has been meticulous in his choice of language, always stressing the point that British Muslims are a part of the fabric of Britain.
But he has also been one of the first western leaders to admit that multiculturalism has failed as a philosophy. Britain is a place of many ethnicities and religions, he has argued, but there is one dominant culture and that is British.
Mr Cameron empowered Michael Gove, then education secretary, to address the so-called Trojan Horse penetration of the Birmingham schools system by Islamic extremists. Mr Cameron also encouraged Theresa May, the home secretary, to make British anti-terror legislation the toughest in Europe. The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act creates a new public duty to prevent people being drawn into terrorism.
On Mr Cameron’s watch, websites promoting Islamic extremism have been targeted and hate preachers kept out or kicked out of the country. The charity commission has also been given new powers to investigate charities with extremist links.
The prime minister has called Islamic extremism “a poisonous ideology” that justifies “the most sickening barbarism and brutality”. If re-elected, he has pledged to come down even harder on those organisations that “stay just within the law but still spread poisonous hatred”.
It takes courage, commitment and leadership to make these hard choices. Contrast this with Ed Miliband, who last month criticised the government’s approach and promised Muslim News that he would make “Islamophobia” an “aggravated crime”. In my experience, the term “Islamophobia” is a ruse to prevent frank discussion of the true nature of Islamic extremism. The disgraced former mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman — who last month was found to have used corrupt and illegal practices — made a habit of accusing his political opponents of Islamophobia.
Voters may not want to face up to it, but Britain has a major fight on its hands to limit the spread of Islamic extremism. Hundreds if not thousands of British citizens have already joined Isis. These young people are not the victims of poverty or social exclusion — they are often from prosperous backgrounds. Their behaviour tells us we are losing the battle for hearts and minds in parts of the British Muslim community.
David Cameron is the first western leader to commit himself to tackling the phenomenon of “non-violent extremism” — the process of proselytisation or dawa whereby Islamists recruit their followers. In other words, the prime minister sees that this is a battle of ideas, and not just a matter of preventing terrorism.
Mr Miliband, by contrast, shows every sign of wanting to turn Britain into France — not only economically, by cranking up welfare spending in the old Labour way, but also socially, by encouraging British Muslims to see themselves as victims of Islamophobia.
For me, the choice is a simple one. On Thursday, Britons can vote for one of the few western leaders who understands that Islamic extremism is to their generation what Nazism was to their grandparents’ generation: a mortal threat to freedom. David Cameron gets it. Ed Miliband doesn’t.
David Cameron recognises that Britain faces a battle of ideas, not just of preventing terror
With the general election two days away, as many as four in ten voters are still undecided. I believe the choice is an easy one. They should vote to keep David Cameron in No 10 because of his determination to tackle the scourge of Islamic extremism in Britain.
Radical Islam is the issue that dare not speak its name in this election. Voters say they regard the NHS, immigration and the economy as the three most important issues facing Britain. Islamic extremism does not even make the top ten. To anyone watching from abroad, this seems bizarre.
For the past 13 years I have been following closely the rise and spread of Islamic extremism in the West. During that time, I have seen the problem grow in the UK. It is a problem personified by Mohammed Emwazi, the murderous Islamic State executioner who grew up in London and has a degree from the University of Westminster. Fusilier Lee Rigby and the aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning are only the best known British victims of the jihadists.
Most western leaders have been thrown into moral confusion by the rise of radical Islam within their own societies. Mr Cameron is an exception. He has been vocal in his call for the acceptance of Muslims as fellow Britons. He has gone out of his way to include Muslims in his cabinet and in other positions of leadership. He has been meticulous in his choice of language, always stressing the point that British Muslims are a part of the fabric of Britain.
But he has also been one of the first western leaders to admit that multiculturalism has failed as a philosophy. Britain is a place of many ethnicities and religions, he has argued, but there is one dominant culture and that is British.
Mr Cameron empowered Michael Gove, then education secretary, to address the so-called Trojan Horse penetration of the Birmingham schools system by Islamic extremists. Mr Cameron also encouraged Theresa May, the home secretary, to make British anti-terror legislation the toughest in Europe. The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act creates a new public duty to prevent people being drawn into terrorism.
On Mr Cameron’s watch, websites promoting Islamic extremism have been targeted and hate preachers kept out or kicked out of the country. The charity commission has also been given new powers to investigate charities with extremist links.
The prime minister has called Islamic extremism “a poisonous ideology” that justifies “the most sickening barbarism and brutality”. If re-elected, he has pledged to come down even harder on those organisations that “stay just within the law but still spread poisonous hatred”.
It takes courage, commitment and leadership to make these hard choices. Contrast this with Ed Miliband, who last month criticised the government’s approach and promised Muslim News that he would make “Islamophobia” an “aggravated crime”. In my experience, the term “Islamophobia” is a ruse to prevent frank discussion of the true nature of Islamic extremism. The disgraced former mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman — who last month was found to have used corrupt and illegal practices — made a habit of accusing his political opponents of Islamophobia.
Voters may not want to face up to it, but Britain has a major fight on its hands to limit the spread of Islamic extremism. Hundreds if not thousands of British citizens have already joined Isis. These young people are not the victims of poverty or social exclusion — they are often from prosperous backgrounds. Their behaviour tells us we are losing the battle for hearts and minds in parts of the British Muslim community.
David Cameron is the first western leader to commit himself to tackling the phenomenon of “non-violent extremism” — the process of proselytisation or dawa whereby Islamists recruit their followers. In other words, the prime minister sees that this is a battle of ideas, and not just a matter of preventing terrorism.
Mr Miliband, by contrast, shows every sign of wanting to turn Britain into France — not only economically, by cranking up welfare spending in the old Labour way, but also socially, by encouraging British Muslims to see themselves as victims of Islamophobia.
For me, the choice is a simple one. On Thursday, Britons can vote for one of the few western leaders who understands that Islamic extremism is to their generation what Nazism was to their grandparents’ generation: a mortal threat to freedom. David Cameron gets it. Ed Miliband doesn’t.
